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70-722: The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the counties of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight in South East England . The force area includes Southampton , the largest city in South East England , and the naval city of Portsmouth . It also covers the New Forest National Park , sections of the South Downs National Park , large towns such as Basingstoke , Eastleigh , Andover , Fareham and Aldershot , and

140-521: A Chief Officer. Whilst here, Pearson was the spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police's tactic of officers being able to knock moped thieves off their bikes. Pearson was also the programme lead for the Police Plan of Action on Inclusion and Race, a role in which in 2021, she stated that she had 'never seen' an officer being racist, whilst she was working in the Metropolitan Police. Dorset Police

210-614: A corporate approach to reducing crime, as well as providing specialist and investigative roles. CID is split into numerous sub-departments, which include: Child Protect Investigation, Intelligence Directorate, Scientific Support. The Dog Section was established in 1953; the unit is based in Eastern Division HQ in Ferndown. The unit comprises one inspector , one sergeant , 13 constables and 22 dogs, including general purpose German Shepherds and more specialist breeds. The Marine Unit

280-463: A patrol hub but are not officially confined to any subdivision of Hampshire while at work. The strand also includes call handlers and control room staff who work very closely with the police officers on the ground. This section is filled mostly with skilled and experienced police officers who become highly trained police vehicle response drivers (as not all police officers are trained or allowed to drive with lights and sirens activated). They also make up

350-647: A population of 774,000, which increases in the tourist season. In 2022, Dorset Police received 121,798 emergency calls on 999 . In 2023, Dorset Police: Officers in Dorset have legal jurisdiction throughout all of England and Wales , including areas that have their own special police forces, as do all police officers of territorial police forces (as per Section 30 of the Police Act 1996 ). Officers also have limited powers in Scotland and Northern Ireland (as per Section 137 of

420-524: A report by His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) was published about Dorset Police and seven other forces into their standards of vetting. It uncovered that due to poor vetting standards there could be 'hundreds, if not thousands, of corrupt police officers serving in England and Wales'. In 2006 the Home Office announced plans to reduce the number of police forces in

490-501: A retro-reflective chequered blue and white band. Since 2005, the standard yellow and blue retro-reflective battenberg markings , together with the force crest on the bonnet, on all marked, operational vehicles. Aviation support is provided by the National Police Air Service established in 2012. Hampshire Constabulary's former air support unit initially operated an Edgley Optica , G-KATY, as an observation platform in

560-560: A score, not that it was necessarily un-markable): In December 2014, Dorset Police was criticised during a review by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) for the way they investigated offences, with a backlog of cases in the Safeguarding Referral Unit. The report from that year found that whilst crime had continued to fall at a greater rate in Dorset than England and Wales, levels of victim satisfaction were slightly below average for some crimes. In November 2022,

630-682: A single force. This was cancelled in October 2018 when the PCC for Devon and Cornwall was unwilling to submit the merger plans to the Home Office for consideration. 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. The Dorset Police Male Voice Choir

700-630: A strategic alliance as: "An agreement between two or more forces to pursue a set of agreed objectives, while retaining separate identities." A strategic alliance was agreed to in March 2015, covering over 30 administrative and operational business areas (almost 40% of the total activity of the two forces). These business areas include admin services, finance, human resources, fleet services and ICT, together with some specialist policing teams. The first joint teams became operational in April 2016. In each business area, there

770-547: A variety of dogs in use across the two counties, working 24-hours a day. The unit, based at the support headquarters at Netley , near Southampton. Dogs are trained in a variety of skills including passive drug searching, searches for firearms, explosives, ammunition, and currency. The dogs are also trained to locate people in a variety of situations. For example, they are able to find people who are trapped in collapsed buildings. Hampshire's firearms units provides suitably trained and equipped officers to respond to incidents involving

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840-585: A vehicle when it goes over it. Previously, Dorset Police Transport Services manage the force's 450 vehicles, across its divisional units, road policing unit, and armed response. However, in 2016, Dorset's Fleet Services aligned with Devon & Cornwall's as part of a proposed force merger. As a result, there are now seven workshops available across the three counties, and Dorset manages and maintains approximately 500 vehicles as part of 'Alliance Fleet Services'. As of 2020, Dorset Police had 429 vehicles which included 338 cars, 83 vans and 8 motorcycles. Examples of

