Sussex Police
| Sussex Police | |
 |
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| Logo of the Sussex Police. | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1967 |
| Employees | 5,477[1] |
| Volunteers | 199[1] |
| Annual budget | £237.1 million[1] |
| Legal personality | Governmental: Government agency |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| Operations jurisdiction* | Police area of East Sussex, West Sussex, City of Brighton and Hove in the country of England, UK |
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| Map of Sussex Police area | |
| Population | 1.5 million |
| Legal jurisdiction | England & Wales |
| Governing body | Sussex Police Authority |
| Constituting instrument | Police Act 1996 |
| General nature | |
| Operational structure | |
| Headquarters | Lewes, Lewes District |
| Constables | 3,274 (of which 199 are special constables)[1] |
| Police Community Support Officers | 372[1] |
| Agency executive | Martin Richards MSc QPM, Chief Constable |
| Divisions | 5 |
| Facilities | |
| Stations | 33 |
| Website | |
| www.sussex.police.uk | |
| Footnotes | |
| * Police area agency: Prescribed geographic area in the country, over which the agency has usual operational jurisdiction. | |
Sussex Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing East Sussex, West Sussex and City of Brighton and Hove in southern England. Its head office is in Lewes, Lewes District, East Sussex.[2]
Contents |
[edit] History
There were originally separate forces for East and West Sussex, along with the boroughs of Brighton, Hastings and Eastbourne. These forces were temporarily merged during the Second World War, from 1943 to 1947. The current amalgamated forces dates from 1 January 1968.[3]
[edit] Today
For policing purposes, Sussex is divided into Five geographical Policing Divisions, each Division being led by a Chief Superintendent. Divisions are divided into districts, each led by a Chief Inspector, providing a local identity for policing.
Districts are further divided into Neighbourhood Policing Teams (NPTs), each led by an Inspector. The NPTs are responsible for the bulk of the community work undertaken in an area, and look to deal with long term local issues including Anti-Social Behaviour. Their role stems from the traditional view of 'bobbies on the beat' with Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) providing a high visibility profile on the street, albeit with limited policing powers. Also most Special Constables are attached to NPTs before they gain independent patrol status after which they can move to a Neighbourhood Response Team (NRT)
Currently Martin Richards is the Chief Constable of Sussex Police.
[edit] Specialist Units
[edit] Roads Policing Department
The Sussex Police Roads Policing Department patrol the many roads in Sussex Including the county's motorway the M23 and the three big A-roads the A27, A23 and the A259. They use fully marked BMW 530d Touring, BMW X5's and still have some Mercedes-Benz E-class estates in service. They also have Ford Galaxys for Forensic Collision Investigation these are based at Shoreham Police Station. They also use unmarked Generation 8 & 9 Lancer Evolution's, Octavia VRS's as part of a join operation between Kent Police, Surrey Police and Hampshire Constabulary called Operation Crackdown
[edit] Operations Department
The operations department consists of the Air Support Unit, the Police Dog Unit and the Training and Tactical Public Order Unit. The TTPOU are based at a state of the art training base in Lewes and the Ashdown forest.
[edit] Air Support Unit
Sussex Police operate an MD-902 helicopter, callsign Hotel 900 jointly with South East Coast Ambulance Service, providing both policing and emergency medical support to Sussex.
[edit] Sussex Police Authority
Sussex Police Authority has 9 councillors (drawn from the three councils), 3 justices of the peace, and 5 independent members.
[edit] Old Police Cells Museum
The Old Police Cells Museum in Brighton offers visitors a unique insight into the history of policing across Sussex.
Opened on 4 May 2005 by Councillor Pat Drake, the Mayor of Brighton & Hove, the museum is open to the public, on one or two days each week, and is not only educational but entertaining also.
The museum, which houses a large collection of police memorabilia, is situated in the old Brighton borough police station in the basement of the old Town Hall, Bartholomew Square, Brighton.
[edit] Police Cadets
Sussex Police, like many other forces in the UK, have Police Cadets. There are around 200 operational Cadets in Sussex Police. Cadets within the VCC (Volunteer Cadet Corps) often have duties at Police Stations across Sussex. They have a similar uniform to Police Officers and Police staff which consists of:
Standard Issue Police Shirt and Tie Standard Issue Trousers Epaulette saying "CADET" and a visible rank designation (normally chevrons). Standard Issue Police Cap with a Blue Band and Sussex Police Crest saying 'SUSSEX VCC'
Cadets learn many police skills as well as a Student Officer syllabus in preparation for joining as an officer. They also assist the Neighbourhood Policing Teams.
[edit] Proposed merger with Surrey Police
Proposals had been made by the Home Secretary on 20 March 2006 to merge the force with Surrey Police forming a strategic police force for the area.[4] The plans were effectively abandoned by the Home Office in July 2006.[5]
[edit] Future of Sussex Police
In a report published by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in July 2011,[6] the impact on the number of police officers and staff partly due to the reduction to Sussex Police's budget following the comprehensive spending review is as follows:
| Police officers | Police staff | PCSOs | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 March 2010 (actual) | 3,213 | 2,155 | 377 | 5,745 |
| 31 March 2015 (proposed) | 2,713 | 1,605 | 377 | 4,695 |
[edit] Road casualties in Sussex
The following table shows the number of casualties, grouped by severity, on the roads of Sussex over the most recent two years.[7][8][9]
| 2008 | 2009 | |
|---|---|---|
| Fatal | 73 | 61 |
| Serious | 810 | 763 |
| Slight | 4,159 | 3,974 |
| Total | 5,042 | 4,798 |
[edit] Sussex Police People
In November 2011 Sussex Police became the first force world wide to live stream unedited footage during a 24 hour period. [10]
[edit] See also
- Law enforcement in the United Kingdom
- List of law enforcement agencies in the United Kingdom
- Table of police forces in the United Kingdom
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e http://police.homeoffice.gov.uk/performance-and-measurement/performance-assessment/assessments-2007-2008/
- ^ "Non-emergency enquiries." (Archive) Sussex Police. Retrieved on 13 February 2011. "Sussex Police Headquarters Church Lane, Lewes East Sussex, BN7 2DZ."
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ BBC NEWS | Politics | Police forces 'to be cut to 24'
- ^ BBC NEWS | England | Southern Counties | Forces happy at 'no merger' news
- ^ HMIC (July 2011). Valuing the Police: Preparedness Inspection - Sussex Police.
- ^ http://www.westsussex.gov.uk/leisure/getting_around_west_sussex/roads_and_pathways/road_safety/accident_data_summary.aspx
- ^ http://www.eastsussex.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/3009C386-957D-46B3-829A-C98BAAF9C732/0/crash_stats_2008.pdf
- ^ http://www.eastsussex.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/AF6026EA-D9E5-4523-9684-8854E005B17A/0/crash_stats_2009.pdf
- ^ Sussex Police People (November 2011). Sussex Police People archive pages and blogs.
[edit] External links
- Sussex Police
- [2]
- Sussex Police Authority
- Sussex Police Headquarters when it was based in Horsham between 1894 and 1973
