North Wales Police
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
North Wales Police Heddlu Gogledd Cymru |
|
---|---|
Agency overview | |
Formed | 1974 |
Legal personality | Governmental: Government agency |
Jurisdictional structure | |
![]() |
|
Map of North Wales Police’s jurisdiction. | |
Size | 6,290 km² |
Population | 675,700 |
General nature | |
Operational structure | |
Headquarters | Glan-y-Don, Colwyn Bay |
Sworn members |
1,483 (of which 136 are Special Constables)
|
Police and Crime Commissioner responsible | Winston Roddick |
Agency executive | Mark Polin, Chief Constable |
Divisions |
5
|
Website | |
www.north-wales.police.uk |
North Wales Police (Welsh: Heddlu Gogledd Cymru) is the 
territorial police force
responsible for policing 
North Wales
. The headquarters are in 
Colwyn Bay
, with divisional headquarters in 
St Asaph
, 
Caernarfon
and 
Wrexham
.
History
Gwynedd Constabulary was formed in 1967 by the amalgamation of the previous 
Denbighshire Constabulary
, 
Flintshire Constabulary
and 
Gwynedd Constabulary
.
In 1974, the 
Local Government Act 1972
created an administrative county of 
Gwynedd
covering the western part of the police area (equivalent to the original Gwynedd Constabulary area). As a result of this, the force was renamed North Wales Police on 1 April 1974.
Under proposals made by the 
Home Secretary
on 6 February 2006, the force would merge with 
Dyfed-Powys Police
, 
Gwent Police
and 
South Wales Police
to form a single strategic force for all of Wales.
North Wales Police Authority / Police and Crime Commissioner
The North Wales Police Authority consisted of 17 members, of whom 9 were councillors, 3 were magistrates and 5 were independent members. The councillors were appointed by a Joint Committee of the 
unitary authority
councils of 
Anglesey
, 
Conwy
, 
Denbighshire
, 
Flintshire
, 
Gwynedd
and 
Wrexham
.
The Police Authority was replaced by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner in November 2012.
Divisions
On 4 May 2011, North Wales Police completed a major restructure, moving from 3 territorial divisions to a single North Wales-wide Policing function.
Collaborations
North Wales Police is a partner in the following collaboration:
Controversy
In recent years North Wales Police has attracted a great deal of media attention above and beyond its size. Many have attributed this phenomenon to its former Chief Constable 
Richard Brunstrom
, who accepts he is obsessed with speeding motorists. He has often courted controversy and publicity through his vocal views on speeding motorists and the legalisation of drugs. 
The Sun
newspaper dubbed him the “Mad Mullah of the Traffic Taleban.” Despite this negative publicity he has earned respect for learning the 
Welsh language
, actively promoting the normalisation of its use within the force at all levels and conversing publicly through it on numerous occasions. He is also credited with modernising the organisation’s infrastructure in comparison with other areas of Britain.
In April 2007, Brunstrom came under fire for an incident in which he showed a photograph of the severed head of a biker in a press meeting without the family’s permission. He maintains that it was a “closed” meeting, a point made both on the invitation and verbally, and that no details of the picture should have been leaked. Many people feel that just because it was a closed meeting does not mean that normal moral boundaries can be overstepped without fear of retribution. It has also drawn criticism because the photo enabled the media to identify the deceased, since he was wearing a distinctive t-shirt with an anti-police message on it, which gained a lot of attention during the inquest. 
Motorcycle News
magazine has handed in a 1,600 signature petition to the 
Independent Police Complaints Commission
in London requesting Brunstrom be removed, The Independent Police Complaints Commission has confirmed it will carry out an independent review into the incident. Other people note that the motorcyclist who was killed, caused the accident that severely disabled the other car driver, so Brunstrom has a valid point that motoring is an important area to focus on.
North Wales Police has also attracted attention due to its investigation into allegations of “
anti-Welsh
” comments by TV personality 
Anne Robinson
and UK Prime Minister 
Tony Blair
. The force was believed to have carried out these investigations following complaints from members of the public. The 10-month investigation into the Prime Minister was dropped on 11 July 2006 due to a lack of evidence. It had cost £1,656, whereas the Anne Robinson investigation cost £3,800.![]()
In 2006 the force attracted even more widespread publicity when a retired Detective Sergeant was prosecuted for alleged 
homophobic
remarks made to a van full of officers in Wrexham. [citation needed]![]()
As with all other 
territorial police force
North Wales Police have 
Police Community Support Officer (PCSO)s
. As of 31 March 2011 North Wales Police have 159 PCSOs. Unlike the majority of police forces in England and Wales North Wales Police is only one out of three forces that issue its PCSOs hand cuffs
The only other forces that do this are Dyfed-Powys Police and 
British Transport Police
(BTP).The issuing of handcuffs to PCSOs has been controversial.![]()
North Wales Police implicated in 
collusion
with the troll blog Thoughts of Oscar, a blog regularly contributed to by MP for Clwyd West and Freemason David Ian Jones.
North Wales Police arrest local 
blogger
who has dedicated his time to revealing the collusion between the North Wales Police Force, the troll blog Thoughts of Oscar[13] & David Jones MP for Clwyd West. The blogger A Richie Windmill was released without charge after five months on police bail.
On October 7th 2015, local blogger Richie Windmill is arrested again by North Wales Police for a section 
4
harassment offence against MP for Clwyd West and his co-authors to the troll blog Thoughts of Oscar, he is detained, his home is raided, all his electrical items are removed including those belonging to his children along with an I Pad & Xbox One belonging to his disabled 8 year old son, the police also removed all personnel mail and the family passports, on the 25-11-2015, Mr Windmill was informed the CPS[14] had advised North Wales Police to cease the action against him and his goods minus his passports were returned.
List of Chief Constables
-
This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
See also
References
- “Tables for ‘Police workforce, England and Wales, 31 March 2013”. HM Government. Office for National Statistics. 31 March 2013. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
- BBC NEWS | Wales | Police chief: my speed obsession
- BBC NEWS | Wales | Row over decapitated biker photo
- We deliver your Brunstrom petition to the IPCC – Motorcycle News – MCN
- BBC NEWS | Wales | Force faces biker photo inquiry
- BBC NEWS | Wales | No action over PM Welsh ‘insult’
- http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/police-research/hosb1311/hosb1311?view=Binary
- Police Community Support Officer (PCSO)#Equipment
- http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dispatches/articles/cops-on-the-cheap-reporters-feature
- https://www.btprecruitment.com/FullFAQs.asp
- http://www.pcsos-national.co.uk/id42.html