910-529: Is Donna Jones , of the Conservative Party , who was reelected in May 2024. In 2016, Hampshire Constabulary announced a "new-look policing model" which organised its resources into four functional command sections (known internally as strands), each commanded by a chief superintendent . It also merged the six local policing divisions known as Operational Command Units (OCUs) into three Policing divisions known as

980-406: Is a non-departmental public body responsible for overseeing the system for handling complaints made against police forces throughout England and Wales. The IOPC may choose to manage or supervise investigations conducted into complaints and may conduct the investigations themselves in the most serious cases. The IOPC sets the standards of the investigation of complaints against police and also acts as

1050-452: Is a single team and management structure made up from people from both organisations, to work on behalf of both forces. Any costs and savings are shared in proportion to the size of each force. So far the strategic alliance project is on track to achieve the initial target of £12   million of combined annual savings by 2018. In September 2017, it was announced that Dorset Police and Devon and Cornwall Police were looking at merging to form

1120-519: Is also another section of specialised officers called the Joint Operations Unit, which is a joint unit with Thames Valley Police . This strand has units for handling intelligence , forecasting demand and monitoring police performance. This strand focuses on preventative and community policing . It is organised based on local government, with each local authority area having a "local commander", sometimes shared. These are superintendents for

1190-408: Is as follows (from highest to lowest): In 2012, Dorset Police officers moved from blue shirts to black wicking tops (PCSOs wear blue wicking tops). They either wear hi-visibility or black tactical vests on top of body armour. Dorset Police use Motorola MXP600 TETRA digital radios. They also use rigid handcuffs , limb restraints, telescopic batons and incapacitant spray. Some officers carry

1260-698: Is likely to occur. In other forces MAST is sometimes known as the Territorial Support Group or L2. There are many units that support the above Operational units, which include: the Planning and Policy Unit, The Critical Incident Cadre (which is designed to provide tactical support in the event of any major incident within the force area), the Scientific Services unit (which consists of the Crime Scene Investigators ), Special Branch and both

1330-611: Is often inaccurate or inadequate as the words naturally exclude forces outside England and Wales , but include some special police forces over which the Home Secretary has some power. The police forces referred to as "territorial" are those whose police areas are defined by: Members of territorial police forces have jurisdiction in one of the three distinct legal systems of the United Kingdom – either England and Wales , Scotland or Northern Ireland . A police officer of one of

1400-565: Is responsible for policing road across the county. There are no motorways located within Dorset. Dorset Police have around 450 vehicles, from 20 different manufacturers, and drive a total of 7.5   million miles a year. The Roads Policing Unit (RPU) also features the No Excuse Team, launched in 2010, which aims to reduce deaths and serious injuries on Dorset roads; and the Interceptor Team, launched in 2023, which targets criminals using

1470-689: Is responsible for policing the 89 miles of Dorset's coastline and up to 12 miles out to sea. The area is one of the busiest coastal areas in the UK, including two of the busiest ports, numerous shipping lanes, thousands of private moorings, the RNLI 's busiest callout area and a training centre for the Royal Marines . The Ports Policing Unit is responsible for policing all ports in Dorset including Poole Harbour , Swanage Harbour, Portland Harbour , Weymouth Harbour , Christchurch Harbour and Bournemouth Airport . The force

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1540-694: Is served by the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary . The RCMP is also contracted to act as the territorial police force in Nunavut , Yukon and the Northwest Territories in addition to being the federal police force in those Canadian territories. A separate Sahrawi indigenous unit serving the Spanish colonial government was the Policia Territorial . This gendarmerie corresponded to

1610-423: Is slightly above the national average of 172 (159) per 1,000 employees. In that period Hampshire were above national average for complaints concerning 'Neglect or Failure in duty' and 'Oppressive Conduct or Harassment'. Of all complaints received during the period 0% (1%) were discontinued - national average 1% - some 5% (3%) were dispensed - national average 7% - and 6% (5%) were withdrawn - national average 10%). Of

1680-914: Is the territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Dorset in South West England , which includes the largely rural area covered by Dorset Council , and the urban conurbation of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole . The force covers an area of 1,024 square miles (2,650 km ) with a population of 774,000. Dorset County Constabulary was formed in 1856. In 1965, it had an establishment of 544 and an actual strength of 466. On 1 October 1967, it merged with Bournemouth Borough Police to form Dorset and Bournemouth Constabulary. On 1 April 1974, this force took over some areas (mainly Christchurch and its hinterland) from Hampshire Constabulary and acquired its present name of Dorset Police. Chief Constable Amanda Pearson, started her role on 1 March 2023, after her predecessor Scott Chilton moved to

