West Yorkshire Police

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West Yorkshire Police
155px
Logo of the West Yorkshire Police
Motto In the Public Service
Agency overview
Formed 1974
Preceding agencies
Employees 9,853
Volunteers 403[1]
Annual budget £396.0 million[1]
Legal personality Governmental: Government agency
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdiction* Police area of West Yorkshire in the country of England, UK
England Police Forces (West Yorkshire).svg
Map of West Yorkshire Police's jurisdiction.
Size 2,029 km²
Population 2,108,000
Legal jurisdiction England & Wales
Constituting instrument Police Act 1996
General nature
Operational structure
Headquarters Wakefield
Constables 5,062 (including 493 Special Constables)[2]
Police Community Support Officers 689[2]
Police and Crime Commissioner responsible Mark Burns-Williamson, (L)
Agency executive Mark Gilmore, Chief Constable
Divisions 5
Facilities
Stations 41
Website
www.westyorkshire.police.uk
Footnotes
* Police area agency: Prescribed geographic area in the country, over which the agency has usual operational jurisdiction.

West Yorkshire Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing West Yorkshire in England. It is the fourth largest force in England and Wales by number of officers, with 5671 officers.

History

West Yorkshire Police was formed in 1974, when part of the West Yorkshire Constabulary (itself created in 1968, and covering a much larger area) was amalgamated with the Leeds City Police and Bradford City Police, under the Local Government Act 1972. The force was originally known as the West Yorkshire Metropolitan Police. Some older signs around the Force area, such as the one in the reception of Millgarth Police Station in Leeds city centre read 'West Yorkshire Metropolitan Police'. The 'Metropolitan' from the police title was dropped in 1986 when the Metropolitan counties were abolished.[3][4]

File:WYMP.JPG
A sign found outside a building in Wakefield showing the 'Metropolitan' in the force name

Proposals made by the Home Secretary on 21 March 2006 would see the force merge with North Yorkshire Police, South Yorkshire Police and Humberside Police to form a strategic police force for the entire region. These plans are currently under review and not expected to take place in the foreseeable future.

On 12 December 2006, Sir Norman Bettison was announced as the new Chief Constable, replacing Colin Cramphorn and resigned from his post on 24 October 2012. He was replaced by Temporary Chief Constable John Parkinson until the appointment of Mark Gilmore as Chief Constable on 1 February 2013. West Yorkshire Police is reported to have had £6.3 million invested in failed Icelandic financial institutions.[citation needed]

Operational structure

For operational purposes West Yorkshire Police is divided into five geographic divisions known within the force as ‘policing districts’. The change in nomenclature reflects that of April 2014 the alignment with council boundaries for policing districts and the reduction of divisions in Leeds (which had three) and Bradford (which had two) so that each policing district was conterminous with its respective local authority boundaries. Each district is made up of Partnership Working Areas (PWA) which consist of an Inspector and three teams of sergeants, police constables, special constables and PCSOs. The first single police commander of the Bradford district, Chief Superintendent Simon Atkin, was appointed in October 2013 as part of ongoing moves to merge the district’s two policing divisions, while Chief Superintendent Angela Williams was appointed in Calderdale.[5]

The five existing divisions with their divisional identifiers and their divisional commander are as follows:

Identifier District Partnership Working Areas District Commander District HQ
LD Leeds City, Inner East, Inner North East, Inner North West, Inner South, Inner West, Outer East, Outer North East, Outer North West, Outer South, Outer West Chief Superintendent Paul Money Elland Road Police Station, Beeston[6]
BD Bradford Bradford East, Bradford South, Bradford West, City, Keighley, Shipley Chief Superintendent Simon Atkin Trafalgar House Police Station, Bradford[7]
WD Wakefield Castleford, Normanton and Featherstone, Pontefract and Knottingley, South East, Wakefield Central, Wakefield North West, Wakefield Rural Chief Superintendent Andy Battle Havertop Lane Police Station, Normanton[8]
KD Kirklees Batley and Spen, Dewsbury and Mirfield, Huddersfield, Rural Chief Superintendent Tim Kingsman Huddersfield Police Station[9]
CD Calderdale Halifax Centre, Halifax North, Halifax West, Valley North, Valley North East, Valley South, Valley South East, Valley West Chief Superintendent Angela Williams Halifax Police Station[10]
Photograph of the West Yorkshire Police Sir Alec Jeffreys Building - part of the Yorkshire and The Humber Scientific Support Unit at Calder Park, Wakefield, West Yorkshire.

