Durham Constabulary
Agency overview
Formed1839
Employees2,910[1]
Volunteers126[1]
Annual budget£112.3 million[1]
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdictionCounty Durham, England
Map of police area
Size862 sq. mi. (2,232 km²)
Population595,308
Legal jurisdictionEngland & Wales
Constituting instrument
General nature
Operational structure
Overviewed by
HeadquartersAykley Heads, Durham
Police officers
PCSOs131[2]
Police and Crime Commissioner responsible
Agency executive
Basic Command Units
  • South Area
  • Darlington
  • East Area
  • West Area
Website
www.durham.police.uk

Durham Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the council areas of County Durham and Darlington in North East England. It does not cover all of the ceremonial or historic area of Durham, parts of which are covered by the neighbouring forces of Cleveland Police and Northumbria Police. The other neighbouring forces are Cumbria Constabulary to the west and North Yorkshire Police to the south.

As of September 2020, the force has 1,168 police officers, 129 special constables, and 131 police community support officers (PCSO).[2]

History

Durham Police Dog Support Unit pictured in London during the 2012 Summer Olympics

Durham Constabulary was one of the first county police forces to be set up, established in 1839. The force absorbed Durham City Police (formed in 1836) in 1921, Hartlepool Borough Police (formed in 1851) in 1947, Sunderland Borough Police (formed in 1837) in 1967, and Gateshead Borough Police (formed in 1836) and South Shields Borough Police (formed in 1839) in 1968, when it also lost some of its area to Teesside Constabulary.

In 1965, the force had an establishment of 1,763 and an actual strength of 1,626.[3]

As a result of the Local Government Act 1972, the northern area of the force including Gateshead, Sunderland and South Shields became part of the Northumbria Police area, whilst Hartlepool and Stockton-on-Tees in the south-east became part of the jurisdiction of Cleveland Constabulary in 1974.

Chief constables

Officers killed in the line of duty

The Police Roll of Honour Trust and Police Memorial Trust list and commemorate all British police officers killed in the line of duty. Since its establishment in 1984, the Police Memorial Trust has erected 50 memorials nationally to some of those officers.

Since 1960, the following officers of Durham Constabulary were killed while attempting to prevent or stop a crime in progress:[11]

  • PC Keith Maddison, 1997 (collapsed and died while pursuing suspects from a stolen vehicle)
  • DC James Brian Porter, 1982 (shot dead by two armed robbers, posthumously awarded the Queen's Commendation for Brave Conduct)
  • PC Glenn Russel Corder, 1980 (his vehicle crashed during a police pursuit)
  • PC William Ralph Shiell, 1940 (shot dead by burglars)
  • PC Matthew Walls Straughan, 1927 (shot dead by a suspect)

Operations

Durham Constabulary is managed by Chief Constable Rachel Bacon and her executive team, composed of Deputy Chief Constable Ciaron Irvine, Assistant Chief Constable Tonya Antonis, and Assistant Chief Officer Gary Ridley.[12]

The force operates through a number of functional commands: Neighbourhood And Safeguarding, Response Policing, Crime and Criminal Justice, Tasking and Co-ordination and Support Services, which all report to the Executive Team.

Since 2010, Durham Constabulary and neighbouring Cleveland Police have shared road policing and firearms teams through a joint Specialist Operations Unit. These officers are based at Wynyard Park Business Park and Spennymoor.[13] Durham and Cleveland Police have shared a tactical training centre in Urlay Nook, near Teesside International Airport (formerly Durham Tees Valley Airport), since 2001.

As of September 2020, the force has 1,168 police officers, 129 special constables, and 131 police community support officers (PCSO), 65 police support volunteers (PSV), and 924 staff.[2]

Durham Constabulary Armed Response Vehicle, 2012

PEEL inspection

His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) conducts a periodic police effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy (PEEL) inspection of each police service's performance. In its latest PEEL inspection, Durham Constabulary was rated as follows:[14]

 OutstandingGoodAdequateRequires ImprovementInadequate
2021 rating
  • Disrupting serious organised crime
  • Good use of resources
  • Preventing crime
  • Investigating crime
  • Treatment of the public
  • Responding to the public
  • Protecting vulnerable people
  • Managing offenders
  • Developing a positive workplace
  • Supporting victims

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Durham | Home Office". Archived from the original on 1 May 2009. Retrieved 24 May 2009.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Data tables for 'Police workforce, England and Wales: 30 September 2020'". Home Office. 28 January 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  3. ↑ The Thin Blue Line, Police Council for Great Britain Staff Side Claim for Undermanning Supplements, 1965
  4. ↑ "George Francis White". University of Wolverhampton. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  5. ↑ "Brigadier George Wilfred Eden". The British Empire. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  6. ↑ "Durham County Constabulary". British Police History. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  7. 1 2 3 "Durham Constabulary Open Day". Durham Constabulary. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  8. ↑ "Previous Chief Inspectors". Her Majesty’s Inspectors of Constabulary. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  9. ↑ "Durham Constabulary". Facebook. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  10. ↑ "Durham police chief Jon Stoddart to leave the force after 30 years". The Journal. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  11. ↑ "Police Roll of Honour Trust".
  12. ↑ "Our Executive". Durham Constabulary. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
  13. ↑ "Forces agree single firearms teams". Cleveland Police. 5 April 2010. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
  14. ↑ "PEEL 2021/22 Police effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy: An inspection of Durham Constabulary" (PDF). Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services. 27 October 2021. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
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