The failure of the statebuilding project, the insurgency and to use the famous phrase Britain's 'scuttle', or ignominious withdrawal, from South Arabia have long been the subject of study, receiving attention from many angles and new perspectives. One aspect which has received less attention is the role of policing in the statebuilding project of the Federation of South Arabia (FSA). This article sets out to explore this lacuna by contextualising the role of policing in statebuilding and examining the