The force headquarters is situated on Laburnum Road to the north of Wakefield city centre along with the Learning and Development Centre and specialist operations facility at Carr Gate, Wakefield at Junction 41 of the M1 motorway.

The Sir Alec Jeffreys Building in the Calder Park Business Estate (at Junction 39 of the M1 motorway) houses the Yorkshire and The Humber Scientific Support Service and was opened in May 2012 by Sir Alec Jeffreys himself.[11] West Yorkshire Police is the 'lead force' for scientific support and provides such services for North Yorkshire Police, South Yorkshire Police and Humberside Police.[12]

Changing estate of West Yorkshire Police

Sign outside of the former West Yorkshire Police Training and Development Centre, Bishopgarth, Wakefield.

The current estate of police stations and other buildings is changing with certain buildings closing and new buildings opening. As of 2014 there are three PFI projects completed and as a result of these new buildings a number of police stations have closed and been sold.[3]

Wakefield District Headquarters

Wakefield District police headquarters is now located on Havertop Lane, Normanton. The total area is 11,500 metres squared and provides office accommodation as well as a 35-cell custody suite.[3] As it's now operational, the following Police stations are in the process of being closed and/or sold.

  • Wood Street Police Station, Wakefield.[13]
  • Normanton Police Station, Normanton.[14]
  • Castleford Police Station, Castleford[15]

Leeds District Headquarters

The new headquarters for the newly formed Leeds District is operational on Elland Road, Beeston, Leeds. The total area is 12,500 metres squared and provides office accommodation as well as a 40-cell custody suite.[3] Now operational, the Leeds District HQ will replace the following stations:

  • Millgarth Police Station, Leeds city centre.[16]
  • Holbeck Police Station, Holbeck, Leeds.[17]

Carr Gate Special Operational Training Facility

The existing Operational Support facilities at Carr Gate, Wakefield have been expanded and new buildings constructed which has centralised specialist training for the force in one location. The new facility, which totals 20,000 metres squared includes the following:

  • Training hub facility (reception, classrooms, 3 gyms, storage and offices etc.)
  • Public Order training facility (storage areas, breakout areas, large briefing room, classroom, training arena, etc.)
  • Driver training facility
  • Firearms training facility (100m and two 50m firing ranges, armoury, etc.)
  • Method of Entry area (approximately 400 metres squared)

Leadership

List of Chief Constables

List of Police and Crime Commissioners

Former Divisions

The most recent change to the divisional structure was the reduction from eight policing divisions to five policing districts. The table below shows the divisional structure from 2008 – 2014 (showing the last divisional commanders and stations at the point of cessation).

Identifier Division Stations Area covered Divisional Commander
AA North West Leeds Weetwood (Divisional HQ), Pudsey, Woodhouse Lane (Woodhouse, Leeds) & Otley covering North and West Leeds[19] Chief Superintendent David Oldroyd
BA North East Leeds Stainbeck (Divisional HQ), Killingbeck, Wetherby & Garforth covering North and East Leeds, Wetherby, Boston Spa, Garforth, Methley and Micklefield[20] Superintendent Martin Snowden
CA City & Holbeck Holbeck (Divisional HQ), Millgarth (Leeds City Centre), Morley & Rothwell covering Central and South Leeds[21] Chief Superintendent Paul Money
DA Wakefield Wood Street (Divisional HQ) (Wakefield City Centre), Pontefract, Normanton, Castleford & South Kirkby covering the Wakefield Metropolitan District area[22] Chief Superintendent Andy Battle
EA Kirklees Huddersfield (Divisional HQ), Dewsbury & Holmfirth covering the Kirklees Metropolitan District area[23] Chief Superintendent Tim Kingsman
FA Calderdale Halifax (Divisional HQ), Brighouse & Todmorden covering the Calderdale Metropolitan District area[24] Chief Superintendent Chris Hardern
GA Bradford South Trafalgar House (Divisional HQ) & Manningham (Lawcroft House) covering Central and South Bradford[25] Chief Superintendent Simon Atkin
HA Airedale & North Bradford Keighley (Divisional HQ), Ilkley, Shipley & Eccleshill covering North Bradford and Keighley[26] Chief Superintendent Angela Williams

