Warwickshire Police

History

The force was established in 1840 as Warwickshire Constabulary. It did not, however, even cover all the rural areas of the county until 1857. Birmingham, Coventry, Leamington Spa, Stratford-upon-Avon and Warwick originally had their own police forces. The Warwickshire force absorbed Warwick Borough Police in 1875 and Stratford-upon-Avon Borough Police in 1889 with Leamington Borough Police lasting until 1946. In 1969, Coventry City Police amalgamated with Warwickshire Constabulary and the force became Warwickshire and Coventry Constabulary. However, with the inclusion of Coventry in the new county of the West Midlands in 1974, Coventry passed to the new West Midlands Police, which also took over the areas of the Birmingham City Police and part of the northwestern area of Warwickshire (around Solihull and Sutton Coldfield). Warwickshire Constabulary reverted to its old name.

Under proposals announced by the then Home Secretary, Charles Clarke, on 6 February 2006, Warwickshire Police would have merged with Staffordshire Police, West Mercia Constabulary and West Midlands Police to form a single strategic force for the West Midlands region. These proposals were subsequently abandoned.

Warwickshire Police was until April 2007 a partner alongside three other forces in the Central Motorway Police Group.

In August 2010, the second Warwickshire Justice Centre was opened in Newbold Terrace, Leamington Spa. As well as a police station, the complex houses the Magistrates' Court, Crown Court, County Court, and other agencies such as the Probation Service and Victim Support. It was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 4 March 2011. A similar complex was already in operation in Nuneaton.

Organisation

The force is run by a Chief Constable, a Deputy Chief Constable, two Assistant Chief Constables, and a civilian Director of Finance. Its headquarters are at Woodcote, a 19th-century manor house and estate in the village of Leek Wootton, which has been the force headquarters since 1949. However, in January 2011 it was announced that Warwickshire Police would be selling the police headquarters in Leek Wootton and seven other stations as part of plans to cover funding cuts. The Warwickshire Justice Centre in Leamington Spa will likely be the new headquarters for the force.

The county is divided into Districts/Boroughs (based on local government districts/boroughs), each commanded by a Chief Inspector. There are 33 local policing teams within Warwickshire Police - called Safer Neighbourhood Teams - which are broken down within each District/Borough as follows:

Until recently, the Districts were grouped into two Areas, each commanded by a Chief Superintendent. North Warwickshire, Nuneaton and Bedworth and Rugby were under Northern Area and Stratford-on-Avon and Warwick were under Southern Area.

The current Chief Constable is Martin Jelley, who was appointed to the role on 7 April 2015 following the retirement of Andy Parker. Parker succeeded Keith Bristow on 1 December 2011. Bristow succeeded John Burbeck, who in turn succeeded Andrew Timpson, who in turn succeeded Peter Joslin.

West Mercia alliance

On 30 September 2013, Warwickshire Police embarked on an alliance with West Mercia Police which saw one of the biggest reorganisations the force ever had. The force is now committed to the alliance which sees the sharing of back office facilities, force systems and support teams whilst retaining its own identity. It is hoped that the alliance will save £20 million.

Police vehicles

In accordance with the national framework for vehicle procurement Warwickshire Police use Ford Focus Estates and Vauxhall Astra 17 CDTI

Among other vehicles BMW X5, 5 and 3 series are used for traffic patrol cars.

A Fiat Panda is being used as a safety camera van.