Honorary Police
Encyclopedia
Jersey Legal French
Jersey Legal French, also known as Jersey French, is the official dialect of French used administratively in Jersey. Since the anglicisation of the island, it survives as a written language for some laws, contracts, and other documents. Jersey's parliament, the States of Jersey, is part of the...
: Police Honorifique) force in each of the 12 parishes of Jersey
Parishes of Jersey
The Channel Island of Jersey is divided into twelve administrative districts or parishes. All have access to the sea and are named after the saints to whom their ancient parish churches are dedicated.:* Saint Helier...
. Members of the Honorary Police are elected by the voters of the parish in which they serve, and are unpaid.
Honorary Police officers have, for centuries, been elected by parishioners to assist the Connétable
Connétable
Connétables in Jersey and Guernsey are the elected heads of the Parishes. They are often called 'constables' in English. The constables are entitled each to carry a silver-tipped baton of office.- Jersey :...
of the Parish to maintain law and order. Officers are elected as Centeniers, Vingteniers or Constable's Officers, each with various duties and responsibilities.
Until the 19th century the Honorary Police provided the only civilian law enforcement in Jersey. However, in the early part of the 19th century, crime was widespread among the urban population in Saint Helier
Saint Helier
Saint Helier is one of the twelve parishes of Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands in the English Channel. St. Helier has a population of about 28,000, roughly 31.2% of the total population of Jersey, and is the capital of the Island . The urban area of the parish of St...
(around 25,000 people) and paid Police officers for the Parish of Saint Helier were appointed in 1853 and their remit was later extended to serve the whole Island as the States of Jersey Police
States of Jersey Police
The States of Jersey Police is the professional police service of Jersey. It was established in its current form by the Police Force Law, 1974 and consists of around 240 officers....
. The Honorary Police still exist, however.
Honorary Police officers
Each Parish elects a number of Centeniers, Vingteniers and Constable's Officers who act in the name of the Connétable of the Parish in maintaining law and order. These officers are elected for a period of three years and take an oath in the Royal Court.All Honorary Police officers must live in the Parish at the time of their first election or, in the case of St Helier, be a ratepayer or mandataire of that Parish. If an officer moves out of the Parish during her/his term of office, s/he may continue her/his term of office with the approval of Her Majesty's Attorney General and the Connétable of the Parish and may stand for re-election provided there is no break in service.
A person may be nominated for election as a member of the Honorary Police if, on the day of nomination, s/he is at least 20 years of age and less than 70 years of age.
Honorary Police officers are on duty for one week at a time, usually every 3 or 4 weeks depending upon the roster within the Parish, and are on call 24 hours a day during that period. Honorary Police officers are elected to serve the Parish but in certain circumstances may assist or operate outside the Parish.
Anyone standing for election as a member of the Honorary Police will have to undergo a criminal record check.
Ranks of the Honorary Police
Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...
. Centeniers are elected for a mandate of 3 years at a public election within the Parish
Parishes of Jersey
The Channel Island of Jersey is divided into twelve administrative districts or parishes. All have access to the sea and are named after the saints to whom their ancient parish churches are dedicated.:* Saint Helier...
. In addition to general policing matters, the Centenier remains the only officer entitled to charge and bail offenders. The Centenier presides at Parish Hall Enquiries and acts as Prosecuting Officer before the Magistrate's Court. The Constable of the Parish appoints one of the Centeniers as Chef de Police of the Parish. Under Jersey law, anyone charged at the States of Jersey Police Headquarters must be charged by a Centenier of the Honorary Police, and he too will present the charges against an individual if the case is taken to the Magistrate.
A Vingtenier is a member of the Honorary Police elected by a Parish Assembly of electors and ratepayers for a term of three years for a particular vingtaine
Vingtaine
A vingtaine is a political subdivision of Jersey. They are subdivisions of the various parishes of Jersey, and one, La Vingtaine de la Ville , in Saint Helier is further divided into two cantons.St...
(or, in St. Ouen
Saint Ouen, Jersey
-Cueillettes:Unlike the other parishes of Jersey, the subdivisions of this parish are not named vingtaines, but cueillettes . Vingteniers are still elected, however, in the cueillettes.*La Petite Cueillette*La Grande Cueillette...
