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List of police forces in the United Kingdom 

There are a number of law enforcement agencies in the United Kingdom. There are four general types mostly concerned with policing the general public and their activities and a number of others concerned with policing of other, usually localised, matters.

  • Miscellaneous forces, mostly having their foundations in older legislation or Common Law. These have a responsibility to police specific local areas or activities, such as ports and parks and before the passing of recent legislation such as the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 were often referred to as 'special police forces'; care must therefore be taken in interpreting historical use of that phrase. These constabularies are not within the scope of the legislation applicable to the previously-mentioned organisations but can still be the subject of statutes applicable to e.g. docks, harbours or railways. Until the passing of Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003, the British Transport Police was such a force.

Over the centuries there has been a wide variation in the number of police forces in the United Kingdom, with a huge number now no longer in existence. See List of defunct law enforcement agencies in the United Kingdom for these.

Contents

Territorial police forces

England and Wales

The territorial forces use the boundaries of the local government areas (counties) established in the 1974 local government reorganisations (although with subsequent modifications). These forces provide the majority of policing services to the public of England and Wales. These forces are known as "Home Office police forces" due to the Acts of Parliament that established them. It should be noted, that despite the implication of the term, all police forces are independent, with operational control resting solely with the Chief Constable of each force (or the Commissioner with regard to the Metropolitan Police and City of London Police), with oversight from a Police Authority for each force.

The Police Act 1996 is the most recent piece of legislation which outlines the areas of responsibility for the 43 territorial forces of England and Wales (found in Schedule 1 of the Act). The Act also outlines the jurisdiction of constables of these forces.

Constable is the lowest rank in the police service, but all officers, whatever their rank are "constables" in terms of legal powers and jurisdiction. Police officers in Home Office police forces in England and Wales derive their jurisdiction from Section 30 of the Police Act 1996. This section outlines that such officers have jurisdiction throughout England and Wales and also the adjacent United Kingdom waters. Special Constables, who are part-time, volunteer officers of these forces, used to have a more limited jurisdiction - limited solely to their own force areas and adjacent forces. Since April 1st 2007, however Special Constables of England & Wales have full police powers throughout those two countries. This means that, in contrast to the majority of countries, all UK volunteer police officers now have exactly the same powers as their full time colleagues.

Generally, constables from English and Welsh Home Office forces do not have jurisdiction in Scotland or Northern Ireland and vice versa. However, limited powers exist to pursue and arrest where a person flees over the border into Scotland in certain situations. Legislation is also in place for "mutual aid" situations, which extends constables' jurisdiction into any part of the United Kingdom when they are on loan to the receiving force. An example of this was the G8 conference at Gleneagles, Scotland, where 14,000 officers from every force throughout the United Kingdom were involved and had full police powers under Scots law for the period of the operation consequent to being on loan to Tayside Police, the local police force for the area.

A minor oddity to jurisdiction is that police officers of the Metropolitan Police who are responsible for Royalty and VIP protection have jurisdiction in any part of the United Kingdom whilst performing those functions.

As of September 2006 police numbers in England and Wales were: [1]

Police Officer numbers in England and Wales are at their highest ever levels. [2]

England

see also List of police forces in England sorted by county
  1. Avon and Somerset Constabulary
  2. Bedfordshire Police
  3. Cambridgeshire Constabulary
  4. Cheshire Constabulary
  5. City of London Police (not shown)
  6. Cleveland Police
  7. Cumbria Constabulary
  8. Derbyshire Constabulary
  9. Devon and Cornwall Constabulary
  10. Dorset Police
  11. Durham Constabulary
  12. Essex Police
  13. Gloucestershire Constabulary
  14. Greater Manchester Police
  15. Hampshire Constabulary
  16. Hertfordshire Constabulary
  17. Humberside Police
  18. Kent Police
  19. Lancashire Constabulary
  20. Leicestershire Constabulary
  1. Lincolnshire Police
  2. Merseyside Police
  3. Metropolitan Police
  4. Norfolk Constabulary
  5. Northamptonshire Police
  6. Northumbria Police
  7. North Yorkshire Police
  8. Nottinghamshire Police
  9. South Yorkshire Police
  10. Staffordshire Police
  11. Suffolk Constabulary
  12. Surrey Police
  13. Sussex Police
  14. Thames Valley Police
  15. Warwickshire Police
  16. West Mercia Constabulary
  17. West Midlands Police
  18. West Yorkshire Police
  19. Wiltshire Constabulary

