Durham Constabulary
Durham Constabulary is a
Home Office police force with the responsibility of policing the non-metropolitan county of
Durham and the
unitary authority of
Darlington, in the north east of
England. The force covers the 1,033
square miles of the
county which has a resident
population of 870,000. It is one of the smaller forces of the forty three territorial police forces that provide
police services to
England and
Wales.
According to the
Closing the Gap report, the force had an establishment of 1,738
police officers. There are also about 150
Special Constables. The
Chief Constable is
Jon Stoddart.
Durham Constabulary is divided into two areas:
*North Area, covering
Derwentside,
Durham/
Chester le Street and
Easington.
*South Area covering
Darlington,
Sedgefield and
Wear & Tees.
Under proposals made by the
Home Secretary on
February 6,
2006, it would merge with
Northumbria Police and
Cleveland Police to form a single strategic police force for the
North East England. [
1]
Durham Constabulary was one of the first county police forces to be set up, in 1839. Borough forces were also established in
Gateshead,
South Shields and
Sunderland. These were merged into Durham Constabulary in 1967 (Sunderland) and 1968. The force also lost area to
Teesside Police in 1968
Under the
Local Government Act 1972, in 1974, the northern area of the force (including Gateshead, Sunderland and South Shields) became part of
Northumbria Constabulary, with
Hartlepool in the south-east going to
Cleveland Constabulary*
List of police forces in the United Kingdom*
Policing in the United Kingdom*
Durham Constabulary
