Cumbria Constabulary
Encyclopedia
Cumbria 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
(2268 square miles or 5,874.1 km²) 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 relatively sparsely populated. The only major urban areas are Carlisle and Barrow-in-Furness
. These conditions set specific challenges for the force.
There are significant areas of isolated and rural community, and the county has one of the lowest visible minority ethnic populations in the country at under 3.0%. Each year Cumbria
, which incorporates the Lake District National Park
, attracts over 23 million visitors from all over the world (46 times the local population). The county has 67 miles (107.8 km) of motorway and some 700 miles (1,126.5 km) of trunk and primary roads.
The force has over 1,200 police officers, 120 special constables and 800 police staff. The Chief Constable
is Craig Mackey. The headquarters of the force are at Carleton Hall, Penrith
.
Under proposals made by the Home Secretary on 6 February 2006, it would have been merged with Lancashire Constabulary. These proposals were accepted by both forces on 25 February and the merger would have taken place on 1 April 2007. However, in July 2006, both Cumbria and Lancashire forces decided not to proceed with the merger because the Government could not remedy issues with the differing council tax precepts that left both forces unable to proceed.
s (BCUs) which provide the majority of policing services to the county. Each BCU is commanded by a Chief Superintendent
and is further divided into local policing teams (NPTs) each headed by an Inspector
. There are 19 NPTs throughout the force and these units provide the 24 hour patrol officers, dedicated local community beat officers and other local policing services.
The force is presently divided as follows:
North Cumbria BCU containing the following NPTs:
South Cumbria BCU containing the following NPTs:
West Cumbria BCU containing the following NPTs:
There are 26 police stations located throughout the force.
There are also a number of forcewide operational specialist units within Cumbria Constabulary.
The main role of the Roads Policing Unit (RPU) is road policing on the motorway network and main roads. The group has 75 officers located at Carlisle, HQ, Workington, Kendal and Ulverston.
They are highly trained in a number of specialized areas including advanced driving techniques, pursuit management, armed response, speed enforcement technology and transport of hazardous goods legislation.
The Collision Investigation Unit was formed in 1998. It is responsible for dealing with all road deaths throughout the Constabulary area working in conjunction with officers from the Roads Policing Unit.
The dog unit is made up of 18 constables who are handlers for 18 general purpose dogs. Six of these officers also have specialist dogs, such as firearms, drugs and explosive dogs.
On 10 February 1965 the force saw its first, and to date only, murder of an officer. Constable George William Russell, aged 36, was fatally shot when, unarmed and knowing that colleagues had already been fired on, he confronted an armed suspect and called upon him to surrender at a railway station in Kendal. Russell was posthumously awarded the Queen's Police Medal
for gallantry and a memorial plaque has been unveiled on a wall at Carlisle Cathedral.
In 1974 the force's boundaries were expanded to include the entirety of the new non-metropolitan county of Cumbria, in particular Furness
and Sedbergh Rural District
.
Territorial police force
The phrase Territorial Police Force varies in precise meaning according to the country to which it is related, generally distinguishing a force whose area of responsibility is defined by sub-national boundaries from others which deal with the entire country or a restricted range of...
in 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...
covering Cumbria
Cumbria
Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
. It is currently the fifth-largest force in England and Wales
England and Wales
England and Wales is a jurisdiction within the United Kingdom. It consists of England and Wales, two of the four countries of the United Kingdom...
in terms of geographic area
Area
Area is a quantity that expresses the extent of a two-dimensional surface or shape in the plane. Area can be understood as the amount of material with a given thickness that would be necessary to fashion a model of the shape, or the amount of paint necessary to cover the surface with a single coat...
(2268 square miles or 5,874.1 km²) 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 relatively sparsely populated. The only major urban areas are Carlisle and Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness is an industrial town and seaport which forms about half the territory of the wider Borough of Barrow-in-Furness in the county of Cumbria, England. It lies north of Liverpool, northwest of Manchester and southwest from the county town of Carlisle...
. These conditions set specific challenges for the force.
There are significant areas of isolated and rural community, and the county has one of the lowest visible minority ethnic populations in the country at under 3.0%. Each year Cumbria
Cumbria
Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
, which incorporates the Lake District National Park
Lake District National Park
The Lake District National Park is located in the north-west of England and is the largest of the English National Parks and the second largest in the United Kingdom. It is in the central and most-visited part of the Lake District....
