Bruche Police National Training Centre
Encyclopedia
The Bruche Police Training Centre was a training complex for probationary police officer
s in the United Kingdom
. It trained many thousands of officers over a period of around sixty years, until its closure in May 2006. The site in a suburb of Warrington
was operated by CENTREX
, the 'Central Police Training and Development Authority'. Police forces from the northern part of England
and Wales
sent new recruits to the centre for the main part of their basic training, which consisted of the development of important attitudes and behaviours, law training and officer safety tactics. Training included several role-play scenarios to enable the development and assessment of important abilities . Newly recruited probationary officers would spend a solid 15 weeks at Bruche before ever stepping onto the street, after having also spent time at their own Force's regional training centre(s).
The forces that sent officers to Bruche were mainly:
Probationary Officers resided on the site in dormitory blocks and conducted training which ranged from stopping vehicles, to public order training all conducted on-site.
Forces in other parts of the country usually sent their recruits to similar centres at Ashford
in Kent, Aykley Heads in Durham, Ryton-on-Dunsmore
in Warwickshire
and Cwmbran
in South Wales
. When the police training system changed in 2006 Ashford, Cwmbran and Bruche centres closed, while Ryton is now used for other police and Immigration Service training. Aykley Heads (Durham) is now used to train Durham Constabulary and Northumbria Police Officers, as well as being Durham Constabulary HQ.
Police officer
A police officer is a warranted employee of a police force...
s in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. It trained many thousands of officers over a period of around sixty years, until its closure in May 2006. The site in a suburb of Warrington
Warrington
Warrington is a town, borough and unitary authority area of Cheshire, England. It stands on the banks of the River Mersey, which is tidal to the west of the weir at Howley. It lies 16 miles east of Liverpool, 19 miles west of Manchester and 8 miles south of St Helens...
was operated by CENTREX
Centrex
Centrex is a portmanteau of central exchange, a kind of telephone exchange.In the United Kingdom, British Telecom markets this service as FeatureLine .-Use of Centrex:...
, the 'Central Police Training and Development Authority'. Police forces from the northern part of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
sent new recruits to the centre for the main part of their basic training, which consisted of the development of important attitudes and behaviours, law training and officer safety tactics. Training included several role-play scenarios to enable the development and assessment of important abilities . Newly recruited probationary officers would spend a solid 15 weeks at Bruche before ever stepping onto the street, after having also spent time at their own Force's regional training centre(s).
The forces that sent officers to Bruche were mainly:
- North WalesNorth WalesNorth Wales is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales. It is bordered to the south by the counties of Ceredigion and Powys in Mid Wales and to the east by the counties of Shropshire in the West Midlands and Cheshire in North West England...
Police - South YorkshireSouth YorkshireSouth Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It has a population of 1.29 million. It consists of four metropolitan boroughs: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and City of Sheffield...
Police - West YorkshireWest YorkshireWest Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
Police - Greater Manchester PoliceGreater Manchester PoliceGreater Manchester Police is the police force responsible for law enforcement within the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester in North West England...
- Lancashire ConstabularyLancashire ConstabularyLancashire Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the ceremonial county of Lancashire in the North West England. The force's headquarters are at Hutton, near the city of Preston...
- Cumbria ConstabularyCumbria ConstabularyCumbria Constabulary is the territorial police force in England covering Cumbria. It is currently the fifth-largest force in England and Wales in terms of geographic area but one of the smallest in terms of officer numbers. Given the force area's size and population of just under 500,000, it is...
- Merseyside PoliceMerseyside PoliceMerseyside Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing Merseyside in North West England. The force area is 647 square kilometres with a population of around 1.5 million...
- Cheshire ConstabularyCheshire ConstabularyCheshire Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the English unitary authorities of Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, Halton and Warrington. The force is responsible for policing an area of with a population of roughly 1 million.The Chief Constable of the...
- British Transport PoliceBritish Transport PoliceThe British Transport Police is a special police force that polices those railways and light-rail systems in Great Britain for which it has entered into an agreement to provide such services...
- Humberside PoliceHumberside PoliceHumberside Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing an area covering the East Riding of Yorkshire, the city of Kingston upon Hull, North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire...
- Lincolnshire PoliceLincolnshire PoliceLincolnshire Police is the territorial police force covering the non-metropolitan county of Lincolnshire in the East Midlands of England. Despite the name, the force's area does not include North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire, which are covered by Humberside Police instead.In terms of...
- North Yorkshire PoliceNorth Yorkshire PoliceNorth Yorkshire Police is the territorial police force covering the non-metropolitan county of North Yorkshire and the unitary authority of York in northern England. The force covers England's largest county and comprises three area command units...
- Isle of Man ConstabularyIsle of Man ConstabularyThe Isle of Man Constabulary is the organisation responsible for policing the Isle of Man, an island of 80,000 inhabitants situated equidistant from Northern Ireland, Wales, Scotland and England.-Structures and Deployment:...
Probationary Officers resided on the site in dormitory blocks and conducted training which ranged from stopping vehicles, to public order training all conducted on-site.
Forces in other parts of the country usually sent their recruits to similar centres at Ashford
Ashford Police Training Centre
Ashford Police Training Centre was the main training centre for police recruits from forces in the south east of England from 1973 to its closure in 2006...
in Kent, Aykley Heads in Durham, Ryton-on-Dunsmore
Ryton-on-Dunsmore
Ryton-on-Dunsmore is a village and civil parish in the Rugby district of Warwickshire, and is south-east of Coventry, England. The 2001 census recorded a population of 1,672 in the parish. The A45 dual carriageway passes through the village....
in Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
and Cwmbran
Cwmbran
Cwmbrân is a new town in Wales. Today forming part of the county borough of Torfaen and lying within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire, Cwmbrân was established in 1949 to provide new employment opportunities in the south eastern portion of the South Wales Coalfield. Cwmbrân means Crow...
in South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
. When the police training system changed in 2006 Ashford, Cwmbran and Bruche centres closed, while Ryton is now used for other police and Immigration Service training. Aykley Heads (Durham) is now used to train Durham Constabulary and Northumbria Police Officers, as well as being Durham Constabulary HQ.