Image:EnglandPoliceNumbered.png
Note: Staffordshire, West Mercia and West Midlands participate in a partnership called the Central Motorway Police Group

As of September 2006 police numbers in England: [3]

Wales

  1. Dyfed-Powys Police (Heddlu Dyfed Powys)
  2. Gwent Police (Heddlu Gwent)
  3. North Wales Police (Heddlu Gogledd Cymru)
  4. South Wales Police (Heddlu De Cymru)

As of September 2006 police numbers in Wales were: [4]

  • Police officers: 7,579
  • Police Community Support Officers: 384
  • Other staff: 3,767

Scotland

Most police powers and functions have been inherited by the Scottish Government and Scottish Parliament from the Scottish Office. Areas for which legislative responsibility remains with the UK Government include national security, terrorism, firearms and drugs. The Police (Scotland) Act 1967, as amended, is the basis for the organisation and jurisdiction of the eight territorial forces in Scotland. Constables of these eight forces have jurisdiction throughout Scotland. (See above comments under English and Welsh forces for jurisdiction in other parts of the United Kingdom). The territorial forces use the boundaries of the local government regions established in the 1975 local government reorganisation, with minor adjustments to align with the current council area borders. These forces provide the majority of police services to the public of Scotland.

  1. Central Scotland Police
  2. Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary
  3. Fife Constabulary
  4. Grampian Police
  5. Lothian and Borders Police
  6. Northern Constabulary
  7. Strathclyde Police
  8. Tayside Police

As of March 2005, police numbers in Scotland were: [5]

Northern Ireland

County and borough based police forces were not formed in Ireland as they were in Great Britain, with instead a single Royal Irish Constabulary covering most of Ireland (the exceptions being the Dublin Metropolitan Police, which was responsible for policing in Dublin, and the Belfast Town Police force, which was replaced by the RIC in the 1880s). The Royal Ulster Constabulary was formed in 1922 after the establishment of the Irish Free State, and served until the reforms of the police under the terms established initially by the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 undertaken by the Patten Commission, which led to the renaming of the RUC in 2001. The Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2000 sets out the basis for the organisation and function of the police force in the province. Unlike Scotland, police powers have not been transferred to the devolved Northern Ireland Executive, instead remaining with the Northern Ireland Office.

  1. Police Service of Northern Ireland

As of April 2007 police numbers in Northern Ireland were: [6]

  • Police officers: 7,244
  • Part time police officers: 888
  • Other staff: 2,701

The PSNI does not employ PCSOs.

Special police forces

These forces (except the SCDEA) operate in more than one jurisdiction of the United Kingdom. Within the multiple jurisdictions, the remit of some of the forces is further limited to the areas that they police, such as railway infrastructure or military/defence property. The Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 gave the British Transport Police and Ministry of Defence Police a limited, conditional jurisdiction to act outside of their primary jurisdiction if the situation requires urgent police action and the local force are not readily available, or if they believe that there is risk to life or limb, or where they are assisting the local force. As these forces are responsible to specific areas of infrastructure, they do not answer to the Home Office, but instead to the government department responsible for the area they police. Both the MDP and BTP do voluntarily submit themselves to HMIC inspection:

  1. British Transport Police - Department for Transport and Scottish Government; the BTP operates only in Great Britain. As of September 2006, the BTP establishment was 2,492 police officers, 235 PCSOs and 997 other staff[7]
  2. Civil Nuclear Constabulary - Department of Trade and Industry; the CNC does not usually operate in Northern Ireland. As of April 2007, the CNC establishment was 758 police officers and 96 other staff [8]
  3. Ministry of Defence Police - Ministry of Defence; the MOD police operates on Ministry of Defence estate throughout the UK. As of March 2006, the MDP establishment was 3,489 police officers (plus 291 probationers) and 530 other staff.[9]
  4. Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency; the SCDEA operates in Scotland and although nominally an agency it is controlled by a police authority and Scottish police legislation[10]. As of March 2007, there were 197 police officers seconded to the SCDEA from the eight territoral police forces in Scotland, plus a further 77 police staff [11]

These forces are now defined in legislation as "special police forces".

Non-police law enforcement organisations

Bodies with limited executive powers

These organisations are not police forces and do not have police powers. They do have certain defined executive powers, however, in practice, these organisations will generally enlist the support of police officers from the territorial police forces should they need to execute arrest/search powers through a joint operation.

