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The Gloucestershire constabulary is responsible for the law enforcement in Gloucestershire, a non metropolitan county in south-west England. It is responsible for the safety of 564,000 people close to the Welsh border. This constitutes 1,025 square miles as stated by the 1996 police act.
The force itself is split into 17 inspector led neighbourhood areas or INAs for short. This has been the constabulary's structure since 1998. This helps to ensure that the police force in Gloucestershire works in an effective way which is in touch with the local areas of the county.
The county of Gloucestershire has been recently split after the southern part was separated and formed into the county of Avon. The police force of Gloucestershire is therefore relatively new and has existed in its current state since 1974. Currently the force has over 2,200 employees and 143 volunteers.
History of the Gloucestershire Constabulary
The Police force in Gloucestershire was originally formed in 1839 and was responsible for those living in the former borders of the county. This area of control has recently been cut following the separation of Gloucestershire and the county of Avon which was later to be split up between bath, North-East Somerset, Bristol, north Somerset and South Gloucestershire. The policing for the southern part of the county is the responsibility of the Avon and Somerset Constabulary.
The Police force in the northern part of the county formed what is now considered to be the Gloucestershire constabulary. Just before the force was split into two separate constabularies, there were 1,010 employees and 867 police officers.
In 1974 this all changed and the area was split up following the local government act of 1972. The southern part of the county was divided up into six distinct districts, all coming under separate control. The area of Avon was further disturbed after the Banham Commission in 1996 and the area was split into four instead of six local authorities.
The current day Gloucestershire constabulary
The modern day police force consists of four divisions: Forest and Gloucester, Cheltenham, Tewkesbury and Cotswold & Stroud. It has its headquarters in Quedgeley and has 1,496 police officers keeping the residents of Gloucestershire safe. There are also 162 police community support officers. To add to this impressive police force, there are 143 volunteers. The constabulary has an annual budget of £95.7 million.
The police force in Gloucestershire has come under the spotlight in recent years for race and sex discrimination in its recruitment processes. In November 2006, it was ruled that 108 white males had been unfairly rejected from the recruitments process on grounds of race and gender. One of the candidates was awarded £2,500 in compensation.
The Gloucestershire police force has signed up to a policing pledge: it's number one policy is to treat its residents with dignity and respect and to offer a fair access to all of its services. Other policies include providing information and safer community teams. This pledge is a government expectation as well as a national initiative. The Gloucestershire constabulary has used the pledge to confirm its existing commitment to the safety of its law abiding citizens.
Like many police forces across the country, the Gloucestershire force has many new and modern ways of keeping its residents safe. This includes regular radio adverts advising on how to keep safe and avoid crime; operation angel to prevent shoplifting amongst schoolchildren and sexual crimes. There are also many poster campaigns to help prevent minor crimes before they occur. This is all part of the police crime reduction idea to stop the preventable crimes using simple measures to stay safe and on the right side of the law books.
Given the rural nature of many parts of Gloucestershire, the police force has to adapt to be able to cope with environmental concerns. Their rural and environmental initiative has already seen success and the force is currently in the process of redeveloping the current plan. This is one of the ways in which the constabulary aims to engage with the local community to improve safety and trust.
The CESAR scheme, a triangular device which shows evidence of tampering and gives each items of plant and machinery its own DNA. This has increased the number of returned items of machinery six fold from 5% to 30%, since its introduction.
The very lifeblood of the Gloucestershire constabulary is neighbourhood policing. Their target is to make their area safer for residents and to meet the government's policing agenda. This has been achieved in no small way according to their overall crime figures. There was a 10.8% fall in crime between 2008 and 2009.
Moving into the future, The force has introduced its plan to ensure that their neighbourhood policing is consistent and continues to improve crime and safety in a way which incorporates local responsibility. This is enforced in part by the 162 police community support officers that the constabulary currently employs; whose responsibility is to provide a visible presence on the streets and in the local communities to establish safety and trust.
A recent addition is the diversity and trust forum which is chaired by the assistant chief constable. There is a forum twice a month which consists of members from Unison, the Police Federation and the Superintendents Association. The focus of this is to develop the level of trust and safety in the local area and to ensure that the diversity action plan is fully realised.
The police in Gloucestershire are also in schools, helping to ensure that all areas of uncertainty, myths and difficult subjects are met with a high level of professionalism. The force supports the work done by schools and is compatible with PSHE education – Personal, social and health. The force is keen to enforce and inform people of the role the police play in their society and how they can make their lives safer as well as inspiring a sense of community.
The Gloucestershire police constabulary also has an informative website with links to every possible area of the police force and information on staying safe and what the police can do for members of the community.
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