Police Act 1946
Encyclopedia
The Police Act 1946 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 merger of county forces in certain circumstances and changed the boundaries of the Metropolitan Police District
.
The appointed day for the amalgamations was April 1, 1947. On that date forty-five non-county borough police forces were merged with those of the counties in which they were situated. In the case of fourteen of these boroughs, they had already been temporarily placed under the county police by the Defence (Amalgamation of Police Forces) Regulations 1942. Section 13 of the 1946 Act made these amalgamations permanent. One non-county borough force, Cambridge City Police, was allowed to continue, the city having a larger population than the surrounding county. The Act made similar provision for Peterborough City Police, although in the event it formed a combined force with the Soke of Peterborough
.
Following the 1947 mergers there were 133 police forces covering England and Wales:
† The actual number was 53, as the Lincolnshire Constabulary was jointly maintained by three counties.
Section 3 of the Act allowed for the voluntary amalgamation of county and county borough forces, while Section 4 gave the Home Secretary
the power to make amalgamation schemes of constabularies.
Section 16 provided for the "rectification" of the Metropolitan Police District, realigning it with contemporary local government boundaries.
Section 18 placed the Isles of Scilly
under the Cornwall County Constabulary
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
that provided for the amalgamation
Consolidation (business)
Consolidation or amalgamation is the act of merging many things into one. In business, it often refers to the mergers and acquisitions of many smaller companies into much larger ones. In the context of financial accounting, consolidation refers to the aggregation of financial statements of a group...
of smaller borough police forces with county constabularies in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, allowed for the merger of county forces in certain circumstances and changed the boundaries of the Metropolitan Police District
Metropolitan Police District
The Metropolitan Police District is the police area which is policed by London's Metropolitan Police Service. It currently consists of Greater London, excluding the City of London.-History:...
.
The appointed day for the amalgamations was April 1, 1947. On that date forty-five non-county borough police forces were merged with those of the counties in which they were situated. In the case of fourteen of these boroughs, they had already been temporarily placed under the county police by the Defence (Amalgamation of Police Forces) Regulations 1942. Section 13 of the 1946 Act made these amalgamations permanent. One non-county borough force, Cambridge City Police, was allowed to continue, the city having a larger population than the surrounding county. The Act made similar provision for Peterborough City Police, although in the event it formed a combined force with the Soke of Peterborough
Soke of Peterborough
The Soke of Peterborough is an historic area of England that is traditionally associated with the City and Diocese of Peterborough, but considered part of Northamptonshire...
.
Following the 1947 mergers there were 133 police forces covering England and Wales:
- Metropolitan PoliceMetropolitan policeMetropolitan Police is a generic title for the municipal police force for a major metropolitan area, and it may be part of the official title of the force...
- City of London PoliceCity of London PoliceThe City of London Police is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement within the City of London, England, including the Middle and Inner Temple. The service responsible for law enforcement within the rest of Greater London is the Metropolitan Police Service, a separate...
- 55 county police forces †
- 71 county boroughCounty boroughCounty borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control. They were abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 in England and Wales, but continue in use for lieutenancy and shrievalty in...
police forces - 1 non-county borough force (Cambridge)
- 4 combined police forces
† The actual number was 53, as the Lincolnshire Constabulary was jointly maintained by three counties.
Section 3 of the Act allowed for the voluntary amalgamation of county and county borough forces, while Section 4 gave 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...
the power to make amalgamation schemes of constabularies.
Section 16 provided for the "rectification" of the Metropolitan Police District, realigning it with contemporary local government boundaries.
Section 18 placed the Isles of Scilly
Isles of Scilly
The Isles of Scilly form an archipelago off the southwestern tip of the Cornish peninsula of Great Britain. The islands have had a unitary authority council since 1890, and are separate from the Cornwall unitary authority, but some services are combined with Cornwall and the islands are still part...
under the Cornwall County Constabulary
Cornwall County Constabulary
Cornwall County Constabulary was the Home Office police force for the county of Cornwall, England, until 1967.The force was formed in 1857. It absorbed Bodmin Borough Police in 1865, Liskeard Borough Police in 1877, Launceston Borough Police in 1883, Falmouth Borough Police and Helston Borough...
1947 amalgamations
- Bedfordshire Constabulary absorbed Bedford Borough Police, Luton Borough Police
- Berkshire ConstabularyBerkshire ConstabularyBerkshire Constabulary is a former Home Office police force which was responsible for policing the county of Berkshire in Southern England. Berkshire Constabulary was merged with several other adjacent police forces in 1968 to form the Thames Valley Police....
absorbed Windsor Borough Police - Buckinghamshire ConstabularyBuckinghamshire ConstabularyBuckinghamshire Constabulary was the Home Office police force for the county of Buckinghamshire, England, until 1968.Buckinghamshire Constabulary was established in 1857. It later absorbed Buckingham Borough Police and Chepping Wycombe Borough Police...
absorbed Chepping Wycombe Borough Police - Carmarthenshire Constabulary absorbed Carmarthen Borough Police
- Cheshire ConstabularyCheshire ConstabularyCheshire Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the English unitary authorities of Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, Halton and Warrington. The force is responsible for policing an area of with a population of roughly 1 million.The Chief Constable of the...
absorbed Chester City Police, Congleton Borough Police, Hyde Borough Police, Macclesfield Borough Police, Stalybridge Borough Police - Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Constabulary formed by the merger of the Cornwall County ConstabularyCornwall County ConstabularyCornwall County Constabulary was the Home Office police force for the county of Cornwall, England, until 1967.The force was formed in 1857. It absorbed Bodmin Borough Police in 1865, Liskeard Borough Police in 1877, Launceston Borough Police in 1883, Falmouth Borough Police and Helston Borough...
