territorial police force A territorial police force is a police service that is responsible for an area defined by sub-national boundaries, distinguished from other police services which deal with the entire country or a type of crime. In countries organized as federations, ...
responsible for policing the county of
Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the no ...
, England. The force covers an area of over with a population of just under one million.
Organisation and structure
To police the county the force is divided into two territorial divisions, based respectively in the towns of
Buxton
Buxton is a spa town in the High Peak, Derbyshire, Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.Chesterfield (North Division - covering High Peak and Derbyshire Dales District Council areas, Chesterfield, NE Derbyshire, Amber Valley and Bolsover and the villages of South Normanton and Pinxton which lie within the boundaries of
Bolsover
Bolsover is a market town and the administrative centre of the Bolsover District, Derbyshire, England. It is from London, from Sheffield, from Nottingham and from Derby. It is the main town in the Bolsover district.
The civil parish for th ...
District Council), and
Derby
Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gain ...
( South Division - policing the city of Derby and the districts of Erewash, Long Eaton and South Derbyshire). The Force Headquarters, near Ripley and close to the
A38 road
The A38, parts of which are known as Devon Expressway, Bristol Road and Gloucester Road, is a major A-class trunk road in England.
The road runs from Bodmin in Cornwall to Mansfield in Nottinghamshire. It is long, making it the longest two-d ...
Benjamin Outram
Benjamin Outram (1 April 1764 – 22 May 1805) was an English civil engineer, surveyor and industrialist. He was a pioneer in the building of canals and tramways.
Life
Born at Alfreton in Derbyshire, he began his career assisting his father ...
and once owned by the
Butterley Company
The Butterley Company was an English manufacturing firm founded as Benjamin Outram and Company in 1790. Its subsidiaries existed until 2009.
Origins
This area of Derbyshire had been known for its outcrops of iron ore which had been exploited at ...
.
The Old Hall and later additional buildings in the large grounds house much of the force's central administrative services. The Ops Divisions HQ at Wyatts Way Ripley (adjacent to force Headquarters) is now the home of Operational Support Division which encompasses the Road Policing Unit (with bases at Cotton Lane in Derby, Beetwell Street in Chesterfield and
Chapel-en-le-Frith
Chapel-en-le-Frith () is a town and civil parish in the Borough of High Peak in Derbyshire, England.
It has been dubbed the "Capital of the Peak", in reference to the Peak District, historically the upperland areas between the Saxon lands (bel ...
), ARU (Armed Response Unit), Dog Section, Uniform Task Force and Road Policing Support (Collision Investigators).
The Constabulary is led by the chief constable assisted by a Deputy and two assistant chief constables. Each division is headed by a chief superintendent - the divisional commander - and each division is divided into Sections, which are led by an inspector. The force has an authorised establishment of 1,827
police officers
A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...
Police Community Support Officer
A police community support officer (PCSO; cy, swyddog cymorth cymunedol yr heddlu, SCCH), or as written in legislation community support officer (CSO; cy, swyddog cymorth cymunedol, SCC) is a uniformed member of police staff in England and Wal ...
s (PCSOs)
The chief officers of the force formerly worked in partnership with the 17 publicly elected representatives on the Derbyshire Police Authority, which shared responsibility for budgets and policy, and was intended to ensure that the public of Derbyshire had a voice in the policing of their county.
Since the introduction of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 the
Derbyshire Police and Crime Commissioner
The Derbyshire Police and Crime Commissioner is the police and crime commissioner, an elected official tasked with setting out the way crime is tackled by Derbyshire Police in the English County of Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial ...
(PCC) is now responsible for tasks that were once completed by the Police Authority. In November 2012, Alan Charles was elected as PCC for a four-year term. Charles previously served as Vice Chair of the Derbyshire Police Authority.
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, Derbyshire Constabulary was rated as follows:
Geography and demographics
Derbyshire Constabulary polices an area which ranges from remote rural locations to busy city-centre and suburban environments. The more urbanised east and south of the county, including the market town of Chesterfield and the city of Derby, generally require more officers to respond to the needs of the large resident population, while the more rural north and west require the smaller number of officers to be more mobile. Calls for service in the rural areas usually increase during summer as the population is boosted by approximately twenty million visitors each year to the
Peak District
The Peak District is an upland area in England at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire, it extends into Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. It includes the Dark Peak, where moorl ...
and its surrounds. Winter weather on the unforgiving high ground around
Glossop
Glossop is a market town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is located east of Manchester, north-west of Sheffield and north of the county town, Matlock. Glossop lies near Derbyshire's borders with Cheshire, Greater Manche ...
and
Kinder Scout
Kinder Scout is a moorland plateau and national nature reserve in the Dark Peak of the Derbyshire Peak District in England. Part of the moor, at above sea level, is the highest point in the Peak District, in Derbyshire and the East Midlands; ...
can also cause problems for traffic and residents.
Regionalisation
Proposals were made by the
Home Secretary
The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national ...
on 20 March 2006 to integrate groups of police forces in England and Wales into 'strategic' forces, which he saw as being more 'fit for purpose' in terms of combating terrorism and organised crime. Under these proposals Derbyshire would have merged with nearby forces to create an 'East Midlands Police'. However, these proposals were unpopular and were later cancelled.
History
In 1965, the force had an establishment of 852 and an actual strength of 775.
Chief Constables
* 1873unknown: Francis Joseph Parry
* 18761898: Lieutenant-Colonel William Addis Delacombe
1898unknown: Capt. Henry Mansfield Haywood
* 1918c.1927: Major Philip Francis Ross Anley
* 19541967: William Ewart Pitts
* 19671979: Sir Walter Stansfield (knighted
1979 New Year Honours
The New Year Honours 1979 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1979 to celebr ...
)
* 19791981: James Fryer
* 19811985: Alfred Parrish
* 19851990: Alan Smith
* 19902000: John Newing
* 20012007: David Coleman
* 20072017: Mick Creedon
* 20172020: Peter Goodman
* 2020present: Rachel Swann
Police Memorial Trust
The Police Memorial Trust is a charitable organisation founded in 1984 and based in London. The trust's objective is to erect memorials to British police officers killed in the line of duty, at or near the spot where they died, thereby acting as ...
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 1828 the following officers of Derbyshire Constabulary were killed while attempting to prevent or stop a crime in progress:
* Parish constable William Taylor, 1828 (fatally injured arresting two men)
* Police constable Joseph Moss, 1879 (shot whilst dealing with a prisoner)
* Police constable Stevenson, 2013 (collapsed and died while on duty)
See also
*
Law enforcement in the United Kingdom
Law enforcement in the United Kingdom is organised separately in each of the legal systems of the United Kingdom: England and Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. Most law enforcement is carried out by police, police officers serving in regi ...
North Midlands Helicopter Support Unit
The North Midlands Helicopter Support Unit was a joint consortium established in 1998 to provide police aviation for Derbyshire Constabulary and Nottinghamshire Police. It was managed by John Jameson and operated a Eurocopter EC135 from Derbyshi ...
(now defunct)
* Murder of Barbara Mayo, infamous unsolved murder of a woman in 1970 which Derbyshire Constabulary was responsible for investigating
Constabulary Constabulary may have several definitions:
*A civil, non-paramilitary (police) force consisting of police officers called constables. This is the usual definition in the United Kingdom, in which all county police forces once bore the title (and som ...