Cumbria Constabulary

Cumberland and Westmorland Constabulary was formed in 1856. In 1947 this force absorbed Kendal Borough Police. Less than 20 years later this amalgamated force absorbed Carlisle City Police to form a force broadly the same as today's force called the Cumberland, Westmorland and Carlisle Constabulary. In 1965, it had an establishment of 652 and an actual strength of 617.The Thin Blue Line, Police Council for Great Britain Staff Side Claim for Undermanning Supplements, 1965 In 1967 the force name was changed to Cumbria Constabulary.

In 1974 the force's boundaries were expanded to include the new non-metropolitan county of Cumbria, in particular Furness and Sedbergh Rural District.

The Home Secretary proposed on 6 February 2006 to merge it with Lancashire Constabulary. These proposals were accepted by both forces on 25 February and the merger would have taken place on 1 April 2007.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/4745186.stm |title=Police force merger is approved |date=24 February 2006 |access-date=3 April 2011 |publisher=BBC News}} However, in July 2006, the Cumbria and Lancashire forces decided not to proceed with the merger because the Government could not remedy issues with the differing council tax precepts.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/lancashire/5166992.stm |title=Forces back out of merger plans |date=10 July 2006 |access-date=3 April 2011 |publisher=BBC News}}

;Cumbria Constabulary (1967)

• 1968{{ndash}}1980: William Cavey{{cite web |url=http://www.cwherald.com/a/archive/death-of-former-cumbria-chief-constable.252846.html |title=Death of Former Cumbria Chief Constable |work=Cumberland and Westmorland Herald |access-date=21 June 2018 |archive-date=21 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180621143948/http://www.cwherald.com/a/archive/death-of-former-cumbria-chief-constable.252846.html |url-status=dead }}
• 1980{{ndash}}1987: Barry David Keith Price{{cite web |url=http://www.cwherald.com/a/archive/former-police-chief-died-having-done-all-he-wanted-to-do-in-life.404241.html |title=Former police chief died having done all he wanted to do in life |work=Cumberland and Westmorland Herald |access-date=21 June 2018 |archive-date=21 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180621170649/http://www.cwherald.com/a/archive/former-police-chief-died-having-done-all-he-wanted-to-do-in-life.404241.html |url-status=dead }}
• 1988{{ndash}}1991: Sir Leslie Sharp
• 1991{{ndash}}1997: Alan Elliott{{cite web |url=http://www.cwherald.com/a/archive/death-at-65-of-ex-cumbria-police-chief.300726.html |title=Death at 65 of ex-Cumbria police chief |work=Cumberland and Westmorland Herald |access-date=21 June 2018 |archive-date=21 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180621143634/http://www.cwherald.com/a/archive/death-at-65-of-ex-cumbria-police-chief.300726.html |url-status=dead }}
• 1997{{ndash}}2001: Colin Phillips{{cite web |url=http://www.cwherald.com/a/archive/police-chief-retires-to-take-up-new-challenge.200909.html |title=Police Chief Retires to Take Up New Challenge |work=Cumberland and Westmorland Herald |access-date=21 June 2018 |archive-date=21 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180621143809/http://www.cwherald.com/a/archive/police-chief-retires-to-take-up-new-challenge.200909.html |url-status=dead }}
• 2001{{ndash}}2007: Michael Baxter{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cumbria/6252866.stm |title=County's chief constable retires |publisher= BBC News |date=29 June 2007 |access-date=21 June 2018}}
• 2007{{ndash}}2012: Craig Thomas Mackey
• 2012{{ndash}}2013: Stuart Hyde{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cumbria-23888314 |title= Stuart Hyde to fight attempt to make him leave police |publisher=BBC News |date=29 August 2013 |access-date=31 July 2018}}
• 2014{{ndash}}2018 : Jerry Graham{{cite web |url=http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/Cumbrias-chief-constable-to-retire-a-year-early-4817177d-6fb8-4535-b23a-01cb22788b80-ds |title= Cumbria's chief constable to retire a year early |date= 8 December 2017 |publisher=News & Star |access-date=31 July 2018}}
• 2018{{ndash}}2023: Michelle Skeer{{cite web |url=http://www.itv.com/news/border/2016-02-26/who-is-cumbria-police-chief-michelle-skeer/ |title=Who is Cumbria Police Chief Michelle Skeer? |work=Border – ITV News |date=26 February 2016 |access-date=31 July 2018}}{{cite web |url=https://www.cumbria.police.uk/About-Us/Chief-Constable-Michelle-Skeer.aspx |title=Chief Constable – Michelle Skeer |publisher=Cumbria Constabulary |access-date=31 July 2018 |archive-date=30 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180530034746/https://www.cumbria.police.uk/About-Us/Chief-Constable-Michelle-Skeer.aspx |url-status=dead }}
• 2023{{ndash}}present: Rob Carden{{cite web|url= https://www.cumbria.police.uk/police-forces/cumbria-constabulary/areas/about-us/about-us/our-people/our-people/deputy-chief-constable-rob-carden/ |publisher=Cumbria Constabulary |access-date=25 September 2023}}

{{see also|List of British police officers killed in the line of duty}}

The Police Roll of Honour Trust and Police Memorial Trust list and commemorate all British police officers killed in the line of duty. Since its establishment in 1984, the Police Memorial Trust has erected 50 memorials nationally to some of those officers.