, attracts over 23 million visitors from all over the world (46 times the local population). The county has 67 miles (107.8 km) of motorway and some 700 miles (1,126.5 km) of trunk and primary roads.
The force has over 1,200 police officers, 120 special constables and 800 police staff. The Chief Constable
Chief Constable
Chief constable is the rank used by the chief police officer of every territorial police force in the United Kingdom except for the City of London Police and the Metropolitan Police, as well as the chief officers of the three 'special' national police forces, the British Transport Police, Ministry...
is Craig Mackey. The headquarters of the force are at Carleton Hall, Penrith
Penrith, Cumbria
Penrith was an urban district between 1894 and 1974, when it was merged into Eden District.The authority's area was coterminous with the civil parish of Penrith although when the council was abolished Penrith became an unparished area....
.
Under proposals made by the Home Secretary on 6 February 2006, it would have been merged with Lancashire Constabulary. These proposals were accepted by both forces on 25 February and the merger would have taken place on 1 April 2007. However, in July 2006, both Cumbria and Lancashire forces decided not to proceed with the merger because the Government could not remedy issues with the differing council tax precepts that left both forces unable to proceed.
Organisation
The force is divided into 3 areas called Basic Command UnitBasic Command Unit
A Basic Command Unit is the largest unit into which territorial British Police forces are divided. This may actually be called a BCU or may have another designation, such as Division or Area. There are 228 BCUs in England and Wales.Most forces are divided into at least three BCUs and some have...
s (BCUs) which provide the majority of policing services to the county. Each BCU is commanded by a Chief Superintendent
Chief Superintendent
Chief superintendent is a senior rank in police forces organised on the British model.- United Kingdom :In the British police, a chief superintendent is senior to a superintendent and junior to an assistant chief constable .The highest rank below Chief Officer level, chief...
and is further divided into local policing teams (NPTs) each headed by an Inspector
Inspector
Inspector is both a police rank and an administrative position, both used in a number of contexts. However, it is not an equivalent rank in each police force.- Australia :...
. There are 19 NPTs throughout the force and these units provide the 24 hour patrol officers, dedicated local community beat officers and other local policing services.
The force is presently divided as follows:
North Cumbria BCU containing the following NPTs:
- Carlisle City East
- Carlisle City Centre
- Carlisle City West
- BramptonBrampton, Carlisle, CumbriaBrampton is a small market town and civil parish within the City of Carlisle district of Cumbria, England about 9 miles east of Carlisle and 2 miles south of Hadrian's Wall. It is situated off the A69 road which bypasses it...
- PenrithPenrith, CumbriaPenrith was an urban district between 1894 and 1974, when it was merged into Eden District.The authority's area was coterminous with the civil parish of Penrith although when the council was abolished Penrith became an unparished area....
- ApplebyAppleby-in-WestmorlandAppleby-in-Westmorland is a town and civil parish in Cumbria, in North West England. It is situated within a loop of the River Eden and has a population of approximately 2,500. It is in the historic county of Westmorland, of which it was the county town. The town's name was simply Appleby, until...
South Cumbria BCU containing the following NPTs:
- KendalKendalKendal, anciently known as Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish within the South Lakeland District of Cumbria, England...
Town - KendalKendalKendal, anciently known as Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish within the South Lakeland District of Cumbria, England...
Rural - WindermereWindermere (town)Windermere is a town and civil parish in the South Lakeland District of Cumbria, England. It has a population of 8,245. It lies about half a mile away from the lake, Windermere...
and Lakes - UlverstonUlverstonUlverston is a market town and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria in north-west England. Historically part of Lancashire, the town is located in the Furness area, close to the Lake District, and just north of Morecambe Bay....
and FurnessFurnessFurness is a peninsula in south Cumbria, England. At its widest extent, it is considered to cover the whole of North Lonsdale, that part of the Lonsdale hundred that is an exclave of the historic county of Lancashire, lying to the north of Morecambe Bay.... - BarrowBarrow-in-FurnessBarrow-in-Furness is an industrial town and seaport which forms about half the territory of the wider Borough of Barrow-in-Furness in the county of Cumbria, England. It lies north of Liverpool, northwest of Manchester and southwest from the county town of Carlisle...
West Cumbria BCU containing the following NPTs:
- CopelandCopeland, CumbriaCopeland is a local government district and borough in western Cumbria, England. Its council is based in Whitehaven. It was formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of the borough of Whitehaven, Ennerdale Rural District and Millom Rural District....
