A territorial police force is a police service that is responsible for an area defined by sub-national boundaries, distinguished from other police services which deal with the entire country or a type of crime. In countries organized as federations , police responsible for individual sub-national jurisdictions are typically called state or provincial police .
29-507: Lancashire Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the ceremonial county of Lancashire in North West England . The force's headquarters are at Hutton , near the city of Preston . As of September 2020, the force has 3,088 police officers , 190 special constables , and 280 police community support officers (PCSO), 300 police support volunteers (PSV), and 2,287 staff. After many complaints over
58-453: A Eurocopter Squirrel , but this was retired in the early 2000s as it was replaced by the newer EC135. Due to police officers in the county not being routinely armed the force has its own specialised firearms unit based at locations around the county. The force has at any one time nine armed officers on patrol. As well being trained in firearms, AFOs are also trained in other skills such as method of entry and advanced pursuit tactics. Although
87-466: A number of years over the crime ridden state of Lancashire, it was decided in 1839 that a combined county police force was required to police the county. In the same year the force was founded and Captain John Woodford was made chief constable with two assistant chief constables, 14 superintendents and 660 constables. Over the next 50 years, the police force saw many changes including the introduction of
116-569: A total capacity of 138 cells and a further two stations, Burnley and Skelmersdale, have custody suites not currently in use. The constabulary's armed response teams with authorised firearms officers carrying assault rifles, pistols and taser guns. Armed Response Vehicles also carry specialist equipment to gain entry to buildings and vehicles. After successful trials in 2014, the force issued body-mounted cameras to all officers in forward-facing roles. All officers are now trained to use them and many choose to use them on every shift, although their use
145-529: Is a technology for determining the speed of a moving vehicle. It is used by police officers to catch speeding motorists. These devices are mounted on a patrol car's console, allowing the officer easy access to its controls. Many main roads in the UK now have horizontal lines of about two feet in length painted on the carriageway, which allow the VASCAR system to be calibrated. VASCAR units were first fitted to police vehicles in
174-572: Is covered by the Counter Terrorism Policing North West's unit, which also covers Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, the Isle of Man and Merseyside. The force's motorway policing unit has headquarters at Samlesbury near Preston . The unit is led by a single inspector who in turn is responsible for seven sergeants and 43 police constables. The unit also operates a vehicle checking station at Cuerden between Chorley and Preston on
203-455: Is not mandatory. In 2020, Lancashire Police upgraded to cameras with the ability to integrate with the digital policing app Pronto, which has replaced traditional paper pocket note books. His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) conducts a periodic police effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy (PEEL) inspection of each police service's performance. In its latest PEEL inspection, Lancashire Constabulary
232-518: Is split into three geographical divisions, and a number of specialist units are based within force HQ at Hutton. The split is approximate, and divisions are deliberately vague, giving a seamless approach to policing in the Lancashire area. The geographical divisions and their headquarters are as follows: Calls and digital engagement are handled by Contact Management based at headquarters. A number of other operationally significant departments are based at
261-491: The National Police Chiefs' Council roads policing strategy, Policing our Roads Together , which has five strands: RPU officers are responsible for patrolling the main motorways and large roads throughout the territorial police force area. In addition to their general road policing duties, they assist with various operations aimed at improving road safety and are also at the forefront in tackling vehicle crime and
290-493: 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 is often inaccurate or inadequate as the words naturally exclude forces outside England and Wales , but include some special police forces over which
319-588: The home secretary on 6 February 2006, it was to be merged with Cumbria Constabulary . These were accepted by both forces on 26 February, and the merger would have taken place on 1 April 2007. However in July 2006, both Cumbria and Lancashire constabularies decided not to proceed with the merger because the government failed to remedy issues with the council tax precept which left both forces unable to proceed. The Police Roll of Honour Trust and Police Memorial Trust list and commemorate all British police officers killed in
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#1733106366453348-450: The 1950s that they were allowed uniforms, and not until the 1970s were they paid at the same rate as their male counterparts. In 1948 the force's dog section was established with many differing breeds being used, but by the 1950s it was established that the German shepherd was the most suitable. In 1965, the force had an establishment of 3,784 officers and an actual strength of 3,454, making it
377-572: 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 the three legal systems has all the powers of a constable throughout their own legal system but limited powers in
406-780: The M65, this is done in co-operation with VOSA . Until 2018, Lancashire's motorway unit was one of the four forces that make up the North West Motorway Police Group along with Merseyside Police , Greater Manchester Police and Cheshire Constabulary . Since 2013, air support has been provided by the National Police Air Service , which provides air support to all police forces in England & Wales. This now-defunct unit operated an EC135 helicopter based at BAE Warton . The force had an ASU since 1994 when it fielded
