Cumbria Constabulary
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| Cumbria Constabulary | |
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| Coverage | |
|---|---|
 Cumbria Constabulary area |
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| Area | Cumbria |
| Size | 2,268 |
| Population | 500,000 |
| Operations | |
| Formed | 1974 |
| HQ | Carleton Hall, Penrith |
| Budget | {{{budget}}} |
| Officers | 1,200 |
| Basic Command Units | 3 |
| Stations | 26 |
| Chief Constable | Craig Mackey |
| Website | http://www.cumbria.police.uk |
Cumbria Constabulary is the Home Office police force in England covering Cumbria. It is currently the fifth largest force in England and Wales terms of geographic area (2,268 sq miles) but one of the smallest in terms of officer numbers. Given the force area's size and population of just under 500,000, it is relatively sparsely populated. The only major urban areas are Carlisle and Barrow-in-Furness. These conditions set specific challenges for the force.
There are significant areas of isolated and rural community, and the county has one of the lowest visible minority ethnic populations in the country at under 1.0% (not including Barrow-in-Furness - 3.1% Non-White, and Carlisle 2.1% Non-White). Each year Cumbria, which incorporates the Lake District National Park, attracts over 23 million visitors from all over the world. The county has 67 miles of motorway and some 700 miles of trunk and primary roads.
The force has over 1,200 police officers, 120 special constables and 800 police staff. The Chief Constable is Craig Mackey. The headquarters of the force are at Carleton Hall, Penrith.
Under proposals made by the Home Secretary on February 6, 2006, it would have been merged with Lancashire Constabulary. These proposals were accepted by both forces on February 25, and the merger would have taken place on April 1, 2007.[1]. However, in July 2006, both Cumbria and Lancashire Constabularies decided not to proceed with the merger because the Government could not remedy issues with the differing council tax precepts that left both forces unable to proceed.
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[edit] Organisation
The force is divided into 3 areas called basic command units (BCUs) which provide the majority of policing services to the county. Each BCU is commanded by a Chief Superintendent and is further divided in into local policing teams (LPTs) each headed by an Inspector. There are 19 LPTs throughout the force and these units provide the 24 hour patrol officers, dedicated local community beat officers and other local policing services.
The force is presently divided as follows:
North Cumbria BCU containing the following LPTs:
- Carlisle City South
- Carlisle City North/East
- Carlisle City Centre
- Carlisle City West
- Brampton
- Penrith
- Appleby
South Cumbria BCU containing the following LPTs:
West Cumbria BCU containing the following LPTs:
There are 26 police stations located throughout the force.
[edit] Specialist Departments
There are 9 non-operational departments based at headquarters. These are:
- Operational Support
- Finance and Resources
- Personnel and Development
- Professional Standards
- Legal Services
- Information Technology and Management
- Strategic Development
- Partnerships
- Programme Management
There are also a number of forcewide operational specialist units within Cumbria Constabulary.
- Mobile Support Group
The main role of the Mobile Support Group is road policing on the motorway network and main roads. The group has 107 officers located at Carlisle, HQ, Workington, Kendal and Ulverston.
They are highly trained in a number of specialized areas including advanced driving techniques, pursuit management, accident investigation, armed response, speed enforcement technology and transport of hazardous goods legislation.
- Collision Investigation Unit
The Collision Investigation Unit was formed in 1998. It is responsible for dealing with all road deaths throughout the Constabulary area working in conjunction with officers from the Mobile Support Group.
- Dog Unit
The dog unit is made up of 18 constables who are handlers for 18 general purpose dogs. Six of these officers also have specialist dogs, such as firearms, drugs and explosive dogs.
[edit] History
Cumberland and Westmorland Constabulary can trace its history back to 1856. In 1947 this force merged with Kendal Borough Police. Less than 20 years later this amalgamated force merged with Carlisle City Police to form a force broadly the same as today's force. In 1967 the force name was changed to Cumbria Constabulary.
In 1974 the force's boundaries were expanded to include the entirety of the new non-metropolitan county of Cumbria, in particular Furness and Sedbergh Rural District.
