West Yorkshire Police

West Yorkshire Police

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 Non government: Police force
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdiction* Police area of West Yorkshire in the country of England, UK
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 Dee Collins, 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]

The former headquarters of the West Yorkshire Police at Millgarth. The site is now the foundation of the Victoria Gate development in the city centre.

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.

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 Mabs Hussain Havertop Lane Police Station, Normanton[8]
KD Kirklees Batley and Spen, Dewsbury and Mirfield, Huddersfield, Rural Chief Superintendent Steve Cotter 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 Dickie Whitehead 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.[13]

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.

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:

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:

Leadership

List of Chief Constables

List of West Yorkshire 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[20] 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[21] Superintendent Martin Snowden
CA City & Holbeck Holbeck (Divisional HQ), Millgarth (Leeds City Centre), Morley & Rothwell covering Central and South Leeds[22] Chief Superintendent Paul Money
DA Wakefield Wood Street (Divisional HQ) (Wakefield City Centre), Pontefract, Normanton, Castleford & South Kirkby covering the Wakefield Metropolitan District area[23] Chief Superintendent Andy Battle
EA Kirklees Huddersfield (Divisional HQ), Dewsbury & Holmfirth covering the Kirklees Metropolitan District area[24] Chief Superintendent Tim Kingsman
FA Calderdale Halifax (Divisional HQ), Brighouse & Todmorden covering the Calderdale Metropolitan District area[25] Chief Superintendent Chris Hardern
GA Bradford South Trafalgar House (Divisional HQ) & Manningham (Lawcroft House) covering Central and South Bradford[26] Chief Superintendent Simon Atkin
HA Airedale & North Bradford Keighley (Divisional HQ), Ilkley, Shipley & Eccleshill covering North Bradford and Keighley[27] Chief Superintendent Angela Williams

From the mid-1990s, there were seventeen geographical divisions within West Yorkshire Police;[28] however from 2000 onwards the number of divisions decreased as the move towards aligning police divisions with local council wards was implemented.

Alt

The grid below outlines the mergers of the former divisions to the eight operational divisions which ceased in April 2014.[29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48]

Alt

Notable cases

Officers killed in the line of duty

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:[49]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Home Office Performance and Measurement: West Yorkshire Police
  2. 1 2 "Tables for 'Police workforce, England and Wales, 31 March 2013". HM Government. Office for National Statistics. 31 March 2013. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 West Yorkshire Police: Policing History Archived 25 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
  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
  6. ↑ "Leeds | West Yorkshire Police". Westyorkshire.police.uk. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  7. ↑ "Bradford | West Yorkshire Police". Westyorkshire.police.uk. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  8. ↑ "Wakefield | West Yorkshire Police". Westyorkshire.police.uk. 23 April 2001. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  9. ↑ "Kirklees | West Yorkshire Police". Westyorkshire.police.uk. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  10. ↑ "Calderdale | West Yorkshire Police". Westyorkshire.police.uk. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  11. ↑ "The 'Father' of DNA fingerprinting opens the new Scientific Support Building in Wakefield — University of Leicester". .le.ac.uk. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  12. ↑ "New approach to regional collaboration - North Yorkshire Police". Northyorkshire.police.uk. 26 July 2013. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  13. ↑ West Yorkshire Police (2013) PFI Building Projects (accessed 4 July 2013)
  14. ↑ 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)
  15. ↑ West Yorkshire Police (2013) Wakefield 5th Event Feedback (accessed 4 July 2013)
  16. ↑ Yorkshire Evening Post (2013) Castleford Fire crews and police sharing new station (accessed 4 July 2013)
  17. ↑ BBC News (2012) Leeds City Council approves Millgarth Police station purchase (accessed 4 July 2013)
  18. ↑ The Leeds Citizen (2012) Rush on to get new Elland Road Police HQ through planning work to start in June (accessed 4 July 2013)
  19. ↑ "West Yorkshire Police chief constable's suspension lifted". BBC News. 14 May 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  20. ↑ "North West Leeds Division". Wypnpt.org. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  21. ↑ "North East Leeds Division". Wypnpt.org. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  22. ↑ "City & Holbeck Division". Wypnpt.org. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  23. ↑ "Wakefield Division". Wypnpt.org. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  24. ↑ "Kirklees Division". Wypnpt.org. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  25. ↑ "Calderdale Division". Wypnpt.org. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  26. ↑ "Bradford South Division". Wypnpt.org. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  27. ↑ "Airedale & North Bradford Division". Wypnpt.org. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  28. ↑ "Internet Archive Wayback Machine". Replay.waybackmachine.org. 13 October 2002. Archived from the original on 13 October 2002. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  29. ↑ "The new Calderdale Division". Web Archive. 1 January 2003. Archived from the original on 1 January 2003. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  30. ↑ "The new Wakefield Division". Web Archive. 26 July 2001. Archived from the original on 26 July 2001. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  31. ↑ "Millgarth Division". Web Archive. 13 December 2001. Archived from the original on 13 December 2001. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  32. ↑ "Pudsey Division". Web Archive. 14 June 2002. Archived from the original on 14 June 2002. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  33. ↑ "Chapeltown Division". Web Archive. 17 August 2002. Archived from the original on 17 August 2002. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  34. ↑ "Weetwood Division". Web Archive. 17 April 2002. Archived from the original on 17 April 2002. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  35. ↑ "Killingbeck Division". Web Archive. 15 June 2002. Archived from the original on 23 February 2004. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  36. ↑ "Holbeck Division". Web Archive. 17 August 2002. Archived from the original on 17 August 2002. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  37. ↑ "Keighley Division". Web Archive. 11 April 2002. Archived from the original on 11 April 2002. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  38. ↑ "Bradford North Division". Web Archive. 11 April 2002. Archived from the original on 11 April 2002. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  39. ↑ "Bradford South Division". Web Archive. 16 August 2001. Archived from the original on 16 August 2001. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  40. ↑ "Huddersfield Division". Web Archive. 17 April 2002. Archived from the original on 17 April 2002. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  41. ↑ "Dewsbury Division". Web Archive. 11 April 2002. Archived from the original on 11 April 2002. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  42. ↑ "The new City & Holbeck Division". Web Archive. 3 October 2003. Archived from the original on 3 October 2003. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  43. ↑ "The new Pudsey & Weetwood Division". Web Archive. 12 April 2003. Archived from the original on 12 April 2003. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  44. ↑ "The new Kirklees Division". Web Archive. 5 March 2005. Archived from the original on 5 March 2005. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  45. ↑ "The new North East Leeds Division". Web Archive. 2 April 2007. Archived from the original on 2 April 2007. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  46. ↑ "Merger of old Chapeltown and Killingbeck divisions". BBC News. 13 July 2006. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  47. ↑ "The new North West Leeds Division". Web Archive. 24 October 2007. Archived from the original on 24 October 2007. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  48. ↑ "Proposals to merge two of the three Bradford divisions". Web Archive. 20 January 2008. Archived from the original on 20 January 2008. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  49. ↑ Archived 20 November 2008 at the Wayback Machine.

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