1750-477: The BME community , confidence in the police and proportion of police cost met by council. They were scored 'poor' and 'stable' on reducing road death and injury. HMICFRS conducts a periodic police effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy (PEEL) inspection of each police service's performance. This is judged as follows: In its latest PEEL inspections, Dorset Police were rated as follows (ungraded means that it wasn't given

1820-530: The Christchurch Neighbourhood Policing Team moved to the fire station on Fairmile, further advancing the relationship with Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service . Dorset Police uses the standard British police ranks, indicated by epaulettes, up to chief constable. Special constable's collar numbers begin with either the number '3' or '4' and consist of four numbers. Dorset Police's officer rank structure, with epaulette design,

1890-524: The Civil Guard in metropolitan Spain . It was commanded by Spanish officers and included Spanish personnel of all ranks. In the United Kingdom (UK) the phrase is gaining increased official (but not yet statutory ) use to describe the collection of forces responsible for general policing in areas defined with respect to local government areas. The phrase " Home Office Police" is commonly used but this

1960-597: The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 ). Other police services work alongside Dorset Police in the county. This includes the British Transport Police (BTP), who are responsible for policing of the rail network in Great Britain . Their office for Dorset is at Bournemouth railway station . Port of Portland Police is a non- Home Office ports police force within Dorset that is responsible for

2030-754: The M3 , all of the M27 , the M271 and the M275 together with parts of the A3 , A27 , A31 , A34 and A303 . In addition to providing an emergency response to incidents on the road its work is directed towards reducing casualties and offending and in particular at disrupting the activities of travelling criminals. The unit operates from three bases in Hampshire: Havant (near the M27 and M275), Totton (near

2100-616: The Port of Portland . In July 2020, the Port Police agreed a memorandum of understanding with Dorset Police to involve the sharing of assets, improving communication and allowing the collation of information. Since 2014, air support has been provided by National Police Air Service (NPAS). Its nearest helicopter is based at Bournemouth Airport and also supports nearby police forces. Criminal Investigation Department (CID) provides advice to all policing units on crime-related matters and maintaining

2170-575: The ARVs as they contain (either upon the AFOs or inside the ARV itself) shields , advanced lifesaving equipment and their firearms which include pistols , carbines incendiary devices and less than lethal options such as Tasers , baton and baton gun . The units have a permanent staff of instructors, administrators and the force armourer, who is responsible for the safe storage, maintenance and record keeping for each of

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2240-491: The British Crime Survey, 63.8% of people think Dorset Police deals with local concerns, making Dorset the best performing force in England and Wales for that issue. Some 9.9% of people say there is a high level of perceived anti-social behaviour , making Dorset the eighth best performing force in England and Wales – and the top performing force among its family of five most similar forces. Some 17.6% of people said there

2310-467: The Conducted Energy Device (CED) Axon TASER , a non-lethal electroshock weapon used to incapacitate targets via shocks of 50,000   volts. As of 2021, there were 374 officers trained in using TASER. Firearms officers carry rifles and a pistol as their sidearm. Some officers are trained in the use of 'stinger' (also known as a spike strip ), that slowly releases air from tyres of

2380-701: The Constabulary were 2nd place in Top Employer category. In 2017 the Constabulary were still in the top 100 at 65th (Leicestershire was the top police employer). From 2020 the Constabulary no longer featured in the Stonewall Workplace Equality Index. The crime fiction writer Graham Hurley draws on his knowledge of Hampshire Constabulary, and in particular Portsmouth CID, for his series of police procedural novels. Set in Portsmouth and revolving around

2450-731: The Isle of Wight (then part of Hampshire). The first separate police force on the island was formed in 1837 when the Newport Borough Police was established. A separate Isle of Wight Constabulary was not formed until 1890 when the island was the granted administrative county status. During the 19th century, Hampshire County Constabulary absorbed various borough forces including Basingstoke Borough Police (1836–1889), Romsey Borough Police (1836–1865), Lymington Borough Police (1836–1852) and Andover Borough Police (1836–1846). The Isle of Wight Constabulary likewise absorbed

2520-568: The M271 and M27) and Whitchurch (near the M3 & A34). As part of the programme of sharing resources (and thereby reducing costs) agreed between the two forces in late 2010, Hampshire's Roads Policing Unit commenced joint operations with Thames Valley Police's RPU in January 2012. The combined unit is overseen by the Joint Operations Unit. Hampshire Constabulary acquired its first two dogs in 1959. The force now has

