From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hampshire Constabulary
Hampshire Constabulary area
Coverage
Area	Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Southampton, Portsmouth
Size	4,149
Population	1.8 million
Operations
Formed	1967 (merger)
HQ	Winchester
Officers	3,804
OCUs	6
Stations	47
Chief Constable	Paul Kernaghan
Website	http://www.hampshire.police.uk/

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.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Geographic history 1.2 Timeline of policing in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight 1.3 Chief Constables 1.4 Significant events 2 Structure and organisation 2.1 Headquarters 2.2 Territorial Organisation 2.3 Current Organisation 3 Uniform and Equipment 3.1 Headgear 3.2 Vehicles and Livery 4 Hampshire Constabulary in the Media 4.1 Graham Hurley’s ‘Joe Faraday’ series. 4.2 Inspector Wexford - The Ruth Rendell Mysteries 4.3 Traffic Cops 5 See also 6 External links 7 Notes 8 References

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 – 1889)
• Romsey Borough Police (1836 – 1865)
• Lymington Borough Police (1836 – 1852)
• Andover Borough Police (1836 – 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. ^[1]

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:

There have been eleven Chief Constables of Hampshire. There are currently no surviving former or retired chief constables.

• 1839 – 1842 - Captain George Robbins
• 1842 – 1856 - Captain William Charles Harris
• 1856 – 1891 - Captain John Henry Forrest
• 1891 – 1893 - Captain Peregrine Henry Thomas Fellows (d 1893)
• 1894 – 1928 - Major St Andrew Bruce Warde
• 1928 – 1942 - Major Ernest Radcliffe Cockburn
• 1942 – 1962 - Richard Dawney Lemon (b 29th May 1912. d 5th August 2004)
• 1962 – 1977 - Douglas Osmond (b. 27th June 1914. d 20th April 2006)
• 1977 – 1988 - John Duke (d 26th February 1989)
• 1988 – 1999 - John Hoddinott (b 1944. d 13th August 2001)
• 1999 -- date - Paul Kernaghan

• 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 ^[2].

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 built in 1847. 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 in Netley, just outside Southampton.

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 – 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.

The force is currently divided into 6 local policng areas known as Operational Command Units (OCUs). The accompanying map shows the divisions, along with major cities in the county. There are also forcewide OCUs for Specialist Operations, They include:

Operations OCU
Which itself encompasses:

• Critical Incident Cadre
• Roads Policing Unit
• Air Support Unit
• Dog Support Unit
• Force Support Unit
• Marine Support Unit
• Tactical Firearms Support Unit
• Operational Planning & Policy Unit

Crime OCU
Criminal Jusctice Department

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.

Officers on duty in area-cars, or specialised traffic officers do not wear the Custodian helmet, instead the distinctive cap with sun shield; as the foot patrol helmet is both impractical and unnecessary while in-vehicle. Hampshire Constabulary enforce a strict policy that all officers who exit their vehicles must then wear their caps.

Hampshire Constabulary has had a distinctive traditional vehicle paint scheme of red and white diagonal stripes above a chequered blue and white band for many years. This is now less commonly used than the more generic and nationally recongnised blue and yellow 'battenburg square' markings.
The force uses many different vehicles. Some of them are listed below with principal uses.

• Ford Fiesta - General Patrol
• Ford Galaxy - Collision Investigation Unit
• Volvo V70 T5 - Road Policing Unit
• Skoda Octavia RS - Road Policing Unit
• BMW 330TDI - Road Policing Unit
• BMW X5 - Road Policing Unit
• Honda Pan-European Motorcycle - Road Policing and Escort Duties
• Smith and Wesson Pedal Cycle - General Patrol
• Britten Norman 4000 Islander Aeroplane - Air Support Unit

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. ^[3]

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. ^[4]

Hampshire Constabulary has featured in various series of 'Traffic Cops', an occasional BBC1 documentary. The programme focuses on the work of Hampshire's Roads Policing officers and highlights issues relating to road safety and reducing the number of road deaths and serious injuries. In previous series, Traffic Cops has attracted over 7 million viewers.

• 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/

1. ↑  BBC News. Retrieved on March 28, 2006.
2. ↑  Frontline (Force newspaper), June 2006.
3. ↑  Graham Hurley. Retrieved on February 22, 2006.
4. ↑  Inspector Wexford: The Ruth Rendell Mysteries starring George Baker and Christopher Ravenscroft:. Retrieved on February 22, 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 1-86077-196-3