North Wales Police
Encyclopedia
North Wales Police 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
.
The North Wales Police Authority consists of 17 members, of whom 9 are councillors, 3 are magistrates and 5 are independent members. The councillors are appointed by a Joint Committee of the unitary authority
councils of Anglesey
, Conwy, Gwynedd
, Denbighshire
, Flintshire
and Wrexham.
Under proposals made by the Home Secretary
on 6 February 2006, the force would merge with Gwent Police
, South Wales Police
and Dyfed-Powys Police
, to form a single strategic force for all of Wales.
, Flintshire Constabulary
and Denbighshire 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.
, 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 decapitated 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.
Territorial police force
The phrase Territorial Police Force varies in precise meaning according to the country to which it is related, generally distinguishing a force whose area of responsibility is defined by sub-national boundaries from others which deal with the entire country or a restricted range of...
responsible for policing North Wales
North Wales
North Wales is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales. It is bordered to the south by the counties of Ceredigion and Powys in Mid Wales and to the east by the counties of Shropshire in the West Midlands and Cheshire in North West England...
. The headquarters are in Colwyn Bay
Colwyn Bay
- Demography :Prior to local government reorganisation on 1 April 1974 Colwyn Bay was a municipal borough with a population of c.25,000, but in 1974 this designation disappeared leaving five separate parishes, known as communities in Wales, of which the one bearing the name Colwyn Bay encompassed...
, with divisional headquarters in St Asaph
St Asaph
St Asaph is a town and community on the River Elwy in Denbighshire, Wales. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 3,491.The town of St Asaph is surrounded by countryside and views of the Vale of Clwyd. It is situated close to a number of busy coastal towns such as Rhyl, Prestatyn, Abergele,...
, Caernarfon
Caernarfon
Caernarfon is a Royal town, community and port in Gwynedd, Wales, with a population of 9,611. It lies along the A487 road, on the east banks of the Menai Straits, opposite the Isle of Anglesey. The city of Bangor is to the northeast, while Snowdonia fringes Caernarfon to the east and southeast...
and Wrexham
Wrexham
Wrexham is a town in Wales. It is the administrative centre of the wider Wrexham County Borough, and the largest town in North Wales, located in the east of the region. It is situated between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley close to the border with Cheshire, England...
.
The North Wales Police Authority consists of 17 members, of whom 9 are councillors, 3 are magistrates and 5 are independent members. The councillors are appointed by a Joint Committee of the unitary authority
Subdivisions of Wales
For local government purposes, Wales is divided into 22 single-tier principal areas, which are responsible for the provision of all local government services, including education, social work, environment and roads services...
councils of Anglesey
Anglesey
Anglesey , also known by its Welsh name Ynys Môn , is an island and, as Isle of Anglesey, a county off the north west coast of Wales...
, Conwy, Gwynedd
Gwynedd
Gwynedd is a county in north-west Wales, named after the old Kingdom of Gwynedd. Although the second biggest in terms of geographical area, it is also one of the most sparsely populated...
, Denbighshire
Denbighshire
Denbighshire is a county in north-east Wales. It is named after the historic county of Denbighshire, but has substantially different borders. Denbighshire has the distinction of being the oldest inhabited part of Wales. Pontnewydd Palaeolithic site has remains of Neanderthals from 225,000 years...
, Flintshire
Flintshire
Flintshire is a county in north-east Wales. It borders Denbighshire, Wrexham and the English county of Cheshire. It is named after the historic county of Flintshire, which had notably different borders...
and Wrexham.
Under proposals made by the Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
on 6 February 2006, the force would merge with Gwent Police
Gwent Police
Gwent Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the local authority areas of Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Monmouthshire, Newport and Torfaen in southeast Wales....
, South Wales Police
South Wales Police
South Wales Police is one of the four territorial police forces in Wales. Its headquarters are based in Bridgend.Covering Wales' capital city, Cardiff, as well as Bridgend, Merthyr Tydfil, Swansea, and the western South Wales Valleys, it is the largest police force in Wales in terms of population,...
and Dyfed-Powys Police
Dyfed-Powys Police
Dyfed-Powys Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing Ceredigion, Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire and the county of Powys, in Wales. The territory it covers is the largest police area in England and Wales, and the fourth largest in the United Kingdom...
, to form a single strategic force for all of Wales.
History
Gwynedd Constabulary was formed in 1967 by the amalgamation of the previous Gwynedd ConstabularyGwynedd Constabulary
Gwynedd Constabulary was the Home Office police force for the counties of Caernarfonshire, Anglesey and Merionethshire, Wales.The force was formed in 1950 by the merger of Caernarfonshire Constabulary, Anglesey Constabulary and Merionethshire Constabulary...
, Flintshire Constabulary
Flintshire Constabulary
Flintshire Constabulary was the Home Office police force for the county of Flintshire, Wales, from 1856 until 1967.In 1965, the force had an establishment of 256 and an actual strength of 231....
and Denbighshire Constabulary
Denbighshire Constabulary
Denbighshire Constabulary was the Home Office police force for the county of Denbighshire, Wales, until 1967, when it amalgamated with Gwynedd Constabulary and Flintshire Constabulary to form a new Gwynedd Constabulary, which was renamed North Wales Police in 1974.In 1965, the force had an...
.
In 1974, the Local Government Act 1972
Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974....
created an administrative county of Gwynedd
Gwynedd
Gwynedd is a county in north-west Wales, named after the old Kingdom of Gwynedd. Although the second biggest in terms of geographical area, it is also one of the most sparsely populated...
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.
Divisions
On 4th May 2011, North Wales Police completed a major restructure, moving from 3 territorial divisions to a single North Wales-wide Policing function.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 BrunstromRichard Brunstrom
Richard Brunstrom was the Chief Constable of North Wales Police, a position he held from January 2001 to July 2009.-Early life:...
, 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
The Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
newspaper dubbed him the "Mad Mullah of the Traffic Taleban." Despite this negative publicity he has earned respect for learning the Welsh language
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
, 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 decapitated 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
Motorcycle News
MCN or Motor Cycle News is a weekly motorcycling newspaper published by Bauer Consumer Media, and based in Peterborough, United Kingdom. The title was founded by Cyril Quantrill in 1955 and bought by EMAP, before Bauer bought Emap's consumer media division in 2008...
magazine has handed in a 1,600 signature petition to the Independent Police Complaints Commission
Independent Police Complaints Commission
The Independent Police Complaints Commission is a non-departmental public body in England and Wales responsible for overseeing the system for handling complaints made against police forces in England and Wales.-Role:...
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
Anne Robinson
Anne Josephine Robinson is an English journalist and television presenter, known for her assertive views and acerbic style of presenting. She was one of the presenters on the long-running British consumer affairs series, Watchdog, from 1993 to 2001 before returning in 2009...
and UK Prime Minister Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
. 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.
See also
- List of police forces in Wales sorted by region
- Policing in the United KingdomPolicing in the United KingdomLaw enforcement in the United Kingdom is organised separately in each of the legal systems of the United Kingdom: England & Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland ....
- North Wales Fire and Rescue ServiceNorth Wales Fire and Rescue ServiceThe North Wales Fire and Rescue Service is the fire and rescue service covering the predominantly rural principal areas of Anglesey, Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Gwynedd and Wrexham in the north of Wales....
External links
- North Wales Police
- North Wales Police Authority
- North Wales Police Chief Officers' blogs (Chief Constable, Deputy Chief Constable, Assistant Chief Constable)