2590-653: The Northern, Eastern and Western areas. This reorganisation fundamentally changed how the force operated at all levels which lead to it introducing a "borderless" model for response teams, rather than it being operationally confined to smaller districts as it was in the days of Operational Command Units (OCUs) . The aim is to make sure that the nearest police unit is always sent to an incident. The core policing activities are organised into four Operational Command sections: Intelligence, Tasking and Development, Prevention and Neighbourhoods, Response and Patrol and Investigations. There

2660-493: The Serious Organised Crime and Major Crime units. Police officers wear operational and formal dress uniforms similar to other police forces in the United Kingdom. When on duty, frontline police officers wear a black, wicking T-shirt with the word 'Police' on the sleeves, and black uniform trousers. Hampshire officers no longer use the traditional police jumper, having favoured a black fleece with 'Police' written on

2730-848: The UK from 42 to 24. This would have seen Dorset Police merge with Gloucestershire Constabulary , Devon and Cornwall Police , Avon and Somerset Constabulary and Wiltshire Police . The plans were publicly criticised by all the involved forces, stating that it would lead to poor quality service and a reduction in local policing. The merger plans were abandoned in August 2006 by the then Home Secretary, John Reid. Devon and Cornwall Police and Dorset Police announced in December 2013 that their Chief Constables and PCCs were exploring opportunities for greater collaboration; to save costs without reducing service, and share assets, resources, expertise and best practice. Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) defines

2800-551: The United Kingdom and when taking a person to or from a prison . The United Nations (UN) has operated territorial police forces in those parts of countries which have been under control of the UN from time to time. These were usually formed from police personnel on loan from member countries. A recent example is the use of such a force in East Timor in substitution for Indonesian National Police . Dorset Police Dorset Police

2870-400: The appeals body in cases where members of the public are dissatisfied with the way in which a police force has handled their complaint. In the period April 2011 to December 2011, complaints and allegations made against officers of Hampshire Constabulary had decreased from the previous year (previous years figures in brackets). Hampshire's overall complaints rate of 181 (206) per 1,000 employees

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2940-566: The borough forces of Newport and Ryde. Winchester, Southampton and Portsmouth continued to have independent police forces. In 1914 the Special Constabulary started to perform regular duties 'for the continuous preservation of order during the war'. Prior to this Special Constables were only called up to assist at major events and riots. In 1943, as part of the Defence (Amalgamation of Police Forces) Regulations 1942, Hampshire County Constabulary

3010-453: The chest and back. Officers are required to wear a stab vest whilst on patrol. In addition, officers carry TETRA digital radios, Body Worn Video, rigid handcuffs, incapacitant spray , the ASP 21" collapsible baton , leg restraints, a resuscitation mask and a basic first aid kit. Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary uses a wide selection of vehicles for their individual capabilities and

3080-487: The criminal use of firearms through its armed response vehicles (ARV) and tactical teams. The force has ARVs with both police-liveried and unmarked variants - a marked ARV is distinguishable from other police vehicles as it has big and bright coloured asterisk [*] stickers that are displayed on all four corners of the vehicle) and they usually contain two or three police officers that are specially trained authorised firearms officers (AFO). Many tactical options are available to

3150-411: The fictional Detective Inspector Joe Faraday they portray a gritty picture of the city and its crime. Territorial police force The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP/GRC) is the federal-level police service. It also acts as the provincial police service in every province except for Ontario , and Quebec , which operate provincial police services, as well as Newfoundland and Labrador , which

3220-513: The force had 3,748 police officers, 337 PCSOs and 2,424 police staff. The force has reduced its workforce by 23% since 2010, compared to the national average of 15%. This has led to some criticism from various sources around central government funding for the force. Previous results of inspections by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) are published below: In November 2014, a HMIC report on crime recording found Hampshire Constabulary failed to record, as crime, 40% of incidents, one of

3290-829: The force's firearms. The Marine Unit provides a specialist resource to the force and a policing presence along the 253 miles (407 km) of navigable coastline of the two counties. In addition, the unit is responsible for the investigation of marine incidents and supporting the work of the UK Border Agency, HM Coastguard and the harbour authorities. The unit comprises a sergeant and six constables and has two tactical rigid inflatables, one semi-displacement patrol launch and various land-based patrol vehicles. The ribs and launches are: The Mutual Aid Support Team (MAST), consists of police officers that have taken on further training to deal with less routine incidents such as large scale or more violent public disorder or policing events where it

