Cornwall County Constabulary was the

Home Office The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

force for the county of

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, until 1967. The force was formed in 1857. It absorbed Bodmin Borough Police in 1866, Liskeard Borough Police in 1877, Launceston Borough Police in 1883, Falmouth Borough Police, Helston Borough Police, Penryn Borough Police and St Ives Borough Police in 1889,

Truro City Police Truro City Police, known as Truro Borough Police until 1877, was the police force for the corporate town of Truro, Cornwall, from 1836 to 1921. It was established under the terms of the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 which required every town t ...

in 1921, and Penzance Borough Police and the Isles of Scilly Police in 1947. From 1947 it was officially called the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Constabulary, although this name was rarely used. In 1965, it had an establishment of 500 and an actual strength of 446. On 1 April 1967 it amalgamated with

Devon and Exeter Police Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

and

Plymouth City Police Plymouth City Police was the city force for Plymouth, Devon, from 1928 to 1967. The force’s title was conferred upon it when the borough of Plymouth achieved city status in 1928.The Police Service in Plymouth, Brian Moseley Formation At the ...

to form

Devon and Cornwall Constabulary Devon and Cornwall Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the ceremonial counties of Devon and Cornwall (including the Isles of Scilly) in South West England. The force serves approximately 1.8 million people over an a ...

. The archives and objects that relate to the force are now held by the

Museum of Policing in Devon and Cornwall The Museum of Policing in Devon and Cornwall (MOPIDAC) is a registered charity that collects, preserves and celebrates the history of policing in Devon and Cornwall. The museum possesses a comprehensive collection of artefacts and archives that ...

Chief Constables

* 1857–1896 : Colonel Walter Raleigh Gilbert * 1896–1909 : Richard Middleton Hill * 1909–1935 : Lieutenant-Colonel Hugh Bateman Protheroe-Smith, OBE * 1935–1956 : Major Edgar Hare * 1956-1964 : Richard Bonar Matthews * 1964-1967 : Kenneth Mortimer Wherly

Footnotes

References

Devon and Cornwall Constabulary family treeHistory of Wadebridge Town and Police, by Peter Tuthill
Defunct police forces of England History of Cornwall Organisations based in Cornwall Government agencies established in 1857 1967 disestablishments in England 1857 establishments in England Crime in Cornwall {{Cornwall-org-stub