Nottinghamshire Police
Nottinghamshire Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the shire county of Nottinghamshire and the unitary authority of Nottingham in the East Midlands of England. The area has a population of just over 1 million.
The force headquarters are found at Arnold. As of March 2013 the force had an establishment of 2,095 police officers, and 381 Special Constables.
The Chief Constable is Craig Guildford who has held the position since February 2017.
Nottinghamshire Police Authority was disbanded on 15 November 2012 when the first Police and Crime Commissioners were elected. Paddy Tipping was named as Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner on 16 November 2012.
Police Area
The Police Area covers the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire, which contains the following local authorities:Local Authority | Large towns/cities |
Bassetlaw | Worksop, Retford, Harworth |
Mansfield | Mansfield, Warsop |
Newark and Sherwood | Newark-on-Trent, Ollerton, Southwell |
Ashfield | Sutton-in-Ashfield, Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Hucknall |
Gedling | Arnold, Carlton |
Broxtowe | Beeston, Stapleford, Eastwood, Kimberley |
Nottingham | City of Nottingham |
Rushcliffe | West Bridgford, Cotgrave, Bingham |
Map showing Local Authorities within the Police Area.
History
Nottinghamshire Constabulary was established in 1840. The following year it absorbed Retford Borough Police. In 1947 it absorbed Newark-on-Trent Borough Police. In 1968 it amalgamated with Nottingham City Police to form Nottinghamshire Combined Constabulary. On 1 April 1974 it was reconstituted as Nottinghamshire Police under the Local Government Act 1972, but retained the name Nottinghamshire Constabulary on all signage, uniform and vehicles until the early 21st century.In 1965, Nottinghamshire Constabulary had an establishment of 1,026 officers and an actual strength of 798.
Proposals made by the Home Secretary in March 2006 would have seen the force merge with the other four East Midlands forces to form a strategic police force for the entire region. However, in July 2006 the proposed merger was cancelled.
In June 2006, the force was declared effective and efficient by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary after five years of intense scrutiny.
In 2009, a performance assessment carried out by the government ranked the force's operational area as the third worst in the country.
In March 2010, the HMIC rated the force as 'poor' in three reviewed areas of, 'Local Policing', 'Confidence' and 'Protecting from Harm'. Nottinghamshire Police were the only force in England & Wales to receive such a rating. Although the HMIC did not attempt to place the 43 police forces in England & Wales in a directly comparable league table, Nottinghamshire Police did give the HMIC cause for concern. The media portrayed the analysis as showing the force as the 'worst in England & Wales'.
List of Chief Constables
Chief Constables were:; Nottingham Constabulary
- 1814–1833 Richard Birth
- 1833–? William Barnes
- 1852–1856 Captain John Henry Forrest
- ???
- 1860-1865 Joseph Hedington
- 1865-1869 John Freeman
- 1869-1872 Captain F. Parry
- 1872-1881 Major William Henry Poyntz
- 1881-1892 Samuel Stevens
- 1892-1912 Phillip Stephen Clay
- 1912-1930 Lt. Col. F. Lemon
- 1930-1959 Captain Athelstan Popkess
- 1960-1968 Thomas Moore
- 1968 Nottingham Constabulary merged with Nottinghamshire Constabulary
- 1856–1892 Captain Henry Holden
- 1892–1922 Captain Sir William Hugh Tomasson
- ???
- 1949–1970 John Edward Stevenson Browne
- 1970-1976 Rex Fletcher
- 1976-1987 Charles McLachlan
- 1987-1990 Sir Ronald Hadfield
- 1990-1995 Sir Dan Crompton
- 1995-2000 Colin Bailey
- 2000-2008 Steven Green
- 2008-2012 Julia Hodson
- 2012-2016 Chris Eyre
- 2016-2017 Susannah Fish
- 2017– Craig Guildford
Divisional structure
- A Division - Mansfield & Ashfield
- B Division - Bassetlaw, Newark and Sherwood
- C Division - Nottingham City
- D Division - South Nottinghamshire
Response
In April 2018 the force restructured under the new Chief Constable, Craig Guildford, and moved back to a local policing model. Response teams moved back in alignment with local authority areas and local council boundaries. The force was then split into 2 response divisions:- North
- South.
- Bassetlaw
- * Haworth
- * Retford
- * Worksop
- Newark & Sherwood
- * Newark
- * Ollerton
- Mansfield
- * Mansfield
- Ashfield
- * Kirkby
- * Hucknall
- Gedling
- * Jubilee House - Arnold
- Rushcliffe
- * West Bridgford
- * Cotgrave
- Broxtowe
- * Eastwood
- * Beeston
- Nottingham City
- * Oxclose Lane
- * Bulwell
- * Broxtowe
- * Radford Road
- * Byron House
- * St Anns
- * Clifton/Meadows
Custody suites
There are 2 custody suites across the force: Bridewell and Mansfield Newark custody suite has recently be closed, however is able to be reopened if there is operational need.The Bridewell is due to be replaced
Neighbourhood Policing
Each local authority area is covered by a Neighbourhood Policing Team. Each Neighbourhood policing team is run by a Neighbourhood Policing Inspector, also referred to as the district commander.- Bassetlaw - Inspector Neil Bellamy
- Newark - Inspector Heather Sutton
- Mansfield - Inspector Nick Butler
- Ashfield - Inspector Craig Hall
- Gedling - Inspector Chris Pearson
- Rushcliffe - Inspector Craig Berry
- Broxtowe - Inspector Simon Riley
- Nottingham City
- * City North - Inspector Christine Busuttil
- * City West - Inspector Gordon Fenwick
- * City Central - Inspector Riz Khan
- * City Centre - Inspector Paul Gummer
- * City South - Inspector James Walker
Operational Support
Air Support for the force is provided by the National Police Air Service who closed the former Nottinghamshire/Derbyshire Air Support Unit at Ripley in early 2015. Cover is now provided from further afield using the nearest available aircraft. This function was previously supplied to the force by a joint venture with Derbyshire Police, the North Midlands Helicopter Support Unit.
Notable officers
- Christopher Dean, ice-skater
- Geoffrey Dear, Baron Dear
- Paul Easter, Scottish Olympic swimmer
- Steve Ogrizovic, Professional Footballer
- John Kirman MM
Officers killed in the line of duty
The following officers of Nottinghamshire Police are listed by the Trust as having died attempting to prevent, stop or solve a crime, since the turn of the 20th century:
- Sgt Ernest Crowston, 1921
- PC Raymond Free, 1950
- PC Stephen Atkinson 1977
- PC Christopher John MacDonald, 1978
- PC Gerald Walker, 2003
Footnotes