3360-643: The former Netley Hospital . The first fully constituted police force formed in Hampshire was the Winchester City Police , founded in 1832. The Hampshire County Constabulary was established seven years later in December 1839 as a result of the passing of the County Police Act that year. Initially the force had a chief constable and two superintendents: one was based in Winchester, and the second based on

3430-477: The four police stations with regularly-used custody suites : Each PIC includes specialist departments such as rape investigation teams, child abuse units and major crime teams alongside the Investigation department (formerly CID). This strand also contains special units that are set up to combat particular crime areas such as cyber crime or drug related violence (Operation Fortress). This section consists of

3500-644: The historic city of Winchester . The constabulary, as it is currently constituted, dates from 1967, but modern policing in Hampshire can be traced back to 1832. In late 2015, the force moved its strategic headquarters to Eastleigh , into a building now shared with Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service . At the same time, the force moved its Operational Headquarters to Mottisfont Court in Winchester . The Support & Training Headquarters and control room are located in Netley , near Southampton , in buildings of

3570-453: The incoming emergency calls and to proactively patrol to prevent and detect crime. Student officers who have successfully completed their training at the Support & Training Headquarters are stationed at one of the patrol hubs initially before undertaking further training with other commands. This strand is the main user of the centralised, borderless model. Officers start and end their shifts at

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3640-463: The largest number of Taser carriers in the force who often deal more serious incidents usually involving weapons that are not firearms or an unacceptable level of risk that requires a justifiable use of force. This strand consists of the criminal investigation department and custody staff. The investigation strand is more centralised than before the reorganisation; with its detectives, other officers and police staff investigators (PSIs) being based at

3710-827: The mid-1980s. On 15 May 1985, the aircraft crashed, killing the pilot and police observer. Subsequently, Hampshire operated a fixed wing Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander from the former Royal Naval Air Station at Lee-on-the-Solent . In March 2001, the Islander was replaced by a Britten-Norman Defender 4000 . In 2010, the Air Support Unit was disbanded following a decision to establish a joint South East Air Support Unit with Sussex Police and Surrey Police operating two helicopters. As of March 2017, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary has 2,896 police officers, 364 special constables, 304 designated officers, 385 police community support officers and 1,421 police staff. By comparison, in 2010,

3780-408: The requirements of the roles for which they are employed. In 1965, the constabulary purchased four Volvo 121 Amazon estates. This provoked controversy from the public and the government, as until then, all forces had used domestic cars (Austin, Jaguar, MG, Rover, Wolseley). Historically, the force had used a distinctive vehicle paint scheme of retro-reflective red and white diagonal stripes above

3850-605: The road network within Dorset. The Tactical Firearms Unit responds to major and serious crimes where firearms are involved. The force headquarters is at Winfrith . Police stations open to the public are located at Blandford , Bournemouth Central , Bridport , Gillingham , Poole , Sherborne , Swanage and Weymouth . Stations without a public front desk are Boscombe , Dorchester , Ferndown , Shaftesbury , Sturminster Newton , Verwood , Wareham , Wimborne and Winton . There are two custody suites at Bournemouth Central and Weymouth Police station. In September 2017,

3920-417: The same period during 2008, showed a 9.9% drop in burglary, an 8.5% drop in criminal damage, a 3.5% fall in vehicle crime, a 3% drop in total violent crime, and a 17.8% fall in the most serious violent crime. Criminal damage fell by 5.8%, violence against the person without injury by 9.3%, violence against the person by 5.2%, drug offences by 5.1% and there was a 2.8% fall in total recorded crime. According to

3990-569: The same role in Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary . She is the third female chief constable of Dorset Police, after Jane Stichbury and Debbie Simpson. Pearson started her policing career in 1993 and has worked at Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary, Hertfordshire Constabulary , the City of London Police and Thames Valley Police , before joining the Metropolitan Police , where she worked as

4060-403: The site of the first county headquarters, built in 1847. Between 2013 and 2017, a number of police stations were closed and sold, while others had their public facilities closed. The need to reduce costs also led to the formation of a Joint Operations Unit with Thames Valley Police which, during the course of 2012, saw the amalgamation of Roads Policing Units, Training, Firearms and Dog Units of

4130-480: The three legal systems has all the powers of a constable throughout their own legal system but limited powers in the other two legal systems. Certain exceptions where full police powers cross the border with the officer are when officers are providing planned support to another force such as the G8 Conference in Scotland in 2005 or COP26 officers of the Metropolitan Police who are on protection duties anywhere in