• On 3 July 1915, Reserve Police Constable Andrew Johnstone was on duty near Carlisle railway station when he reported to his sergeant that he was feeling ill. He was told to make his way home, but he never arrived and was found drowned in a dammed river in Denton Holme.
• The force's first, and to date only, murder of an officer occurred on 10 February 1965. Constable George William Russell, aged 36, was fatally shot when, unarmed and knowing that colleagues had already been fired on, he confronted an armed suspect and called upon him to surrender at the railway station in Kendal. Russell was posthumously awarded the Queen's Police Medal for gallantry and a memorial plaque has been unveiled on a wall at Carlisle Cathedral.{{cite web |url=http://www.policememorial.org.uk/index.php?page=cumbria-constabulary |title=Incorporated by Royal Charter the Police Roll of Honour Trust is the official source of the United Kingdom's Police Roll of Honour. Lest We Forget |publisher=Police Roll of Honour Trust |access-date=12 August 2019}}
• File:England - Cumbria Constabulary (oblong) (6421763633).jpgPC Nick Dumphreys was killed on duty on 26 January 2020, when his vehicle crashed whilst responding to an emergency call in the Carlisle area. PC Dumphreys was part of Cumbria Constabulary's roads policing unit. {{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cumbria-51259321 |title=Police officer dies in motorway crash |date=2020-01-27 |publisher=BBC News |access-date=2020-01-27 |language=en-GB}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.itv.com/news/border/2020-01-26/cumbria-police-vehicle-involved-in-a-crash-on-m6-road-will-be-closed-for-several-hours/|title=Police car involved in serious crash on M6 near Carlisle |website=ITV News |date=26 January 2020 |language=en |access-date=2020-01-27}} In September 2022, the cause of the crash was determined to be an inherent problem with BMW engines {{ndash}} an oil leak at high speed spilling onto the wheels and causing him to lose control at {{convert|130|mph|abbr=on}}.{{cite news | url = https://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/21873566.coroner-sums-pc-nick-dumphreys-m6-tragedy-inquest/ | work = News & Star | title = Coroner sums up in PC Nick Dumphreys M6 tragedy inquest | date = 17 September 2022 | first = Phil | last = Coleman | access-date = 28 July 2024}}

In terms of operational policing, the force is divided into two commands – the Territorial Policing Command and the Crime Command, each headed by a Chief Superintendent.{{Cite news |url=https://www.cumbria.police.uk/About-Us/Department-Information/Our-Departments.aspx |title=Our Departments |work=Cumbria Constabulary |access-date=2017-12-09 |language=en-gb |archive-date=10 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171210071700/https://www.cumbria.police.uk/About-Us/Department-Information/Our-Departments.aspx |url-status=dead }}

File:Cumbria police car.JPG

This command is further divided into three geographic Territorial Policing Areas (TPAs) to cover the county, an operational support section and a command and control section. Each TPA is led by a Superintendent and is further divided into districts and then teams for the purposes of neighbourhood policing. The major elements of the Territorial Policing Command are as follows:

Responsible for neighbourhood and response policing across the following geographic areas:

• Carlisle District
• Eden District

Responsible for neighbourhood and response policing across the following geographic areas:

• Barrow Borough District
• South Lakeland District

Responsible for neighbourhood and response policing across the following geographic areas

• Allerdale District
• Copeland District

Within this section are force wide units which support the TPAs or units from the Crime Command, or provide a specialist service:

• Roads Policing
• Firearms
• Dog section
• Proactive Support Group
• Civil Contingencies
• Collision Investigation
• Firearms Licensing
• Safety Camera/Central Ticket Office

Within this section is the Command and Control Room (dispatch), including the Force Incident Manager (FIM) and the call taking centre.

This command is responsible for significant investigations and is predominantly staffed by detectives. The command is divided as follows:

• Intelligence
• Force Intelligence Bureau
• Intelligence Analysis
• Area Intelligence Units
• Operations
• Public Protection Units
• CID Volume Crimes
• Force Major Investigations
• Safeguarding Hub
• Forensics

Cumbria Constabulary is a partner in the following collaboration:

• North West Police Underwater Search & Marine Unit

His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) conducts a periodic police effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy (PEEL) inspection of each police service's performance. In its latest PEEL inspection, Cumbria Constabulary was rated as follows:{{cite web |url=https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmicfrs/wp-content/uploads/peel-assessment-2021-22-cumbria.pdf |title=PEEL 2021/22 Police effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy: An inspection of Cumbria Constabulary |publisher=His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services |date=28 April 2022 |access-date=1 May 2022}}

• Cumbria Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner
• Law enforcement in the United Kingdom
• List of law enforcement agencies in the United Kingdom, Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories
• PC John Kent – The first black British police officer, who served with the then Carlisle City Police between 1837 and 1844

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category}}

• {{Official website}}
• [https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmicfrs/police-forces/cumbria Cumbria] at HMICFRS

{{UK home nations police forces}}

Category:Police forces of England

Constabulary

Category:1856 establishments in England

Category:Organizations established in 1856