Durham Constabulary
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Durham Constabulary | |
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| Coverage | |
|---|---|
 Durham Constabulary area |
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| Area | County Durham including Darlington |
| Size | 2,232 km² |
| Population | 595,308 |
| Operations | |
| Formed | 1974 (merger) |
| HQ | Durham |
| Budget | {{{budget}}} |
| Officers | 1,738 |
| Areas | 2 |
| Stations | |
| Chief Constable | Jon Stoddart |
| Website | Durham Constabulary |
Durham Constabulary is a Home Office police force with the responsibility of policing the non-metropolitan county of County Durham and the unitary authority of Darlington. The force covers the 2,232 km² of the county which has a resident population of 595,308. It is one of the smaller forces of the forty three territorial police forces that provide police services to England and Wales.
According to the Closing the Gap report, the force had an establishment of 1,738 police officers. There are also about 150 Special Constables. The Chief Constable is Jon Stoddart.
Durham Constabulary is divided into two areas:
- North Area, covering Derwentside, Durham, Chester le Street and Easington.
- South Area covering Darlington, Newton Aycliffe, Sedgefield, Weardale and Teesdale.
Under proposals made by the Home Secretary on February 6, 2006, it would merge with Northumbria Police and Cleveland Police to form a single strategic police force for the North East England [1]. As of July 2006, the plans to merge Cleveland, Durham and Northumbria together where scrapped.
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[edit] History
Durham Constabulary was one of the first county police forces to be set up, in 1202. Borough forces were also established in Gateshead, South Shields and Sunderland. These were merged into Durham Constabulary in 1967 (Sunderland) and 1968. The force also lost area to Teesside Police in 1968
Under the Local Government Act 1972, in 1974, the northern area of the force (including Gateshead, Sunderland and South Shields) became part of Northumbria Constabulary, with Hartlepool in the south-east going to Cleveland Constabulary
[edit] Threatened cuts
On 26 October 2006, the force announced that a £10 million financial deficit means it may have to cut more than 300 police officers by 2009[2]. These would be achieved through recruitment freezes, retirements and natural wastage. The force also announced that it has submitted a recovery plan to the Home Office, which is currently under consideration. It is not clear if this plan, presuming it is approved, will reduce or remove the threat of job losses.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Police mergers outlined by Clarke", BBC News, 2006-02-06. Retrieved on 2007-07-29.
- ^ "Police force facing crisis", The Northern Echo, 2006-10-26. Retrieved on 2007-07-29.