Bodies with investigatory powers

The following have quasi-police, investigative powers conferred by the The Regulation of Investigatory Powers (Communications Data) (Additional Functions and Amendment) Order 2006[12]

Bodies with limited police powers

Independent Police Complaints Commission

The Independent Police Complaints Commission investigates complaints against police officers and staff of the UK's police forces, and staff of HM Revenue and Customs, the Serious Organised Crime Agency in England and Wales and the UK Border Agency. Staff of the IPCC, for the purposes of the carrying out of an investigation and all purposes connected with it, have all the powers and privileges of constables throughout England and Wales and the territorial waters[13].

Serious Organised Crime Agency

The Serious Organised Crime Agency is responsible for tackling organised crime with jurisdiction throughout England and Wales and some jurisdiction in Scotland and Northern Ireland (usually requiring permission or co-operation of the relevant government or police force). SOCA is an Executive Non-Departmental Public Body sponsored by, but operationally independent from, the Home Office. SOCA Officers can either be designated with the powers of a constable, Customs Officer and/or Immigration Officer. These designations can be unconditional or conditional: time limited or limited to a specific operation. Whilst SOCA Officers do not hold the office of constable, those who have been designated with the powers of a constable would enjoy the same powers and privileges of a police officer (except powers only available to a constable in uniform). During armed operations SOCA refer to themselves as 'police' and have the word 'police' on their body armour to avoid confusion.

UK Border Agency

Designated Immigration Officers (DIOs) employed by the UK Border Agency at a port in England, Wales or Northern Ireland may detain an individual if the immigration officer thinks that the individual may be liable to arrest by a constable under section 24(1), (2) or (3) of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 or Article 26(1), (2) or (3) of the Police and Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 1989, or if there is a warrant for their arrest[14]. They can be detaind for up to three hours, and can be pursued if they leave the port. If a DIO detains a person, they must arrange for a constable to to attend as soon as is reasonably practicable. A DIO may arrest a person who has assaulted another DIO[15]. A DIO may search premises for nationality documents[16] and seize such documents if he finds them[17].

Miscellaneous constabularies

These constabularies generally come under the control of a local authority, public trusts or even private companies; examples include some ports police and the Mersey Tunnels Police. They could have been established by individual Acts of Parliament or under Common Law powers. Jurisdiction is generally limited to the relevant area of private property alone and in some cases (e.g. docks and harbours) the surrounding area. This, together with the small size of the constabularies, means they are often reliant on the territorial force for the area under whose jurisdiction they fall to assist with any serious matter. These constabularies do not have independent Police Authorities and their founding statutes (if any) do not generally prescribe their structure and formation.

Ports police

 It has been suggested that section, Belfast Harbour Police, Falmouth Docks Police, Port of Felixstowe Police, Port of Liverpool Police, Tees and Hartlepool Port Authority Harbour Police and Port of Tilbury Police be merged into this article or section. (Discuss)
This article needs additional citations for verification.
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2008)
Ports police operating under the Harbours, Docks, and Piers Clauses Act 1847

Officers of these forces are sworn in as special constables under section 79 of the Harbours, Docks, and Piers Clauses Act 1847. As a result, officers have the full powers of a constable on any land owned by the harbour, dock, or port and at any place within one mile of any owned land.

Serious or major incidents or crime generally become the responsibility of the local Home Office police force.

Other ports police

Parks, Gardens and Forests not controlled by local authorities

These small constabularies are responsible for policing specific land and parks. Officers of these forces have the powers of a constable within their limited jurisdiction. They are not constables as dealt with in the general Police Acts.

Current powers derive from regulations made under Epping Forest Act 1878
Kew Gardens has existed in some form for hundreds of years; the original powers might thus derive from Common Law but modified by more recent legislation.
On 1 April 2004, following a review of the Royal Parks Constabulary by Anthony Speed, the Metropolitan Police took on the responsibility of policing the Royal Parks in Greater London and the RPC was abolished in England.
In Holyrood Park, Edinburgh the powers of a Royal Parks constable are now reserved to some staff of Historic Scotland.

The Parks Regulation Act 1872 provides for the attestation of parks constables.

