Durham Constabulary

Durham Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing County Durham and Darlington in North East England.

Durham Constabulary
Agency overview
Formed1839
Employees2,910[1]
Volunteers126[1]
Annual budget£112.3 million[1]
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdictionCounty Durham and Darlington, England
Map of police area
Size862 sq. mi. (2,232 km²)
Population595,308
Legal jurisdictionEngland & Wales
Constituting instrument
General nature
Operational structure
Constables1,242 (of which 100 are special constables)[2]
Police Community Support Officers162[1]
Police and Crime Commissioner responsible
  • Steven White (Acting)
Agency executive
Basic Command UnitsSouth Area
Darlington
East Area
West Area
Website
www.durham.police.uk

Durham Constabulary is managed by Chief Constable Jo Farrell and her Executive Team, composed of Deputy Chief Constable Dave Orford, Temporary Assistant Chief Constable John Ward, Assistant Chief Officer Gary Ridley and Special Chief Officer Dale Checksfield.[3]

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.[4] Durham and Cleveland Police have shared a Tactical Training Centre in Urlay Nook, near Teesside International Airport (formerly Durham Tees Valley Airport), since 2001.

History
Durham police dog van

Durham Constabulary was one of the first county police forces to be set up, built 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.[5]

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 the jurisdiction of Cleveland Constabulary in 1974.

Chief Constables

Officers killed in the line of duty
See also: List of British police officers killed in the line of duty

The Police Roll of Honour Trust lists and commemorates all British police officers killed in the line of duty. The Police Memorial Trust since its establishment in 1984 has erected over 38 memorials 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:[13]

  • 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)

See also

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 1 May 2009. Retrieved 24 May 2009.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. "Tables for 'Police workforce, England and Wales, 31 March 2013". HM Government. Office for National Statistics. 31 March 2013. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  3. "About Us". Durham Constabulary. 4 October 2012. Archived from the original on 28 September 2012. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
  4. "Forces agree single firearms teams". Cleveland Police. 5 April 2010. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
  5. The Thin Blue Line, Police Council for Great Britain Staff Side Claim for Undermanning Supplements, 1965
  6. "George Francis White". University of Wolverhampton. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  7. "Brigadier George Wilfred Eden". The British Empire. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  8. "Durham County Constabulary". British Police History. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  9. "Durham Constabulary Open Day". Durham Constabulary. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  10. "Previous Chief Inspectors". Her Majesty’s Inspectors of Constabulary. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  11. "Durham Constabulary". Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  12. "Durham police chief Jon Stoddart to leave the force after 30 years". The Journal. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  13. http://www.policememorial.org.uk/index.php?page=durham-constabulary

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