435-699: The Tactical Operations Team (TacOps for short) which is composed of the Roads Policing Unit , Dog Unit, Mounted Branch and Armed Response Unit. TacOps was renamed in 2023 to Specialist Operations Team, or Specialist Ops. Lancashire Constabulary partners with the North West Police Underwater Search & Marine Unit . Following a review in 2015, British police forces changed their approach to counter terrorism, and eleven regional counter terrorism units were formed. Lancashire
464-508: 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 . Roads Policing Unit A roads policing unit ( RPU ), or a similarly named unit in some forces, is the specialist road traffic police unit of a British police force . RPUs work with
493-521: The constabulary headquarters in Hutton, including Force Intelligence Bureau, Vehicle Maintenance, and Scientific Support. The Hutton site also houses the Training School, where new recruits undergo their initial classroom training, and serving officers and staff attend development courses and annual refreshment courses, such as First Aid and Officer Safety. At the end of 2017 Lancashire Constabulary formed
522-551: The constabulary's headquarters is in Hutton, there is not normally public access to this site. Each of the three geographic divisions has a divisional headquarters, West – Blackpool, South – Preston, and East – Greenbank Blackburn. Across the county, seventeen police stations / satellite offices have retained front counter services, for the public to walk up and speak to someone face to face. Four stations have operational custody suites, namely Blackpool, Lancaster, Blackburn and Preston, with
551-558: The criminal use of the roads network. They are also available to back up other units, as they are constantly roaming an area as part of their high visibility patrolling work. A sub-unit of the RPU is the Collision Investigation Unit (CIU) or Forensic Collision Investigation and Reconstruction Unit (FCIRU), which exists to manage the follow-up investigations into all fatal and very serious collisions. The specially-trained teams attend
580-667: The line of duty. Since its establishment in 1984, the Police Memorial Trust has erected 50 memorials nationally to some of those officers. The following officers of Lancashire Constabulary are listed by the trust as having died attempting to prevent, stop or solve a crime: Located in Lancaster Castle , in the former site of HMP Lancaster , Lancashire Police Museum is free to enter with sixteen galleries, each in former prison cells. Exhibits include police uniforms, radios, handcuffs, saddles and other evocative objects. The force
609-474: The mid-1970s. The automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) system is housed in a mobile unit. Both colour and infrared cameras are used to capture images of vehicle number plates as they pass by. The index number is read automatically and checked against a number of databases. If a match is made to a vehicle of police interest, the ANPR operator receives an alarm. The operator can then alert other officers to stop
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#1733106366453638-447: The offence, the motorist can then be advised regarding their driving, cautioned or prosecuted, when the video recording can be used in court if necessary. JAI PROVIDA 2000 is a sophisticated in-car video and speed enforcement system for 24-hour detection of traffic offences and criminal acts. System recordings can be used in court as visual evidence, including reconstruction of events. VASCAR (Visual Average Speed Computer And Recorder)
667-675: 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 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
696-404: The police helmet and, during the 1860s, the force lost its first officer, PC Jump, who died after being shot by a group of men that he and a colleague were searching. By the end of the century the force had developed a detective department who were allowed to wear plain clothes. The first detective appointed was John Wallbank. In 1917, the force first allowed female officers although it was only in
725-491: The scenes of all such incidents, where, amongst other things, they take numerous measurements of the final layout of the scene and examine vehicles, all in a bid to piece together the cause of the crash. The ProViDa In Car Video System is fitted to both marked and unmarked traffic patrol cars and motorcycles with the aim of improving driver behaviour and road safety. It is used to detect traffic offences and to educate, advise and, if necessary, prosecute offenders. Components of
754-883: The second largest police force (after the Metropolitan Police ) and the largest county force in Great Britain. The force then went through major changes in the 1970s, when the force was reduced to cover the new re-bordered Lancashire with the other areas coming under the jurisdiction of Cumbria Constabulary , Greater Manchester Police and Merseyside Police . On 10 October 2007, the Home Office announced that Lancashire Constabulary had ranked joint first, with Surrey, out of 43 forces by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabularies. All 43 police forces were assessed on seven areas - tackling crime, serious crime, protecting vulnerable people, satisfaction, neighbourhood policing, local priorities and resources and efficiency. Under proposals made by
783-412: The system: Whilst on patrol, a police officer who observes a blatant offence or an example of bad driving can record the incident on tape. Once they have stopped the driver concerned, they can then invite the motorist to sit in the police car , where the incident is replayed. A motorist can request a copy of the video evidence should the matter be dealt with at court. Depending on the circumstances of
812-715: 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 the Civil Guard in metropolitan Spain . It was commanded by Spanish officers and included Spanish personnel of all ranks. In
841-493: Was rated as follows: 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 is served by the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary . The RCMP is also contracted to act as
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