Local Authority Parks and Open Spaces in Greater London

These constabularies are responsible for enforcing bye-laws within the parks and open spaces of their respective local authorities in Greater London. Members of the constabularies are sworn as constables under section 18, Ministry of Housing and Local Government Provision Order Confirmation (Greater London Parks and Open Spaces) Act 1967. However, constables of these parks constabularies are not 'constables' as defined in the Police Acts applicable to England and Wales and any powers above that of a 'person other than a constable' depend on the relevant byelaws and any legislation applicable to their limited territories.

Some of these constables have (or have had) a shared role as security staff for their own local authority's buildings and housing estates with appropriate changes of badges and/or uniform being made when changing to/from park duties.

Other

Crown dependencies and Overseas Territories

Crown dependencies

Overseas Territories

Military police

In British Forces Germany, under the Status Of Forces Act, military police have jurisdiction and primacy over British Forces personnel, their families, MOD contractors, and NAAFI staff. In the UK, they also enjoy similar powers.

Overseas law enforcement agencies in the UK

Main article: Law enforcement in the United Kingdom#Overseas police forces in the UK

There are certain instances where police forces of other nations operate in a limited degree in the United Kingdom:

Fictional police forces

In the majority of crime fiction, in print or on screen, set in the UK, real police forces are often used as the basis of the drama (though often set in fictional locations). However, there have been some works of fiction that have created their own police forces:

  • Cardiff City Police - the local police force for the City of Cardiff, South Wales in the television series Torchwood. The real Cardiff City Police was merged with several others in the 1960s to form the South Wales Police.
  • County Police or County Constabulary - a non-specific identity occasionally used for police dramas and sketches set in fictional or unspecified places on television, sometimes with matching uniforms and badges.
  • East Tyne Police - the local force in Close & True a legal drama starring Robson Green.
  • Heddlu Valleys/Valleys Police - the local police force in the BBC Wales television series High Hopes
  • Midsomer Constabulary - the local police force for the fictional county of Midsomer in the Midsomer Murders book and television series.
  • Newtown and Seaport - the towns patrolled by the characters in Z Cars, a UK television series from the 1960s. Set somewhere in Northern England to the north of Liverpool but possibly with no police force name actually mentioned.
  • Sandford Police Service - the police force for the village of Sandford in the film Hot Fuzz. Interestingly Sandford is also the fictional town used for training scenarios by most police forces. Hence most UK police officers were already familiar with the name before the film was released.
  • Thamesford Constabulary - the local police force for the fictional county of Thamesford in the television series Softly, Softly: Taskforce.
  • Tyneside Police - the police force for Tyneside used in 55 Degrees North police drama. The badge and uniforms were identical to Northumbria Police, the actual police force for Tyneside.
  • Wyvern Constabulary - the local police force for the fictional county of Wyvern originally seen during 1967 in the television series Softly, Softly and now featuring in the series Casualty, Holby City and HolbyBlue.

See also

References

  1. ^ Police service strength in England and Wales at September 2006
  2. ^ Police numbers reach record high.
  3. ^ Police service strength in England and Wales at September 2006
  4. ^ Police service strength in England and Wales at September 2006
  5. ^ Police service strength in Scotland at March 2005
  6. ^ Police service strength
  7. ^ Police service strength in England and Wales at September 2006
  8. ^ CNPA/CNC Annual Review 2006-07
  9. ^ Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency Annual Report 2005-2006
  10. ^ Police, Public Order and Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2006
  11. ^ SCDEA Annual Report 2006-07
  12. ^ Statutes on Line. Retrieved 20 November 2007
  13. ^ http://www.opsi.gov.uk/Acts/acts2002/ukpga_20020030_en_19
  14. ^ http://www.opsi.gov.uk/Acts/acts2007/ukpga_20070030_en_1#pb1-l1g1
  15. ^ http://www.opsi.gov.uk/Acts/acts2007/ukpga_20070030_en_2#pb4-l1g23
  16. ^ http://www.opsi.gov.uk/Acts/acts2007/ukpga_20070030_en_3#pb6-l1g44
  17. ^ http://www.opsi.gov.uk/Acts/acts2007/ukpga_20070030_en_3#pb6-l1g46
  18. ^ Birmingham City Council Website. Retrieved 10 November 2007

Further reading

  • Helen Gough, Police and Constabulary Almanac (Police & Constabulary Almanac), Shaw & Sons (21 Feb 2007), 500 pages, ISBN-10 0721916627, ISBN-13 978-0721916620 [1]

External links


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Law enforcement agencies in the United Kingdom
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