
The Isle of Wight Constabulary was a local
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 on the
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...
History
The first separate police force on the island was set up in 1837 with the formation of the Newport Borough Police. The rest of the island was policed by the
Hampshire Constabulary
The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the counties of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight in South East England.Hampshire Constabulary, 2012 Retrieved 27 April 2012
The force area in ...
with the exception, from 1869, of Ryde, which had a borough force of its own, from 1869 to 1922.
In 1890 the island was granted administrative county status under the
Local Government Act 1888
The Local Government Act 1888 (51 & 52 Vict. c. 41) was an Act of Parliament (United Kingdom), act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which established county councils and county borough councils in England and Wales. It came into effect ...
. The Newport force area was enlarged and the force renamed to become the Isle of Wight Constabulary. The new force took over the area of the island that the Hampshire Constabulary had been responsible for (all of the island except Ryde and Newport). Many of the Hampshire officers transferred to the new force, the rest returned to the main land.
Ryde Borough Police amalgamated with the Isle of Wight Constabulary in 1922, mainly due to the
Police Act 1919
The Police Act 1919 ( 9 & 10 Geo. 5. c. 46) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which set up an alternative dispute resolution system within UK labour law for collective disputes involving members of staff in the police force. The ...
. As a result of the Act officers were entitled to better pay and pensions and the borough could not afford this on their own.
In 1943 the Isle of Wight Constabulary was amalgamated with Hampshire Constabulary as a war time measure. At that time there were 79 police officers in the Isle of Wight Constabulary.
[Stallion and Wall (2011) The British Police;Forces and Chief Officers 1829-2012]
With the
Police Act 1946
The Police Act 1946 ( 9 & 10 Geo. 6. c. 46) was an Act of Parliament of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that provided for the amalgamation of smaller borough police forces with county constabularies in England and Wales, allowed for the me ...
in 1948 the Isle of Wight Constabulary was absorbed into the
Hampshire Constabulary
The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the counties of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight in South East England.Hampshire Constabulary, 2012 Retrieved 27 April 2012
The force area in ...
to become the Hampshire Joint Police Force, so once again policing of the island was by Hampshire even though the Isle of Wight remained an independent county.
Chief Officers
Retired army Captain Harry George Adams-Connor was Chief Constable from 1899 until 1935. Captain Adams-Connor served in an Irish Regiment called the
Connaught Rangers
The Connaught Rangers ("The Devil's Own") was an Ireland, Irish line infantry regiment of the British Army formed by the amalgamation of the 88th Regiment of Foot (Connaught Rangers) (which formed the ''1st Battalion'') and the 94th Regiment of Fo ...
. The Chief Constable at the time of amalgamation with Hampshire in 1943 was Roy Spicer.
See also
*
List of defunct law enforcement agencies in the United Kingdom
Due to various parliamentary Acts the numbers of law enforcement agencies in the United Kingdom has varied drastically since the Metropolitan Police Act 1829 set up the first modern police force in London.
There are currently over 60 law enforce ...
References
;General
*Watt, I. A History of Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary,
*Lee, Peake,Stevens and Williams (2001) Policing Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, {{ISBN, 1-86077-196-3
External links
* Isle of Wight Policing Toda
Official website
History of the Isle of Wight
Defunct police forces of England