Serving a population of some 1.8 million citizens, the Hampshire Constabulary has only existed in its present form since 1967. The Isle of Wight is also included within the force’s jurisdiction, as it once had a force of its own. Hampshire Constabulary is responsible for a couple of relatively large urban centres; which include Southampton and Portsmouth. There are also some far more remote parts of the county; with the New Forest being the best example.
The headquarters for the Hampshire Constabulary are based in the old English capital city of Winchester and the modern day force is divided into several distinct territories. These are: Southampton, Portsmouth, New Forest, Isle of Wight, Basingstoke, Havant, Central Hampshire, West Hampshire, Solent East and North East Hampshire. In total, there are 46 police stations scattered across the area.
History of the Hampshire Constabulary
The first police force in the county of Hampshire was the Winchester City Police, which was established in 1832. Throughout most of the 19th Century, the county was divided into several independent borough forces and one-by-one these were absorbed into the main county’s jurisdiction.
The second World War also saw other separately policed parts of the county come under the wing of the main force, although Southampton and Portsmouth were still standing alone at this time. It would not be until 1967 that the present day Hampshire Constabulary became established as it is to this day. This included taking in the separate administrative county of the Isle of Wight.
After the definite confusion over policing in the county during the 19th and first two-thirds of the 20th Centuries, the Hampshire Constabulary entered a more uniform-pattern of policing for the county. However, this time was not without some significant newsworthy events that have seen the police force hit the headlines on a number of occasions.
In 1972 an IRA bomb was responsible for killing 7 people at the 16th Parachute Brigade Headquarters, in Aldershot. This event certainly made the citizens of Hampshire aware of the fact that they were vulnerable targets in these merciless campaigns by the Irish Republican Army.
The 1980s had more in store for the Hampshire Constabulary and this force was one of the frontline aids for additional officers to help deal with the miners’ strike, which occurred between 1984 and 1985. On the 17th October 1987, Hampshire caught the tail end of the violent storm force winds that battered a large part of the south of England. This led to the pier at Shanklin, on the Isle of Wight, being completely destroyed and a Police Officer was one of the unlucky 19 souls to perish in the storm that was famously and laughingly dismissed by the Met Office.
More recently, in 2008, the MP for Eastleigh (Chris Huhne), made some revelations that were to shock the UK as a whole and cause significant embarrassment to the Hampshire Constabulary. Mr Huhne’s revelations were that there were police officers serving within the Constabulary that were known to have criminal convictions. What was more, these convictions would not ordinarily have been considered as minor: covering offences such as theft, assault and even benefit fraud.
The Hampshire Constabulary As It Is Today
As far as the police forces in England and Wales are concerned, the Hampshire Constabulary really does cover quite a significant land area and population. In fact, in real terms, the force has two administrative counties under its jurisdiction. As with all other modern police forces, the Hampshire Constabulary strives to create a safer environment for the citizens to live in and all of this is overseen by the Chief Constable Alex Marshall; who assumed this position in October 2008.
The force has nearly 4,000 police officers and there are around 450 special constables in addition. As with many other forces today, there is also a growing number of Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs), who provide that ‘bobby on the beat’ feel within the community. It is important to note, however, that PCSOs have as much right to arrest people as you or I and this would only ever be for indictable or triable either way offences (e.g. more serious crimes).
All-in-all, the Hampshire Constabulary statistics do make for quite encouraging reading. All types of recordable crime seem to be on a downward trend for the force as a whole, although there are some small pockets, within the county, where certain types of crimes are on the increase. This is mainly focussed in the larger urban areas (e.g. Portsmouth) and may very well be alcohol-related offences associated with the pubs and clubbing districts.
The Hampshire Constabulary definitely portrays an innovative approach to policing. In fact, it was the first force to introduce the new ‘101’ telephone service; which was aimed at providing citizens with an alternative number to the emergency ‘999’ line, for less serious issues. All eyes have been on this constabulary as they wait to see how successful this introduction has proven to be.
The very forefront of modern policing must be for the force to provide their citizens with a transparent and high level of service. The Hampshire Constabulary certainly appears to take these fundamental principles very seriously. A brief investigation of their website soon reveals that the constabulary intends to set out exactly what it aims to achieve for all of its citizens. The ‘Our Service Commitments To You’ section breaks all of the important features of policing down in to individually defined areas that an individual should come to expect from their modern police force.
Generally speaking, the Hampshire Constabulary serves a part of the United Kingdom that would be considered as being better-off, compared with some other areas of the country. It would always be important to remember this. As there are no really large cities within the force’s area, crime statistics are likely to follow this trend. The constabulary does take rural policing very seriously; devoting a section of its website to this particular category. The Hampshire Constabulary is quite a diverse area in the south of England and this force has made every attempt to recognise this fact.
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