Cumbria Constabulary 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 federation ...

in England covering the

unitary authority A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...

areas of

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

and

Westmorland and Furness Westmorland and Furness is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Cumbria, England. The economy is mainly focused on tourism around both the Lake District and Cumbria Coast, shipbuilding and the Royal Port of Barrow, Royal ...

in the ceremonial county of

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...

. As of September 2017, the force had 1,108 police officers, 535 police staff, 93

police community support officer A police community support officer (PCSO; ), or as written in legislation Community Support Officer (CSO; ), is a uniformed member of police staff in England and Wales, a role created by Section 38(2) of the Police Reform Act 2002, which was giv ...

s, and 86 special constables. The force serves a population of 500,000 across an area of . There are significant areas of isolated and rural community, and the area has one of the smallest visible minority ethnic populations in the country at under 3.0%. Each year, the force's area, which incorporates the

Lake District National Park The Lake District, also known as ''the Lakes'' or ''Lakeland'', is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in Cumbria, North West England. It is famous for its landscape, including its lakes, coast, and mou ...

, attracts over 23million visitors from all over the world (46 times the local population). The area has of motorway and some of trunk and primary roads. The chief constable is Rob Carden. The headquarters of the force are at Carleton Hall, Penrith.

History

Cumberland and Westmorland Constabulary was formed in 1856. In 1947 this force absorbed

Kendal Borough Police Cumbria Constabulary is the territorial police force in England covering the unitary authority areas of Cumberland and Westmorland and Furness in the ceremonial county of Cumbria. As of September 2017, the force had 1,108 police officers, 535 po ...

. Less than 20 years later this amalgamated force absorbed

Carlisle City Police Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its proxim ...

to form a force broadly the same as today's force called the Cumberland, Westmorland and Carlisle Constabulary. In 1965, it had an establishment of 652 and an actual strength of 617. In 1967 the force name was changed to Cumbria Constabulary. In 1974 the force's boundaries were expanded to include the new

non-metropolitan county A non-metropolitan county, or colloquially, shire county, is a subdivision of England used for local government. The non-metropolitan counties were originally created in 1974 as part of a reform of local government in England and Wales, and ...

of Cumbria, in particular

Furness Furness ( ) is a peninsula and region of Cumbria, England. Together with the Cartmel Peninsula it forms North Lonsdale, Historic counties of England, historically an exclave of Lancashire. On 1 April 2023 it became part of the new unitary author ...

and

Sedbergh Rural District Sedbergh Rural District was a rural district in the West Riding of Yorkshire in England from 1894 to its abolition in 1974. The district consisted of the three parishes of Sedbergh, Garsdale and Dent. In 1974 the district became part of the Sou ...

. The Home Secretary proposed on 6 February 2006 to merge it with Lancashire Constabulary. These proposals were accepted by both forces on 25 February and the merger would have taken place on 1 April 2007. However, in July 2006, the Cumbria and Lancashire forces decided not to proceed with the merger because the Government could not remedy issues with the differing council tax precepts.

Chief constables

;Cumbria Constabulary (1967) * 19681980: William Cavey * 19801987: Barry David Keith Price * 19881991: Sir Leslie Sharp * 19911997: Alan Elliott * 19972001: Colin Phillips * 20012007: Michael Baxter * 20072012: Craig Thomas Mackey * 20122013: Stuart Hyde * 20142018 : Jerry Graham * 20182023: Michelle Skeer * 2023present: Rob Carden

Officers killed in the line of duty

The

Police Roll of Honour Trust The Police Roll of Honour Trust is a charitable organisation registered in England & Wales and Scotland, it was founded in 2000 and records all those British police officers who have died on and in the line of duty. It has been granted a Royal Cha ...

and

Police Memorial Trust The Police Memorial Trust is a charitable organisation founded in 1984 and based in London. The trust's objective is to erect memorials to British police officers killed in the line of duty, at or near the spot where they died, thereby acting as ...

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. * On 3 July 1915, Reserve Police Constable Andrew Johnstone was on duty near Carlisle railway station when he reported to his sergeant that he was feeling ill. He was told to make his way home, but he never arrived and was found drowned in a dammed river in

Denton Holme Denton Holme is an inner city district in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The population of this ward was 6,383 taken at the 2011 census. Denton Holme is usually regarded as a "village within the city" and is situated to the immediate south west of ...

