A police area is the area for which a
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, ...
in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
is responsible for
policing
The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...
.
Every location in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
has a designated territorial police force with statutory responsibility for providing policing services and enforcing criminal law, which is set out in the various police areas below.
Special police forces
Special police usually describes a police force or unit within a police force whose duties and responsibilities are significantly different from other forces in the same country or from other police in the same force, although there is no consiste ...
and other non-territorial constabularies do not have police areas and their respective specialist areas of responsibility are shared with the relevant geographic territorial police force.
Ultimately the chief officer of a territorial police force has primacy over all law enforcement within his police area even if it is within the remit of a special police force such as the
British Transport Police
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, abbreviation = BTP
, patch =
, patchcaption =
, logo = British Transport Police Logo.svg
, logocaption = Logo of the British Transport Police
, badge =
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, f ...
on the railway infrastructure, the
Ministry of Defence Police
The Ministry of Defence Police (MDP) is a civilian special police force which is part of the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence. The MDP's primary responsibilities are to provide armed security and counter terrorism services to designated hig ...
on MOD property or a port constabulary on a port.
History
The
Metropolitan Police District
The Metropolitan Police District (MPD) is the police area which is policed by the Metropolitan Police Service in London. It currently consists of the Greater London region, excluding the City of London. The Metropolitan Police District was create ...
was the first example of a police area. Police areas were introduced with the passage of the
Police Act 1964
The Police Act 1964 (1964 c.48) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that updated the legislation governing police forces in England and Wales, constituted new police authorities, gave the Home Secretary new powers to supervise lo ...
and
Police (Scotland) Act 1967
The Police (Scotland) Act 1967 (c. 77) is an Act of the United Kingdom Parliament which until 2013 had provided a framework for territorial police forces in Scotland to operate within. The Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012, passed by the ...
, when a number of small (mainly county borough) police forces were merged with county ones.
The current system of police areas in England and Wales is set out b
Section 1of the
Police Act 1996
The Police Act 1996c 16 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which defined the current police areas in England and Wales, constituted police authorities for those areas, and set out the relationship between the Home Secretary and th ...
.
There are 43 police areas in
England and Wales
England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...
, most of which are defined b
Schedule 1of the 1996 act. They may be altered by order of 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 ...
.
Section 32, Police Act 1996
/ref> The two other areas, the Metropolitan Police District and the City of London police area, are defined b
Section 76
of the London Government Act 1963
The London Government Act 1963 (c. 33) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which created Greater London and a new local government structure within it. The Act significantly reduced the number of local government districts in the ...
and the City of London Police Act 1839 respectively.
Northern Ireland and Scotland each have only one territorial police force: the Police Service of Northern Ireland
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI; ga, Seirbhís Póilíneachta Thuaisceart Éireann; Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster-Scots: ')
is the police, police force that serves Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabu ...
(PSNI) and Police Service of Scotland
Police Scotland ( gd, Poileas Alba), officially the Police Service of Scotland (), is the national police force of Scotland. It was formed in 2013, through the merging of eight regional police forces in Scotland, as well as the specialist service ...
.
See also
*Special-purpose district
Special districts (also known as special service districts, special district governments, limited purpose entities, or special-purpose districts) are independent, special-purpose governmental units that exist separately from local governments such ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Police Area
Law enforcement in the United Kingdom
Types of subdivision in the United Kingdom
Police divisions