Area covered |
|
| Area | Suffolk |
|---|---|
| Size | 3,801 km² |
| Population | 678,000 |
| Operations | |
| Formed | 1967 |
| HQ | Martlesham |
| Officers | 1,323 |
| Areas | 2 (Eastern, Western) |
| Stations | 0 |
| Chief Constable | Simon Ash |
| Website | www.suffolk.police.uk |
Suffolk Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing Suffolk in East Anglia, England.
Suffolk Constabulary is responsible for policing an area of 939,510 acres (3,802 km2), with a population of 678,074 and 288,473 households. The area covered is principally rural and coastal and the force has two territorial areas: Eastern and Western. The Eastern Area HQ is at Halesworth, the Western Area HQ at Bury St Edmunds. Each area is divided into sectors, with boundaries matching those of local district or borough councils. There are a total of 14 sectors across the county, each commanded by an inspector or chief inspector. As of 2 July 2005, Suffolk Constabulary had 1,305 police officers and 841 police staff, supplemented by 264 special constables, 15 traffic wardens and 34 Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs).
Suffolk Police Authority has 9 councillors, 3 justices of the peace, and 5 independent members. The Chief Constable is Simon Ash, formerly Deputy Chief Constable of Hertfordshire Police.[1]
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The force formed by the merger of West Suffolk Constabulary and East Suffolk Constabulary. Those forces had previously been merged in 1869 and the split again in 1899. The most recent merger took place in 1967, which also saw the Ipswich borough police merged.
In 2006 Suffolk Constabulary merged the role of traffic warden with that of PCSO. Those traffic wardens that did not wish to pursue this role either retired or took employment elsewhere, or within the police service.
Proposals announced by the then Home Secretary Charles Clarke on 20 March 2006 would have seen the force merge with neighbouring forces Norfolk Constabulary and Cambridgeshire Constabulary to form a strategic police force for East Anglia.[2] However, the proposals were later abandoned.
Suffolk Constabulary gained widespread attention in December 2006, when they began to investigate the murder of five women working as prostitutes in the Ipswich area.[3] The murders generated media interest both nationally and internationally.[4][5][6]
The inquiry was the largest mounted by Suffolk Police in their history.[7]