Thames Valley Police
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Thames Valley Police | |
 Thames Valley Police area |
|
| Coverage | |
|---|---|
| Area | Berkshire Buckinghamshire Oxfordshire |
| Size | 5,700 km² |
| Population | 2.1 million |
| Operations | |
| Formed | 1968 |
| HQ | Kidlington |
| Officers | 4,189 |
| BCUs | 5 |
| Stations | 48 |
| Chief Constable | Sara Thornton (Acting) |
 |
|
| Website | http://www.thamesvalley.police.uk |
Thames Valley Police is one of the largest Home Office police services in England and the largest non-metropolitan one, covering 2200 sq mi (5,700 km²) and a population of 2.1 million. The force is responsible for the Thames Valley area covered by the ceremonial counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire.[1]
In December 2003, Thames Valley Police employed over 6,000 staff, including 4,189 police officers. Its motto is Sit pax in valle tamesis (Latin: 'Let there be Peace in the Thames Valley');[2] its slogan is reducing crime, disorder and fear.
In January 2006, Sara Thornton became the Acting Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police, replacing Chief Constable Peter Neyroud who moved to become the Chief Executive of the National Policing Improvement Agency. It was announced on 27th February 2007 that Sara Thornton was to be appointed the permanent Chief Constable of the force with effect from April 2007.
Contents |
[edit] Police authority
Thames Valley Police Authority has 10 elected members, with two from Oxfordshire County Council, one from Buckinghamshire County Council, and one each from the unitary authorities of Bracknell Forest, Milton Keynes, Reading, Slough, Wokingham, West Berkshire, and Windsor and Maidenhead. There are three justices of the peace, one each from Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire.[3]
[edit] History
The Thames Valley Police force was formed in 1968 through the amalgamation of the Buckinghamshire Constabulary, the Berkshire Constabulary, Oxford City Police, the Oxfordshire Constabulary and the Reading Borough Police.
Proposals made by the Home Secretary on March 20, 2006 would see the force stay as a single strategic police force for the area, a merger with Hampshire Constabulary having been rejected.[4]
[edit] Locations
The headquarters of Thames Valley Police is at Oxford Road, Kidlington, Oxfordshire. The force is covered by three control rooms, with the one in Abingdon covering Oxfordshire, Berkshire West, one in Milton Keynes covering Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire East, and one within the headquarters building covering motorway policing.
The two "PEC"s (Police Enquiry Centres) were formed in 2003, in addition to the closure of local control rooms to support the newly formed control rooms in Abingdon and Milton Keynes. They are located in [Windsor] police station and in a business park nearby to the Force Headquarters in Kidlington. The PEC handle non-emergency calls from the public.
Sulhamstead House in Sulhamstead is the Thames Valley Police training college, which also houses the Thames Valley Police Museum.
There are also several Traffic Departments (Roads Policing) bases at strategic locations around the force at Abingdon, Bicester, Taplow, Amersham, Aylesbury, Milton Keynes, Three Mile Cross and Chieveley.
[edit] In the media
The most famous Thames Valley Police officer may be the fictional Inspector Morse (along with his aide, Sergeant Lewis), the main character in 13 novels by Colin Dexter and 33 television episodes by ITV.
In 1982 the BBC broadcast a nine part series by Roger Graef and Charles Blewitt entitled "Police", which showed a fly-on-the-wall account of Thames Valley's E Division based in Reading. This featured the rather demeaning treatment of a female victim of rape which was much discussed in the media at the time.
Beginning in 2003 a Sky One programme, Road Wars, followed the Roads Policing Proactive Team while they carried out their duties. This programme continues to film such duties and now includes members of the dog section.
[edit] See also
- Policing in the United Kingdom
- List of police forces in the United Kingdom
- Thames Valley
- Thames Valley Police Museum
[edit] References
- ^ About Thames Valley Police. Thames Valley Police. Retrieved on March 22, 2007.
- ^ Thames Valley Police Authority — Coat of Arms. Thames Valley Police. Retrieved on October 25, 2005.
- ^ Who we are — Members. Thames Valley Police Authority. Retrieved on January 24, 2006.
- ^ Police forces 'to be cut to 24'. BBC News (2006). Retrieved on April 5, 2007.
[edit] External links
- Thames Valley Police official website
- Thames Valley Police Authority
- Sulhamstead House
- Home Office circular 68-1968 announcing the force's creation
England: Avon and Somerset · Bedfordshire · Cambridgeshire · Cheshire · City of London · Cleveland · Cumbria · Derbyshire · Devon and Cornwall · Dorset · Durham · Essex · Gloucestershire · Greater Manchester · Hampshire · Hertfordshire · Humberside · Kent · Lancashire · Leicestershire · Lincolnshire · Merseyside · Metropolitan · Norfolk · North Yorkshire · Northamptonshire · Northumbria · Nottinghamshire · South Yorkshire · Staffordshire · Suffolk · Surrey · Sussex · Thames Valley · Warwickshire · West Mercia · West Midlands · West Yorkshire · Wiltshire · Wales: Dyfed-Powys · Gwent · North Wales · South Wales · Scotland: Central · Dumfries and Galloway · Fife · Grampian · Lothian and Borders · Northern · SCDEA · Strathclyde · Tayside · Northern Ireland: Police Service of Northern Ireland · Non-Territorial: British Transport · Civil Nuclear · Ministry of Defence · SOCA