. * The force's first, and to date only, murder of an officer occurred on 10 February 1965. Constable George William Russell, aged 36, was fatally shot when, unarmed and knowing that colleagues had already been fired on, he confronted an armed suspect and called upon him to surrender at the railway station in

Kendal Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Westmorland and Furness, England. It lies within the River Kent's dale, from which its name is derived, just outside the boundary of t ...

. Russell was posthumously awarded the

Queen's Police Medal The King's Police Medal (KPM) is awarded to police in the United Kingdom for gallantry or distinguished service. It was also formerly awarded within the wider British Empire, including Commonwealth countries, most of which now have their own hono ...

for gallantry and a memorial plaque has been unveiled on a wall at Carlisle Cathedral. * PC Nick Dumphreys was killed on duty on 26 January 2020, when his vehicle crashed whilst responding to an emergency call in the

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...

area. PC Dumphreys was part of Cumbria Constabulary's

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. Responsibilities RPUs work with the National Police Chiefs' Council roads policing strategy, ''Policing ...

. In September 2022, the cause of the crash was determined to be an inherent problem with BMW engines an oil leak at high speed spilling onto the wheels and causing him to lose control at .

Organisation

In terms of operational policing, the force is divided into two commands – the Territorial Policing Command and the Crime Command, each headed by a Chief Superintendent.

Territorial Policing Command

This command is further divided into three geographic Territorial Policing Areas (TPAs) to cover the county, an operational support section and a command and control section. Each TPA is led by a Superintendent and is further divided into districts and then teams for the purposes of neighbourhood policing. The major elements of the Territorial Policing Command are as follows:

North Territorial Policing Area

Responsible for neighbourhood and response policing across the following geographic areas: *

District *

Eden District Eden was a local government district in Cumbria, England, based at Penrith Town Hall in Penrith. It was named after the River Eden, which flowed north through the district toward Carlisle. Its population of 49,777 at the 2001 census, increa ...

South Territorial Policing Area

Responsible for neighbourhood and response policing across the following geographic areas: * Barrow Borough District *

South Lakeland South Lakeland was a local government district in Cumbria, England, from 1974 to 2023. Its council was based in Kendal. The district covered the southern part of the Lake District region, as well as northwestern parts of the Yorkshire Dales. A ...

District

West Territorial Policing Area

Responsible for neighbourhood and response policing across the following geographic areas *

Allerdale Allerdale was a non-metropolitan district of Cumbria, England, with Borough status in England and Wales, borough status. Its council – Allerdale Borough Council – was based in Workington, and the borough had a population of 96,422 at the ...

District * Copeland District

Operational Support

Within this section are force wide units which support the TPAs or units from the Crime Command, or provide a specialist service: * Roads Policing * Firearms * Dog section * Proactive Support Group * Civil Contingencies * Collision Investigation * Firearms Licensing * Safety Camera/Central Ticket Office

Command and Control

Within this section is the Command and Control Room (dispatch), including the Force Incident Manager (FIM) and the call taking centre.

Crime Command

This command is responsible for significant investigations and is predominantly staffed by detectives. The command is divided as follows: * Intelligence ** Force Intelligence Bureau ** Intelligence Analysis ** Area Intelligence Units * Operations ** Public Protection Units ** CID Volume Crimes ** Force Major Investigations ** Safeguarding Hub * Forensics

Collaborations

Cumbria Constabulary is a partner in the following collaboration: * North West Police Underwater Search & Marine Unit

PEEL inspection 2022

His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS), formerly Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC), has statutory responsibility for the inspection of the police forces of England and Wales, and since ...

(HMICFRS) conducts a periodic police effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy (PEEL) inspection of each police service's performance. In its latest PEEL inspection, Cumbria Constabulary was rated as follows:

Footnotes

External links

*
Cumbria
at

HMICFRS His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS), formerly Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC), has statutory responsibility for the inspection of the police forces of England and Wales, and since ...

{{UK home nations police forces Police forces of England

Constabulary Constabulary may have several definitions: *A civil, non-paramilitary (police) force consisting of police officers called constables. This is the usual definition in the United Kingdom, in which all county police forces once bore the title (and s ...

1856 establishments in England Organizations established in 1856