Somerset Constabulary was the police force responsible for policing the county of

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, between 1856 and 1967. It was formed as a result of the

County and Borough Police Act 1856 The County and Borough Police Act 1856 or the Police Act 1856 (19 & 20 Vict c 69) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was one of the Police Acts 1839 to 1893.The Short Titles Act 1896, section 2(1) and Schedule 2 The Act made it ...

. This act made it compulsory for the county authorities to form a county police force which up until this point had not been done. During its 111 year history, five smaller police forces within Somerset were merged into Somerset Constabulary. These were Wells City Police and Glastonbury Borough Police in 1856, Yeovil Borough Police in 1859, Chard Borough Police in 1889 and

Bridgwater Borough Police Bridgwater Borough Police was a police force responsible for policing the borough of Bridgwater, Somerset in England from 1836 to 1940. The force was formed as a result of the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, Bridgwater being one of the 178 borough ...

in 1940. Somerset Constabulary was amalgamated with

Bath City Police The Bath City Police was a police force responsible for policing the County Borough of Bath in Somerset, England. It existed between 1836 and 1967. The Bath City Police, as an organization, was formed as a result of Municipal Corporations Act 183 ...

on 1 January 1967 to become the

Somerset and Bath Constabulary Somerset and Bath Constabulary was a short-lived police force in England which existed from 1967 to 1974. It was responsible for policing the administrative county of Somerset and the county borough of Bath. The force was formed following the ama ...

. As a result of 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 ...

this new force was short lived, lasting just 7 years when on 1 April 1974 it became part of

Avon and Somerset Constabulary Avon and Somerset Police is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement in the county of Somerset and in four districts that used to be in the defunct county of Avon: Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset and So ...

which polices the area to this day.

Chief Constables

;Somerset Constabulary * 1856–1884 : Valentine Goold * 1884–1908 : Captain Charles German Allison * 1908-1939 : Lieutenant-Colonel Herbert Charles Metcalfe * 1939-1955 : James Edward Ryall, OBE * 1955–1967 : Kenneth Walter Lawrence Steel ;Somerset and Bath Constabulary * 1967–1974 : Kenneth Walter Lawrence Steel

Officers killed in the line of duty

The Police Roll of Honour Trust lists and commemorates all British police officers killed in the line of duty. It lists 16 Somerset Constabulary officers who were killed/died during its existence including: * PC Robert Hill, 1851, who died as a result of stab injuries sustained on duty in 1847. * PC Alfred Pavey, 1861, who was killed as a result of injuries received when bludgeoned by two burglars. * PC Kenneth Edwin Snook, 1942, killed by enemy action while on duty during an air raid.{{Cite web, url=http://www.policememorial.org.uk/index.php?page=avon-somerset-constabulary#Somerset%20Con, title=Police Roll of Honour Trust, last=Trust, first=Police Roll of Honour, website=www.policememorial.org.uk, access-date=2017-11-26

References

Defunct police forces of England History of Somerset