North Yorkshire Police is the

territorial police force 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, ...

covering the non-metropolitan county of

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by national parks, including most of the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors. It is one of four co ...

and the

unitary authority A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

in northern England. As of September 2018 the force had a strength of 1,357 police officers, 127 special constables, 192 PCSOs and 1,072 police staff. Of the 43 territorial police forces in England and Wales, the force has the 5th largest geographic area of responsibility whilst being the 15th smallest force in terms of police officer numbers.

History

The force was formed on 1 April 1974, under the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

, and was largely a successor to the York and North East Yorkshire Police, also taking part of the old

West Riding Constabulary The West Yorkshire Constabulary (WYC) was, from 1968 to 1974, the statutory police force for the West Riding of Yorkshire, in northern England. It was formed under the Police Act 1964, and was a merger of the previous West Riding Constabulary a ...

's area. The York and North East Yorkshire Police had covered the

North Riding of Yorkshire The North Riding of Yorkshire is a subdivision of Yorkshire, England, alongside York, the East Riding and West Riding. The riding's highest point is at Mickle Fell with 2,585 ft (788 metres). From the Restoration it was used ...

, the

East Riding of Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a ceremonial county and unitary authority area in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, South Yorkshire t ...

and the

county borough County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control, similar to the unitary authorities created since the 1990s. An equivalent te ...

; it was itself formed in 1968 from a merger of the two riding forces with the York City Police. Proposals made by the

Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all nationa ...

on 21 March 2006 would have seen the force merge with West Yorkshire Police,

South Yorkshire Police South Yorkshire Police (SYP) is the territorial police force responsible for policing South Yorkshire in England. The force is led by Chief Constable Lauren Poultney. Oversight is conducted by Police and Crime Commissioner Alan Billings. T ...

and Humberside Police to form a strategic police force for the entire region. However, these proposals were later dropped. It was announced in January 2007 that the then Chief Constable, Della Cannings, would be retiring from the force on 16 May 2007 due to illness. Della Cannings made the headlines on a number of occasions. She was not allowed to purchase wine from

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British Multinational corporation, multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues an ...

in Northallerton in March 2004 until she had taken off her hat and epaulettes, as it was illegal to sell alcohol to on-duty police officers. In October 2006 it was revealed that more than £28,000 had been spent to refurbish a

shower A shower is a place in which a person bathes under a spray of typically warm or hot water. Indoors, there is a drain in the floor. Most showers have temperature, spray pressure and adjustable showerhead nozzle. The simplest showers have a ...

in her office. On 19 April 2007, it was announced that Grahame Maxwell was to become the new Chief Constable of North Yorkshire Police. Grahame Maxwell began his career with Cleveland Police and served in all ranks up to Chief Superintendent when he became District Commander in

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the ...

. After completing the Strategic Command Course in 2000, he was appointed as an Assistant Chief Constable with West Yorkshire Police and during his four years there served as the ACC Specialist Operations and ACC Territorial Operations. Mr Maxwell was promoted to Deputy Chief Constable with

in January 2005 and become the Chief Constable of North Yorkshire Police on 17 May 2007. Dave Jones QPM, was appointed as chief constable in 2013 after serving as Assistant Chief Constable at the Police Service of Northern Ireland, where he had command of the Rural Division. He was awarded the Queen's Police Medal in the 2017 New Year Honours List and retired from the role in 2018. In July 2017, the force's headquarters was moved from

Newby Wiske Newby Wiske is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated on the River Wiske, about five miles north-west of Thirsk. History The village has always belonged to the manor of Kirby Wiske. ...

to Alverton Court in Northallerton. The new headquarters is the former offices of the Rural Payments Agency. The previous headquarters at Newby Wiske is a

grade II In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...

listed building and was becoming difficult to upgrade into the 21st century. The memorial stones commemorating those who have served the police in the region have been moved to the new headquarters from Newby Wiske. These include those who have died in the First and the Second World Wars and also those who have died in the line of duty. In August 2018, it was confirmed that Lisa Winward would become the new chief constable with immediate effect. Winward joined the police in 1993 and has been serving in the North Yorkshire police service since 2008. North Yorkshire Police - Vauxhall Astra (YJ56 AAE)

North Yorkshire Police - Vauxhall Astra (YJ56 AAE)

Governance and oversight

Since November 2012, the force has been overseen by the elected North Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner. Since 2018, this role has also included oversight of the North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service. In October 2021, the incumbent commissioner Philip Allott resigned following comments surrounding the

murder of Sarah Everard On the evening of 3 March 2021, 33-year-old Sarah Everard was kidnapped in South London, England, as she was walking home to the Brixton Hill area from a friend's house near Clapham Common. She was stopped by off-duty Metropolitan Police offic ...

. Previously, North Yorkshire Police Authority had nine councillors (drawn from both North Yorkshire County Council and City of York Council), three

justices of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or '' puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission (letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sam ...

, and five independent members.

Chief constables

*1974–1977 : Robert Boyes *1977–1979 : John Woodcock *1979–1985 : Kenneth Henshaw *1985–1989 : Peter Nobes *1989–1998 : David Burke *1998–2002 : David Kenworthy *2002–2007 : Della Cannings *2007–2012 : Graham Maxwell *2012–2013 : Tim Madgwick *2013–2018 : Dave Jones *2018–present : Lisa Winward

Officers killed in the line of duty

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 following officers of North Yorkshire Police are listed by the trust as having died attempting to prevent, stop or solve a crime, since the turn of the 20th century: *Acting DC Norman Garnham, 1977 (fatally stabbed during an arrest) *PC David Ian Haigh, 1982 (shot dead by

Barry Prudom Barry Peter Prudom (18 October 1944 – 4 July 1982) was an English electrician and multiple murderer, known as The Phantom in the Forest, who became the subject of a police manhunt and what was at the time the largest armed police operatio ...

) *Sergeant David Thomas Winter, 1982 (shot dead by

) *Special constable Glenn Thomas Goodman, 1992 (shot dead; posthumously awarded the Queen's Commendation for Brave Conduct)

References

External links