Hampshire Constabulary
Hampshire Constabulary is the
Home Office police force responsible for policing
Hampshire and the
Isle of Wight in southern
England.
The force area includes the cities of
Winchester,
Southampton and
Portsmouth. The current Hampshire Constabulary dates from 1967 but modern policing in Hampshire can be traced back to 1832.
Geographic history
The first police force formed in Hampshire was Winchester City Police in 1832. Hampshire County Constabulary was formed seven years later in 1839 as a result of the
County Police Act of that year. An
Isle of Wight County Constabulary was formed in 1890 from the Isle of Wight part of the Hampshire force, with the granting of
administrative county status to the Island.
Hampshire Constabulary absorbed various minor borough forces in the
19th century:
*
Basingstoke Borough Police (1836 â€" 1889)
*
Romsey Borough Police (1836 â€" 1865)
*
Lymington Borough Police (1836 â€" 1852)
*
Andover Borough Police (1836 â€" 1846)
In 1943, during the
Second World War, police forces on the south-eastern coast of England were amalgamated - with a single
Sussex Constabulary being formed and various borough forces becoming part of
Kent Constabulary being formed. In Hampshire, the Isle of Wight and Winchester forces were merged into the
Hampshire Joint Police Force, with the
county borough forces of
Southampton City Police and
Portsmouth City Police remaining independent.
In 1948, the merger was made permanent and regularised, with Hampshire Joint Police Force being renamed Hampshire Constabulary (elsewhere, Kent retained a single police force, but five forces re-established in Sussex). A separate force for the
county borough of
Bournemouth was created on
April 1,
1948 (this later merged with
Dorset Constabulary to form the
Dorset and Bournemouth Constabulary).
The name was changed once again in 1952, to
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary in 1952. In 1967 the Hampshire, Southampton and Portsmouth forces were amalgamated under the
Police Act 1964 becoming the current Hampshire Constabulary. In 1974, the
Local Government Act meant that responsibility for policing
Christchurch moved to the control of Dorset. Since then, apart from minor border changes, the force area has remained the same.
Proposals made by the
Home Secretary on
March 20,
2006 would see the force stay as a standalone strategic force for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.
Timeline of policing in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight
The different police forces and names of forces that have policed the modern counties of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight are graphically illustrated in the following timeline:
ImageSize = width:800 height:400PlotArea = left:200 right:20 bottom:45 top:10#Legend = columns:3 left:10 top:20 columnwidth:200AlignBars = lateTimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyyDateFormat = yyyyPeriod = from:1830 till:2010ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:10 start:1830
Colors = id:main value:blue legend:Hampshire
id:portsmouth value:powderblue legend:Portsmouth
id:southampton value:red legend:Southampton
id:winchester value:coral legend:Winchester
id:borough value:lightorange legend:Boroughs
id:wight value:green legend:IsleOfWight
BarData = bar: PBP text: "Portsmouth Borough Police"
bar: PCBP text: "Portsmouth County Borough Police"
bar: PCP text: "Portsmouth City Police"
bar: SBP text: "Southampton Borough Police"
bar: SCBP text: "Southampton County Borough Police"
bar: SCP text: "Southampton City Police"
bar: WCP text: "Winchester City Police"
bar: HCC text: "Hampshire County Constabulary"
bar: HJPF text: "Hampshire Joint Police Force"
bar: HIWC text: "Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary"
bar: HC text: "Hampshire Constabulary"
bar: BBP text: "Basingstoke Borough Police"
bar: RBP text: "Romsey Borough Police"
bar: LBP text: "Lymington Borough Police"
bar: ABP text: "Andover Borough Police"
bar: IWCC text: "Isle of Wight County Constabulary"
bar: NBP text: "Newport Borough Police"
bar: RYBP text: "Ryde Borough Police"
PlotData = align:center textcolor:black fontsize:S width:10
bar: PBP from:1836 till:1892 color:portsmouth
bar: PCBP from:1892 till:1926 color:portsmouth
bar: PCP from:1926 till:1967 color:portsmouth
bar: SBP from:1836 till:1892 color:southampton
bar: SCBP from:1892 till:1966 color:southampton
bar: SCP from:1966 till:1967 color:southampton
bar: WCP from:1832 till:1943 color:winchester
bar: HCC from: 1839 till:1943 color:main
bar: HJPF from:1943 till:1948 color:main
bar: HIWC from:1952 till:1967 color:main
bar: HC from:1948 till:1952 color:main
bar: HC from:1967 till:2006 color:main
bar: BBP from:1836 till:1889 color:borough
bar: RBP from:1836 till:1865 color:borough
bar: LBP from:1836 till:1852 color:borough
bar: ABP from:1836 till:1846 color:borough
bar: IWCC from:1889 till:1943 color:wight
bar: NBP from:1837 till:1889 color:wight
bar: RYBP from:1869 till:1922 color:wight
Chief Constables
There have been eleven Chief Constables of Hampshire.
*
1839 â€"
1842 - Captain George Robbins
*
1842 â€"
1856 - Captain William Charles Harris
*
1856 â€"
1891 - Captain John Henry Forrest
*
1891 â€"
1893 - Captain Peregrine Henry Thomas Fellows (d
1893)
*
1894 â€"
1928 - Major St Andrew Bruce Warde
*
1928 â€"
1942 - Major Ernest Radcliffe Cockburn
*
1942 â€"
1962 - Richard Dawney Lemon (b
29th May 1912. d
5th August 2004)
*
1962 â€"
1977 -
Douglas Osmond (b.
27th June 1914. d
20th April 2006)
*
1977 â€"
1988 - John Duke (d
26th February 1989)
*
1988 â€"
1999 - John Hoddinott (b
1944. d
13th August 2001)
*
1999 --
date - Paul Kernaghan
Significant events
*
1893 The Chief Constable, Peregrine Fellows, is injured outside Police Headquarters in Winchester whilst trying to stop a runaway horse. He dies a few days later from his wounds.
*
1970 Isle of Wight Festival.
*
1972 An IRA car bomb exploded at 16th Parachute Brigade Headquarters in Aldershot killing seven people.
*
1984 -
1985 The Miners' Strike. Along with other police forces Hampshire contributed officers to police the miners' strike under the umbrella of 'Mutual Aid'. Hampshire was the first to fly their officers to the strike areas.
*
1985 The force aircraft, an Optica, crashed with loss of both crew.
*
1987 The Great Storm. The storm caused considerable damage across the force area including the destruction of Shanklin Pier. A Hampshire police officer, Chief Inspector John Smith, was one of the 19 casualties of the storm when a tree fell onto his car.
*
2006 On
15th May Hampshire Constabulary became the first to launch the new single non-emergency telephone number (SNEN), 101, as an alternative for the 999 number for reporting less serious or anti-social offences .
Headquarters
The headquarters of Hampshire Constabulary is located in a tall post-war office building in West Hill, Winchester on the site of the first headquarters which were build in 1847. In its towering position the building can be seen on the skyline from most approaches to the city. The force's central administration departments are based here together with the Chief Constable and staff officers.
However the majority of the operational headquarters' departments including the force control room are located at the Support Headquarters near Hamble which is just outside Southampton.
Territorial organisation
|
Force structure to April 2006 |
Until April 2006 Hampshire Constabulary was divided into 10 Basic Command Units (BCUs) with 46 associated police stations as follows:
*
Isle of Wight (Z) - Newport (HQ), Ryde, Shanklin, Ventnor, Yarmouth.
*
New Forest (D) - Lyndhurst (HQ), Lymington, New Milton, Ringwood, Totton, Hythe, Fordingbridge.
*
West Hampshire (W) - Eastleigh (HQ) , Hedge End, Romsey, Andover, Stockbridge, Weyhill.
*
Southampton (S) - Southampton Central (HQ), Bitterne, Shirley, Portswood.
*
Central Hampshire (O) - Winchester â€" North Walls (HQ), Arlesford, Alton, Petersfield, Twyford, Whitehill.
*
Solent East (H) - Fareham (HQ), Gosport, Meon Valley (Bishop's Waltham), Park Gate.
*
Portsmouth (K) - Fratton (HQ), Portsmouth Central, Southsea, Cosham.
*
Havant (J) - Havant (HQ), Hayling Island.
*
Basingstoke (B) - Basingstoke (HQ), Whitchurch, Tadley.
*
North-East Hampshire (A) - Aldershot (HQ), Farnborough, Fleet, Hartley Wintney, Yateley.
Headgear
Whilst on foot Hampshire Constabulary male police officers wear a version of the
Custodian helmet. There are two different types of helmet plates according to rank. Constable's plates are larger and of uncoloured white metal. These are the largest helmet plates in England and make Hampshire officers stand out when in company of officers from other forces.
Helmets belonging to ranks of Sergeant and above have plates which are smaller containing enamelled blue and red colouring. The colours are present in the name ‘Hampshire', the centre of the Hampshire rose and the centre of the crown.
Graham Hurley's ‘Joe Faraday' series.
Graham Hurley draws on his knowledge of the Hampshire Constabulary, in particular Portsmouth CID for his series of police procedural novels. Set in Portsmouth and revolving around the fictional Detective Inspector Joe Faraday they portray a gritty picture of the city and its crime.
Inspector Wexford - The Ruth Rendell Mysteries
Ruth Rendell's series of crime novels are set in the fictional town of Kingsmarkham. In the books this is described as being in
Sussex. When the books were televised, starring
George Baker as Detective Chief Inspector Reg Wexford,
Romsey in Hampshire was chosen as the setting for the location filming. Baker's character is often seen wearing a Hampshire Constabulary tie and warrant card badge. Hampshire Constabulary authorised the use of the force logo and have provided props and material for the series.
*
List of police forces in the United Kingdom*
Policing in the United Kingdom*Hampshire Constabulary official web site: http://www.hampshire.police.uk/
*Hampshire Constabulary History Society: http://www.hants.gov.uk/hchs/
# # Frontline (Force newspaper), June 2006.# #
*Watt, I. A. (1967). A history of the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary 1839-1966. Winchester, Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary.
*Lee, J., Peake, C., et al. (2001). Policing Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Chichester, Phillimore. ISBN 1860771963