Rural - KeswickKeswick, CumbriaKeswick is a market town and civil parish within the Borough of Allerdale in Cumbria, England. It had a population of 4,984, according to the 2001 census, and is situated just north of Derwent Water, and a short distance from Bassenthwaite Lake, both in the Lake District National Park...
- CockermouthCockermouth-History:The Romans created a fort at Derventio, now the adjoining village of Papcastle, to protect the river crossing, which had become located on a major route for troops heading towards Hadrian's Wall....
- WhitehavenWhitehavenWhitehaven is a small town and port on the coast of Cumbria, England, which lies equidistant between the county's two largest settlements, Carlisle and Barrow-in-Furness, and is served by the Cumbrian Coast Line and the A595 road...
- MaryportMaryportMaryport is a town and civil parish within the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England, in the historic county of Cumberland. It is located on the A596 road north of Workington, and is the southernmost town on the Solway Firth. Maryport railway station is on the Cumbrian Coast Line. The town is in...
- WorkingtonWorkingtonWorkington is a town, civil parish and port on the west coast of Cumbria, England, at the mouth of the River Derwent. Lying within the Borough of Allerdale, Workington is southwest of Carlisle, west of Cockermouth, and southwest of Maryport...
- WigtonWigtonWigton is a small market town and civil parish outside the Lake District, in the administrative county of Cumbria in England, and traditionally in Cumberland. It is the bustling and thriving centre of the Solway Plain, situated between the Caldbeck Fells and the Solway coast...
There are 26 police stations located throughout the force.
Specialist Departments
There are 9 non-operational departments based at headquarters. These are:- Operational Support
- Finance and Resources
- Personnel and Development
- Professional Standards
- Legal Services
- Information Technology and Management
- Strategic Development
- Partnerships
- Programme Management
There are also a number of forcewide operational specialist units within Cumbria Constabulary.
- Roads Policing Unit
The main role of the Roads Policing Unit (RPU) is road policing on the motorway network and main roads. The group has 75 officers located at Carlisle, HQ, Workington, Kendal and Ulverston.
They are highly trained in a number of specialized areas including advanced driving techniques, pursuit management, armed response, speed enforcement technology and transport of hazardous goods legislation.
- Collision Investigation Unit (CIU)
The Collision Investigation Unit was formed in 1998. It is responsible for dealing with all road deaths throughout the Constabulary area working in conjunction with officers from the Roads Policing Unit.
- Dog Unit
The dog unit is made up of 18 constables who are handlers for 18 general purpose dogs. Six of these officers also have specialist dogs, such as firearms, drugs and explosive dogs.
History
Cumberland and Westmorland Constabulary was formed in 1856. In 1947 this force absorbed Kendal Borough Police. Less than 20 years later this amalgamated force absorbed Carlisle City Police to form a force broadly the same as today's force called the Cumberland, Westmorland and Carlisle Constabulary. In 1965, it had an establishment of 652 and an actual strength of 617. In 1967 the force name was changed to Cumbria Constabulary.On 10 February 1965 the force saw its first, and to date only, murder of an officer. Constable George William Russell, aged 36, was fatally shot when, unarmed and knowing that colleagues had already been fired on, he confronted an armed suspect and called upon him to surrender at a railway station in Kendal. Russell was posthumously awarded the Queen's Police Medal
Queen's Police Medal
The Queen's Police Medal is awarded to police officers in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth for gallantry or distinguished service. Recipients may use the post-nominal letters "QPM", although the right to use these was only granted officially on 20 July 1969...
for gallantry and a memorial plaque has been unveiled on a wall at Carlisle Cathedral.
In 1974 the force's boundaries were expanded to include the entirety of the new non-metropolitan county of Cumbria, in particular Furness
Furness
Furness is a peninsula in south Cumbria, England. At its widest extent, it is considered to cover the whole of North Lonsdale, that part of the Lonsdale hundred that is an exclave of the historic county of Lancashire, lying to the north of Morecambe Bay....
and Sedbergh Rural District
Sedbergh Rural District
Sedbergh Rural District was a rural district in the West Riding of Yorkshire in England from 1894 to its abolition in 1974. The district consisted of the three parishes of Sedbergh, Garsdale and Dent. In 1974 the district became part of the South Lakeland district in the new non-metropolitan...
.
See also
- List of police forces in the United Kingdom
- Policing in the United KingdomPolicing in the United KingdomLaw enforcement in the United Kingdom is organised separately in each of the legal systems of the United Kingdom: England & Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland ....