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Hertfordshire Constabulary
Hertfordshire Constabulary area
Coverage
Area	Hertfordshire
Size	1,643
Population	1.2 million
Operations
Formed	1947 (merger)
HQ	Welwyn Garden City
Officers	2,145
Divisions	3 (Called Areas)
Stations	26
Chief Constable	Frank Whiteley
Website	http://www.herts.police.uk/

Hertfordshire Constabulary is the Home Office police force responsible for policing the county of Hertfordshire in England. Its headquarters is situated in Welwyn Garden City. The force is headed by Chief Constable Frank Whiteley. According to the Closing the Gap report, it had 2145 officers.

Contents 1 History 2 Organisation 3 Merger proposal 4 References 5 See also 6 External links

The Constabulary was founded in 1841, under the County Police Act, 5 years after the Hertford Borough Police and St Albans Borough Police had been formed. In 1889, the Hertford Borough Police force was merged into Hertfordshire. St Albans remained independent until 1947.

Until 2000, parts of Hertfordshire (Hertsmere and part of Broxbourne council areas) were in the Metropolitan Police District and covered by the Metropolitan Police Service. [2]

Since 2001 the Constabulary has been divided into 3 Areas (having formerly been divided into 9 Divisions A – K) each headed by a Chief Superintendent. (Stations in italics)

Eastern Area (Area Headquarters in Stevenage)

• (A) East Herts, - Hertford and Ware, Bishop's Stortford , Buntingford and Sawbridgeworth
• (E) Stevenage– (single station)
• (G) North Hertfordshire. - Hitchin, Letchworth Garden City, Baldock and Royston
• (K) Broxbourne, - Cheshunt and Hoddesdon

Central Area (Area Headquarters in Borehamwood)

• (B) Welwyn Hatfield - Hatfield and Welwyn Garden City
• (F) City and District of St Albans - St Albans, Harpenden and London Colney
• (J) Hertsmere - Borehamwood, Bushey and Potters Bar

Western Area (Area Headquarters in Watford)

• (C) Watford Three Rivers - Watford, Rickmansworth, Oxhey and North Watford
• (D) Dacorum - Hemel Hempstead, Berkhamsted and Tring

Each Area is comprised of various units including:

• Intervention & Response (responding to 999 calls and on general patrol),
• Community (covering local & quality of life issues),
• Plain clothes and Detective Units (Priority Crime, Area Crime, Case Investigation, Beat Crimes, Tactical Team),
• Intelligence and Tasking Units,
• Roads Policing Unit (Traffic)

The Areas are supported by numerous centrally based units (H) operating from the Force Headquarters in Welwyn Garden City, such as Firearms, Dog Section, Air Support, Control Rooms, Forensic Services and Major Crime.

Proposals made by the Home Secretary on March 20, 2006 would see the force merge with neighbouring forces Bedfordshire Police and Essex Police to form a strategic police force. ^[1] However in July 2006 Prime Minister Tony Blair signalled that police force mergers will not be forced through by the central government, and given the amount of local opposition to such mergers it is not expected that any voluntary mergers will be carried out. ^[2]

1. ^ [1] BBC News
2. ^ Blair accused of wasting police time on mergers, Daily Telegraph, 13 July 2006.

• List of police forces in the United Kingdom
• Policing in the United Kingdom
• Road Policing Unit

• Official website