, Isles of Scilly Police and Penzance Borough Police - Cumberland and Westmorland Constabulary absorbed Kendal Borough Police
- Derbyshire ConstabularyDerbyshire ConstabularyDerbyshire Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Derbyshire, England. The force covers an area of over with a population of just under one million.-Organisation and structure:...
absorbed Chesterfield Borough Police, Glossop Borough Police - Durham ConstabularyDurham ConstabularyDurham Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the non-metropolitan county of County Durham and the unitary authority of Darlington. The force covers the 2,232 km² of the county which has a resident population of 595,308. It is one of the smaller forces of the...
absorbed Hartlepool Borough Police - Essex Constabulary absorbed Colchester Borough Police
- Glamorgan ConstabularyGlamorgan ConstabularyGlamorgan Constabulary, or Glamorganshire Constabulary, was the Home Office police force for the county of Glamorgan, Wales.The force was formed in 1841...
absorbed Neath Borough Police - Herefordshire ConstabularyHerefordshire ConstabularyHerefordshire Constabulary was the Home Office police force for the county of Herefordshire, England, until 1967.The force was formed in 1857. In 1965, it had an establishment of 257 and an actual strength of 221, making it the second smallest county police force in England after West Suffolk...
absorbed Hereford City Police - Hertfordshire ConstabularyHertfordshire ConstabularyHertfordshire Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Hertfordshire in England. Its headquarters is situated in Welwyn Garden City...
absorbed St Albans City Police - Kent ConstabularyKent PoliceKent Police is the territorial police force for Kent in England, including the unitary authority of Medway.-Area and organisation:The force covers an area of with an approximate population of 1,660,588 . The Chief Constable is currently Ian Learmonth, who was appointed in 2010 and is the former...
absorbed Canterbury City Police - Lancashire ConstabularyLancashire ConstabularyLancashire Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the ceremonial county of Lancashire in the North West England. The force's headquarters are at Hutton, near the city of Preston...
absorbed Accrington Borough Police, Ashton-under-Lyne Borough Police, Bacup Borough Police, Clitheroe Borough Police, Lancaster City Police - Lincolnshire Constabulary absorbed Boston Borough Police, Grantham Borough Police
- Norfolk ConstabularyNorfolk ConstabularyNorfolk Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for the county of Norfolk in England. As of March 2009 the force had a strength of 1,668 police officers, 243 Special Constables, 277 PCSOs and just over 1,300 police staff.-History:...
absorbed King's Lynn Borough Police - North Riding of Yorkshire Constabulary absorbed Scarborough Borough Police
- Nottinghamshire Constabulary absorbed Newark Borough Police
- Peterborough Combined Police formed from Peterborough City Police, Liberty of Peterborough Constabulary
- Shropshire Constabulary absorbed Shrewsbury Borough Police
- Staffordshire Constabulary absorbed Newcastle-under-Lyme Police
- Warwickshire Constabulary absorbed Leamington Spa Borough Police
- Worcestershire Constabulary absorbed Kidderminster Borough Police
Later amalgamations
The Home Secretary's powers under Section 4 of the Act were used on a number of occasions:- Hampshire ConstabularyHampshire ConstabularyHampshire Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing Hampshire and the Isle of Wight in southern England.The force area includes the cities of Winchester, Southampton and Portsmouth...
was formed in 1948 by a merger of Hampshire County Constabulary and Isle of Wight County Constabulary. This made permanent the 1943 merger of the two constabularies (as Hampshire Joint Police) under the 1942 Defence Regulations. - Mid Wales ConstabularyMid Wales ConstabularyMid-Wales Constabulary was the Home Office police force for the counties of Brecknockshire, Radnorshire and Montgomeryshire, Wales, between 1948 and 1968....
was formed on April 1, 1948 from Breconshire Constabulary, Radnorshire Constabulary and Montgomeryshire Constabulary - Gwynedd ConstabularyGwynedd ConstabularyGwynedd 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...
was formed in 1950 from Anglesey Constabulary, Caernarvonshire Constabulary and Merionethsire Constabulary - Leicestershire and Rutland Constabulary was formed on April 1, 1951 from Leicestershire ConstabularyLeicestershire ConstabularyLeicestershire Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland in England. Its headquarters are at Enderby, Leicestershire.The current Chief Constable is Simon Cole.-History:...
, Rutland Constabulary - Carmarthenshire and Cardiganshire ConstabularyCarmarthenshire and Cardiganshire ConstabularyCarmarthenshire and Cardiganshire Constabulary was the Home Office police force for the counties of Carmarthenshire and Cardiganshire, Wales.It was created on 1 July 1958 by the amalgamation of Carmarthenshire Constabulary and Cardiganshire Constabulary under section 4 of the Police Act 1946...
was formed on July 1, 1958 bt the merger of Cardiganshire Constabulary and Carmarthenshire Constabulary. The amalgamation followed the unfavourable conclusions of an inquiry into the Cardiganshire force.