, a cueillette) in that Parish
Parishes of Jersey
The Channel Island of Jersey is divided into twelve administrative districts or parishes. All have access to the sea and are named after the saints to whom their ancient parish churches are dedicated.:* Saint Helier...
. Vingteniers, who occupy a rank below that of Centenier in the Honorary Police, carry out general community policing in the parish, and fulfill administrative roles within their vingtaine in respect of tasks such as the Visite du Branchage
Visite du Branchage
A Visite du Branchage is an inspection of roads in Jersey and Guernsey to ensure property owners have complied with the laws against vegetation encroaching on the highway.-Jersey:...
. The office of Vingtenier (which is believed to refer to a responsibility of looking after 20 (French: vingt) households) may date back to 1331, although the first recorded reference to the title of vingtenier dates to 1462.
The political system of Sark
Sark
Sark is a small island in the Channel Islands in southwestern English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. It is a royal fief, geographically located in the Channel Islands in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, with its own set of laws based on Norman law and its own parliament. It has a population...
, which was modelled after Jersey's in 1579, also includes a Vingtenier. In Sark the sole Vingtenier is elected by Chief Pleas as junior to the Constable.
Constable's Officers are the lowest rank of the elected police officers, collectively known as the Honorary Police who represent a Vingtaine in a Parish (or to a Cueillette in St Ouen) of Jersey. Constables Officers do not have to live within that Vingtaine (or Cueillette) but must live within the parish at the time of their election. If they move in the interim they are allowed to complete their term of office. They assist both the Centeniers and Vingteniers of the Parish with general policing matters.
Mission
States of Jersey Police
The States of Jersey Police is the professional police service of Jersey. It was established in its current form by the Police Force Law, 1974 and consists of around 240 officers....
and with other Parishes’ Honorary Police in the policing of Island Events or as needed or requested.
Centeniers and Vingteniers also assist their Parishes with the "Visite du Branchage
Visite du Branchage
A Visite du Branchage is an inspection of roads in Jersey and Guernsey to ensure property owners have complied with the laws against vegetation encroaching on the highway.-Jersey:...
" twice yearly and the "Visite Royale" which happens once every six years.
Duty is usually performed for a week on a rota
Schedule (workplace)
A schedule, often called a rota, is a list of employees who are working on any given day, week, or month in a workplace. A schedule is necessary for the day-to-day operation of any retail store or manufacturing facility. The process of creating a schedule is called scheduling...
basis. The different Parishes differ slightly in their specific arrangements, however, all parishes hold a monthly meeting that their Connétable must attend.
Honorary Police Association
Centeniers, Vingteniers and Constables Officers are members of the Honorary Police Association.Comité des Chefs de Police
States of Jersey Police
The States of Jersey Police is the professional police service of Jersey. It was established in its current form by the Police Force Law, 1974 and consists of around 240 officers....
Service and other agencies.
See also
- States of Jersey PoliceStates of Jersey PoliceThe States of Jersey Police is the professional police service of Jersey. It was established in its current form by the Police Force Law, 1974 and consists of around 240 officers....
is the professional police service of Jersey. - Parish ConstableParish constableParish constable was a law enforcement officer, usually unpaid and part-time, serving a parish. In some parishes, the position was known as "high constable", e.g. the High Constable of Holborn....
- Special ConstableSpecial constableA Special Constable is a law enforcement officer who is not a regular member of a police force. Some like the Royal Canadian Mounted Police carry the same law enforcement powers as regular members, but are employed in specific roles, such as explosive disposal technicians, court security, campus...
- Auxiliary ConstableAuxiliary ConstableAuxiliary Constables or Reserve Constables are unpaid citizens who volunteer their time and skills to a police force. They are uniformed, unarmed members who performs a similar role to their UK counterpart in the Special Constabulary...
- Auxiliary PoliceAuxiliary policeAuxiliary police or special constables in England) are usually the part-time reserves of a regular police force. They may be armed or unarmed. They may be unpaid volunteers or paid members of the police service with which they are affiliated...
- Special PoliceSpecial policeSpecial Police does not have a consistent international meaning. In many cases it will describe a police force or a unit within a police force whose duties and responsibilities are significantly different from other forces in the same country or significantly different from other police in the same...
- Police Auxiliary