From the mid-1990s, there were seventeen geographical divisions within West Yorkshire Police;[27] however from 2000 onwards the number of divisions decreased as the move towards aligning police divisions with local council wards was implemented.

File:New and Old Divisions in colour.png
Former 17 divisions of West Yorkshire Police

The grid below outlines the mergers of the former divisions to the eight operational divisions which ceased in April 2014.[28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47]

File:West Yorkshire Police Former Divisions.PNG
Former West Yorkshire Police divisions from 2000 to 2014.

Notable cases

Officers killed in the line of duty

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The Police Memorial Trust lists and commemorates all British police officers killed in the line of duty, and since its establishment in 1984 has erected over 38 memorials to some of those officers.

Since 1900 the following officers of West Yorkshire Police are listed by the Trust as having died during the course of their duties in attempting to prevent, stop or solve a criminal act:[48]

  • PC Mark Goodlad, 2011, (Assisting motorist on M1 when a HGV struck him and his marked police vehicle)
  • PC Conal Daood Hills, 2006 (fatally injured when his vehicle crashed during a police pursuit)
  • PC Sharon Beshenivsky, 2005 (shot dead attending a robbery)
  • PC Ian Nigel Broadhurst, 2003 (shot dead by David Bieber)
  • PC David Sykes, July 1986, struck by a lorry whilst on the hard shoulder of the M62 near Brighouse
  • Sgt John Richard Speed, 1984 (shot dead; posthumously awarded the Queen's Commendation for Brave Conduct)
  • Sgt Michael Hawcroft, 1981 (stabbed; posthumously awarded the Queen's Commendation for Brave Conduct)
  • Insp Barry John Taylor, 1970 (shot dead; posthumously awarded the Queen's Commendation for Brave Conduct)
  • PC Charles John Skevington, 1955 (fatally injured when his vehicle crashed during a police pursuit)
  • DI Duncan Alexander Fraser and PC Arthur Gordon Jagger, 1951 (both shot dead attempting to arrest a suspected burglar)
  • Sgt Naylor Whitaker, 1949 (died from injuries sustained in an assault in 1940)
  • PC Duncan Alexander Fraser, 1946 (shot dead)
  • PC Arthur Joseph Webb, 1923 (died from injuries sustained in a violent assault in 1920)
  • PC Alfred Haddon Hudson, 1910 (fatally injured attending a disturbance)
  • PC Albert Smith, 1907 (died from an illness contracted after being assaulted during an arrest)


See also

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Home Office Performance and Measurement: West Yorkshire Police
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  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 West Yorkshire Police: Policing History[dead link] Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":0" defined multiple times with different content
  4. West Yorkshire Police: Policing Firsts Archived 15 June 2005 at the Wayback Machine
  5. "Atkin is delighted at new police role in Bradford" 29 Oct 2013
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  13. Wakefield Express (2013) A room for one at Wood Street - hotel plan for Wakefield's police station after council buy it as part of masterplan (accessed on 4 July 2013)
  14. West Yorkshire Police (2013) Wakefield 5th Event Feedback (accessed 4 July 2013)
  15. Yorkshire Evening Post (2013) Castleford Fire crews and police sharing new station (accessed 4 July 2013)
  16. BBC News (2012) Leeds City Council approves Millgarth Police station purchase (accessed 4 July 2013)
  17. The Leeds Citizen (2012) Rush on to get new Elland Road Police HQ through planning work to start in June (accessed 4 July 2013)
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  48. [1][dead link]

External links

Video clips