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Durham Constabulary
Logo of the Durham Constabulary.
Agency overview
Formed	1974
Employees	2,910[1]
Volunteers	126[1]
Annual budget	£112.3 million[1]
Legal personality	Governmental: Government agency
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdiction*	Police area of Durham in the country of England, UK
Map of Durham Constabulary's jurisdiction.
Size	2,232 km²
Population	595,308
Legal jurisdiction	England & Wales
Governing body	Durham Police Authority
Constituting instrument	Police Act 1996
General nature	Law enforcement Local civilian police
Operational structure
Constables	1,758 (of which 126 are special constables)[1]
Police Community Support Officers	162[1]
Agency executive	Jon Stoddart, Chief Constable
Basic Command Units	North Area South Area
Website
http://www.durham.police.uk
Footnotes
* Police area agency: Prescribed geographic area in the country, over which the agency has usual operational jurisdiction.

Durham Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the non-metropolitan county of County Durham and the unitary authority of Darlington. The force covers the 2,232 km² of the county which has a resident population of 595,308. It is one of the smaller forces of the forty-three territorial police forces that service England and Wales. Durham is Home Office force 11.

Durham Constabulary is divided into two areas:

• North Area, covering Durham, Chester le Street and the former Derwentside and Easington districts.
• South Area covering Darlington, Newton Aycliffe, Sedgefield, Weardale and Teesdale.

Under proposals made by the Home Secretary on February 6, 2006, it would merge with Northumbria Police and Cleveland Police to form a single strategic police force for the North East England^[2]. As of July 2006, the plans to merge Cleveland, Durham and Northumbria where scrapped.

It was announced in December 2009 that Durham Constabulary would create a joint firearms unit with neighbouring Cleveland Police. This will take effect from April 2010 with a team of 100 officers. At present both forces operate independent teams of approximately 100 officers, although a shared Tactical Training Centre in Urlay Nook, near Durham Tees Valley Airport, has been operational since 2001. There are also plans to combine road policing teams from Autumn 2010 with one base in the Cleveland area and one in Durham.^{[3] [4]}

History

Durham Constabulary was one of the first county police forces to be set up, built in 1839. The force absorbed Durham City Police (formed in 1836) in 1921, Hartlepool Borough Police (formed in 1851) in 1947, Sunderland Borough Police (formed in 1837) in 1967, and Gateshead Borough Police (formed in 1836) and South Shields Borough Police (formed in 1839) in 1968, when it also lost some of its area to Teesside Constabulary.

In 1965, the force had an establishment of 1,763 and an actual strength of 1,626.^[5]

Under the Local Government Act 1972, in 1974, the northern area of the force (including Gateshead, Sunderland and South Shields) became part of Northumbria Constabulary, with Hartlepool and Stockton-on-Tees in the south-east going to Cleveland Constabulary

Threatened cuts

On 26 October 2006, the force announced that a £10 million financial deficit means it may have to cut more than 300 police officers by 2009^[6]. These would be achieved through recruitment freezes, retirements and natural wastage. The force also announced that it has submitted a recovery plan to the Home Office, which is currently under consideration. It is not clear if this plan, presuming it is approved, will reduce or remove the threat of job losses.

See also

• Law enforcement in the United Kingdom
• List of law enforcement agencies in the United Kingdom
• Table of police forces in the United Kingdom

References

External links

• Durham Constabulary

Video clips

• Durham YouTube channel