4200-470: The three unitary authorities ( Southampton , Portsmouth and Isle of Wight ) and chief inspectors for the non-metropolitan districts of Hampshire. The Neighbourhood policing teams (NPTs) are aligned with council wards . It also includes safeguarding units, partnership units and police initiatives such as Hampshire Horsewatch and Countrywatch. This strand makes up the majority of police officers on duty at any given time. Their primary roles are to respond to

4270-502: The three worst force performances in the country. A subsequent inspection by HMIC in 2018, showed that the overall crime recording rate had significantly increased to 91.3% of reported crimes being recorded as such. The Professional Standards department of the force investigate the majority of complaints made against police. However, details of complaints received are notified to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) which

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4340-513: The total, 13% (11%) of complaints were found to have 'substantiated finding', 3% lower than the national average. The Stonewall Workplace Equality Index is an annual index of UK employers completed by the LGBT (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender) rights charity Stonewall . Through their submissions to Stonewall, Hampshire Constabulary were consistently high performers on the index from 2006 to 2013, scoring no lower than 15th place overall. In 2009 and 2010

4410-460: The two forces. The IT departments of the forces merged in early 2011. In April 2015, Hampshire Constabulary announced a "new-look policing model", beginning a major reorganisation. The chief constable is supported by a deputy chief constable and three assistant chief constables. The force is overseen by an elected police and crime commissioner (PCC) on non-operational matters (i.e. budget and priorities). The current Hampshire and Isle of Wight PCC

4480-416: The units that are shared with Thames Valley Police . These include the road policing units , training sections, firearms units and dog units of the two forces. The Joint Operations Unit is overseen by an assistant chief constable, who is a joint employee of both forces. The Roads Policing Unit patrol motorways and trunk roads across the two forces' areas. In Hampshire this is made up of large sections of

4550-509: The vehicle makes and models that Dorset Police have used or currently use include vehicles made by Vauxhall , Ford and Mercedes . The British Crime Survey for 2010 found that there was an overall fall in crime in Dorset by 2.5%, and the largest fall in crime was robbery, which fell by 20%, making Dorset Police the eighth best performing force out of 43 in England and Wales, and first in forces similar to Dorset. The performance figures from Dorset Police comparing April to December 2009 with

4620-832: Was a big problem with drugs while 18.8% of people in Dorset said there was a big problem with drunk and rowdy behaviour. 51.6% of people in Dorset agreed that the police and local councils were dealing with issues, making Dorset the twelfth best performing force in England and Wales. In 2010, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary ( Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services since 2017) (HMICFRS) graded Dorset Police overall as 'fair' on local crime and policing, protection from serious harm, confidence and satisfaction. In detail they were graded as 'fair' at neighbourhood policing , neighbourhood presence and solving crime. They were rated as 'good' at reducing crime. They were graded 'excellent' at suppressing gun crime, suppressing knife crime , comparative satisfaction of

4690-527: Was amalgamated with the Isle of Wight and Winchester City Police forces to form the Hampshire Joint Police Force . The two city forces, Southampton City Police and Portsmouth City Police , remained independent. Although this arrangement was originally intended only as a wartime measure, it continued after hostilities ended. In 1948, the merger was made permanent, with Hampshire Joint Police Force being renamed Hampshire Constabulary . The name

4760-497: Was changed once again in 1957, to Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary . The Police Act 1964 led to the amalgamation of the city forces (Southampton and Portsmouth) into the Hampshire force. This created a force named Hampshire Constabulary . The last major changes to the police area were in 1974, when the Local Government Act changed a number of local government areas, and the responsibility for policing Christchurch

4830-477: Was formerly responsible to the Dorset Police Authority, which was replaced in 2012 by the elected Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC). The first PCC was independent Martyn Underhill , who served between 22 November 2012 and 12 May 2021. As of May 2021 , the PCC is David Sidwick , who represents the Conservative Party. The force covers an area of 1,024 square miles (2,650 km ) with

4900-588: Was transferred to Dorset Police . In November 2022, the force was renamed Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary by Police and Crime Commissioner Donna Jones. The names of forces that have policed the counties of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight since the nineteenth century are illustrated below: In 1965, the force had an establishment of 1,346 and an actual strength of 1,137. The headquarters moved to their current locations in Eastleigh (Strategic HQ) and Winchester (Operational HQ) in 2015. The previous facility in Winchester, close to Winchester Prison sat on

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