Warwickshire Police

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Warwickshire Police
Logo of the Warwickshire Police.
Agency overview
Formed 1840
Employees 1,799[1]
Volunteers 208[1]
Annual budget £80.1 million[1]
Legal personality Governmental: Government agency
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdiction* Police area of Warwickshire in the country of England, UK
Map of Warwickshire Police's jurisdiction.
Size 762 square miles (1,970 km2)
Population 525,500
Legal jurisdiction England & Wales
Constituting instrument Police Act 1996
General nature
Operational structure
Headquarters Leek Wootton
Constables 1,244 (of which 208 are special constables)[1]
Police Community Support Officers 133[1]
Police and Crime Commissioner responsible Ron Ball
Agency executive Andy Parker, Chief Constable[1]
Districts/Boroughs 2 districts and 3 boroughs
Facilities
Stations 15
Website
www.warwickshire.police.uk
Footnotes
* Police area agency: Prescribed geographic area in the country, over which the agency has usual operational jurisdiction.

Warwickshire Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing Warwickshire in England. It was known as Warwickshire Constabulary until 2001. It is the second smallest territorial police force in England and Wales after the City of London Police, with only 998.6 (full-time equivalents) regular officers as of December 2006.[2] The resident population of the force area is 519,000.

History

The force was established in 1840 as Warwickshire Constabulary. It did not, however, even cover all the rural areas of the county until 1857. Birmingham, Coventry, Leamington Spa, Stratford-upon-Avon and Warwick originally had their own police forces. The Warwickshire force absorbed Warwick Borough Police in 1875 and Stratford-upon-Avon Borough Police in 1889 with Leamington Borough Police lasting until 1946. In 1969, Coventry City Police amalgamated with Warwickshire Constabulary and the force became Warwickshire and Coventry Constabulary. However, with the inclusion of Coventry in the new county of the West Midlands in 1974, Coventry passed to the new West Midlands Police, which also took over the areas of the Birmingham City Police and part of the northwestern area of Warwickshire (around Solihull and Sutton Coldfield). Warwickshire Constabulary reverted to its old name.

Under proposals announced by the then Home Secretary, Charles Clarke, on 6 February 2006, Warwickshire Police would have merged with Staffordshire Police, West Mercia Constabulary and West Midlands Police to form a single strategic force for the West Midlands region.[3] These proposals were subsequently abandoned.

Warwickshire Police was until April 2007 a partner alongside three other forces in the Central Motorway Police Group.

In August 2010, the second Warwickshire Justice Centre was opened in Newbold Terrace, Leamington Spa. As well as a police station, the complex houses the Magistrates' Court, Crown Court, County Court, and other agencies such as the Probation Service and Victim Support.[4] It was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 4 March 2011.[5] A similar complex was already in operation in Nuneaton.[6]

Organisation

The force is run by a Chief Constable, a Deputy Chief Constable, two Assistant Chief Constables, and a civilian Director of Finance. Its headquarters are at Woodcote, a 19th-century manor house and estate in the village of Leek Wootton, which has been the force headquarters since 1949. However, in January 2011 it was announced that Warwickshire Police would be selling the police headquarters in Leek Wootton and seven other stations as part of plans to cover funding cuts. The Warwickshire Justice Centre in Leamington Spa will likely be the new headquarters for the force.[7]

The county is divided into Districts/Boroughs (based on local government districts/boroughs), each commanded by a Chief Inspector. There are 33 local policing teams within Warwickshire Police - called Safer Neighbourhood Teams[8] - which are broken down within each District/Borough as follows:

  • North Warwickshire Borough
    • North Warwickshire North
    • North Warwickshire East
    • North Warwickshire South
    • North Warwickshire West
  • Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough
    • Nuneaton North
    • Nuneaton West
    • Nuneaton South
    • Nuneaton East
    • Nuneaton Central
    • Nuneaton Town Centre
    • Bedworth West
    • Bedworth East
    • Bedworth Town Centre
  • Rugby Borough
    • Rugby Town East
    • Rugby Town West
    • Rugby Town Centre
    • Rugby Town North
    • Rugby Rural Central
    • Rugby Rural North
    • Rugby Rural South
  • Stratford-on-Avon District
    • Alcester North
    • Alcester South
    • Shipston
    • Southam
    • Stratford Town
    • Wellesbourne
  • Warwick District
    • Kenilworth
    • Warwick Central
    • Leamington North
    • Leamington South
    • Leamington Town Centre
    • Warwick Rural East
    • Warwick Rural West
    • Whitnash
  • Police Stations and Police posts
    • Alcester Police SNT post
    • Atherstone Police SNT post
    • Bedworth Open Monday - Friday, 8am - 6pm plus Police SNT post
    • Coleshill Open Monday - Friday, 8am - 4pm plus Police SNT post
    • Greys Mallory Traffic Base
    • Kenilworth Now owned by Town Council and will become a Police SNT post
    • Keresley Police SNT post
    • Lapworth Police SNT post
    • Lillington Police SNT post.
    • Nuneaton
    • Royal Leamington Spa
    • Rugby Open seven days a week, 8am - 8pm plus Police SNT post.
    • Shipston on Stour Open Tuesday and Wednesday, 8am - 3.30pm plus Police SNT post.
    • Southam Open Monday - Friday, 8.45am - 4.45pm plus Police SNT post.
    • Stratford upon Avon Open seven days a week, 8am - 8pm plus Police SNT post.
    • Warwick Police SNT post.
    • Wolston Police SNT post.
  • Other facilities
    • Coventry Airport Police Port Unit.
    • Leek Wootton Current Police HQ and Force Communications Centre
    • Warwick Learning and Development Centre.
    • Warwickshire Direct Multiple police posts

Until recently, the Districts were grouped into two Areas, each commanded by a Chief Superintendent. North Warwickshire, Nuneaton and Bedworth and Rugby were under Northern Area and Stratford-on-Avon and Warwick were under Southern Area.

The current Chief Constable is Andy Parker, who took over from Keith Bristow in 1 December 2011. Bristow succeeded John Burbeck, who in turn succeeded Andrew Timpson, who in turn succeeded Peter Joslin.

On 30 September 2013, Warwickshire Police embarked on an alliance with West Mercia Police which saw one of the biggest reorganisations the force ever had. The force is now committed to the alliance which sees the sharing of back office facilities, force systems and support teams whilst retaining its own identity. It is hoped that the alliance will save £20million

Police vehicles

In accordance with the national framework for vehicle procurement Warwickshire Police use Ford Focus Estates and Vauxhall Astra 17 CDTI

Among other vehicles Ford Focus STs and Volvos are used for traffic patrol cars.[13]

A Fiat Panda is being used as a safety camera van.[14]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 http://police.homeoffice.gov.uk/performance-and-measurement/performance-assessment/assessments-2007-2008/
  2. ↑
  3. ↑ "Police mergers outlined by Clarke". BBC News. 6 February 2006. Retrieved 19 August 2010. 
  4. ↑ "Warwickshire Justice Centre, Leamington Spa". Criminal Justice Board. Retrieved 4 April 2011. 
  5. ↑ "Queen officially opens RSC theatre and justice centre". BBC News. 4 March 2011. Retrieved 4 April 2011. 
  6. ↑ "Warwickshire Justice Centre, Nuneaton". Criminal Justice Board. Retrieved 4 April 2011. 
  7. ↑ "Warwickshire Police to sell Leek Wootton headquarters". BBC News. 20 January 2011. Retrieved 4 April 2011. 
  8. ↑ "Safer Neighbourhoods involves police, partners and local people". Warwickshire Police. Retrieved 4 April 2011. 
  9. ↑ "Henley in Arden Police station to close". Warwickshire Police. Retrieved 26 September 2011. 
  10. ↑ "Wellesbourne police station to be sold". BBC News. 26 August 2011. Retrieved 26 August 2011. 
  11. ↑ "Wellesbourne poliice station closure date". Warwickshire Police. 30 September 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2011. 
  12. ↑ "Whitnash police post closed". Warwickshire Police. Retrieved 26 August 2011. 
  13. ↑ "Warwickshire Police Volvo". Flickr. Retrieved 12 August 2011. 
  14. ↑ "Safety Camera Vans". Ukemergency.co.uk. Retrieved 12 August 2011. 

External links

England
Wales
Scotland
Northern Ireland
Special police forces
Regional units
National units
Home Office
Metropolitan Police
  • National Domestic Extremism Unit
ACPO
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.