West Yorkshire Police - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

West Yorkshire Police is the territorial police force

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 West Yorkshire

West Yorkshire

West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....

in England. It is the fourth largest force in England 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...

by number of officers, with 5671 officers.

West Yorkshire Police Authority

Police authority

A police authority in the United Kingdom, is a body charged with securing efficient and effective policing of a police area served by a territorial police force or the area and/or activity policed by a special police force...

contains 9 councillors, and 8 independent members. The councillors are appointed by the five borough councils in the area – Bradford

City of Bradford

The City of Bradford is a local government district of West Yorkshire, England with the status of a city and metropolitan borough. It is named after its largest settlement, Bradford, but covers a far larger area which includes the towns of Keighley, Shipley, Bingley, Ilkley, Haworth, Silsden and...

, Calderdale

Calderdale

The Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale is a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England, through which the upper part of the River Calder flows, and from which it takes its name...

, Kirklees

Kirklees

The Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees is a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England. It has a population of 401,000 and includes the settlements of Batley, Birstall, Cleckheaton, Denby Dale, Dewsbury, Heckmondwike, Holmfirth, Huddersfield, Kirkburton, Marsden, Meltham, Mirfield and Slaithwaite...

, Leeds

City of Leeds

The City of Leeds is a local government district of West Yorkshire, England, governed by Leeds City Council, with the status of a city and metropolitan borough. The metropolitan district includes Leeds and the towns of Farsley, Garforth, Guiseley, Horsforth, Morley, Otley, Pudsey, Rothwell,...

and Wakefield

City of Wakefield

The City of Wakefield is a local government district of West Yorkshire, England, with the status of a city and metropolitan borough. Wakefield is the district's administrative centre. The district includes the "Five Towns" of Normanton, Pontefract, Featherstone, Castleford and Knottingley. Other...

History

West Yorkshire Police was formed in 1974, when part of the West Yorkshire Constabulary

West Yorkshire Constabulary

The West Yorkshire Constabulary was, from 1968 to 1974, the statutory police force for the West Riding of Yorkshire, in northern England.It was formed under the Police Act 1964, and was a merger of the previous West Riding Constabulary along with six borough forces for the county boroughs of...

(itself created in 1968, and covering a much larger area) was amalgamated with the Leeds City Police

Leeds City Police

Leeds City Police was the police force responsible for policing the city of Leeds in northern England from its formation in 1836, until 1974, when it was amalgamated under the Local Government Act 1972 with the Bradford City Police and part of the West Yorkshire Constabulary to form the West...

and Bradford City Police

Bradford City Police

-History:Bradford Borough Charter was granted in 1847, Bradford Corporation acquired all the statutory powers off the old Municipal Corporation. 1848 was the year that the City of Bradford Police Force was almagated, with a Borough HQ No...

, under 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....

. The force was originally known as the West Yorkshire Metropolitan Police. Some older signs around the Force area, such as the one in the reception of Millgarth Police Station in Leeds city centre read 'West Yorkshire Metropolitan Police'. The 'Metropolitan' from the police title was dropped in 1986 when the Metropolitan counties were abolished..

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 21 March 2006 would see the force merge with North Yorkshire Police

North Yorkshire Police

North Yorkshire Police is the territorial police force covering the non-metropolitan county of North Yorkshire and the unitary authority of York in northern England. The force covers England's largest county and comprises three area command units...

, South Yorkshire Police

South Yorkshire Police

South Yorkshire Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing South Yorkshire in England.The police force covers an area of approximately 1,554 square kilometres which is made up of the county's three boroughs , along with the City of Sheffield. The resident population is 1.2...

and Humberside Police

Humberside Police

Humberside Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing an area covering the East Riding of Yorkshire, the city of Kingston upon Hull, North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire...

to form a strategic police force for the entire region. These plans are currently under review and not expected to take place in the foreseeable future.

On 12 December 2006, Sir Norman Bettison

Norman Bettison

Sir Norman George Bettison, QPM is a British police officer and the current Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police.-Education:...

was announced as the new Chief Constable, replacing Colin Cramphorn

Colin Cramphorn

Colin Ralph Cramphorn CBE, QPM, DL, FRSA was the Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police from September 2002 to November 2006....

.

West Yorkshire Police is reported to have had £6.3 million GBP invested in failed Icelandic financial institutions.

Divisional structure

For operational purposes, West Yorkshire Police is divided into eight divisions

Police division

A division was the usual term for the largest territorial subdivision of most British police forces. In major reforms of police organisation in the 1990s divisions of many forces were restructured and retitled Basic Command Units , although some forces continue to refer to them as divisions.The...

. The force headquarters is on Laburnum Road to the north of Wakefield

Wakefield

Wakefield is the main settlement and administrative centre of the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district of West Yorkshire, England. Located by the River Calder on the eastern edge of the Pennines, the urban area is and had a population of 76,886 in 2001....

city centre along with the Force Training School at Bishopgarth. The divisions with their associated stations and divisional identifiers are:

Identifier	Division	Stations	Area
AA	North West Leeds	Weetwood Weetwood Weetwood is an area between Headingley and Meanwood in north-west Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is bounded on the north by the A6120 , on the west by the A660 , on the east by Meanwood Beck and to the south by Hollin Lane... , Pudsey Pudsey Pudsey is a market town in West Yorkshire, England. Once an independent town, it was incorporated into the metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds in 1974, and is located midway between Bradford and Leeds city centres. It has a population of 32,391.... , Horsforth Horsforth Horsforth is a town and civil parish within the metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, in West Yorkshire, England, lying to the north west of Leeds. It has a population of 18,928.... & Otley Otley -Transport:The main roads through the town are the A660 to the south east, which connects Otley to Bramhope, Adel and Leeds city centre, and the A65 to the west, which goes to Ilkley and Skipton. The A6038 heads to Guiseley, Shipley and Bradford, connecting with the A65...	covering North and West Leeds
BA	North East Leeds	Stainbeck, Killingbeck Killingbeck Killingbeck is a district of east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England that is situated between Seacroft to the north, Cross Gates and Whitkirk to the east, Gipton to the west, Halton Moor to the south, Halton to the south east and Osmondthorpe to the south west. It blends in to the Cross Gates and... , Wetherby Wetherby Wetherby is a market town and civil parish within the metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, in West Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Wharfe, and has been for centuries a crossing place and staging post on the Great North Road, being mid-way between London and Edinburgh... & Garforth Garforth Garforth is a town within the City of Leeds metropolitan borough, in West Yorkshire, England. The 2001 Census lists 23,892 residents in the Garforth and Swillington ward - 80.57% of which are homeowners, 20% more than the average for Leeds. Garforth itself has 15,394 of those people...	covering North East Leeds, Wetherby, Boston Spa, Garforth and Micklefield
CA	City & Holbeck	Holbeck Holbeck Holbeck is a district in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.The district begins on the southern edge of the Leeds city centre and mainly lies in the LS11 Leeds postcode area. The M1 and M621 motorways used to end/begin in Holbeck. Now the M621 is the only motorway that passes through the area since... , Millgarth Leeds City Centre Leeds city centre is the central business district of Leeds, England. It is within the Leeds Central parliamentary constituency, represented by Hilary Benn as MP since a by-election in 1999... , Morley Morley, West Yorkshire Morley is a market town and civil parish within the metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, in West Yorkshire, England. It lies approximately south-west of Leeds city centre. Together with Drighlington, Gildersome, Churwell, Tingley and East/West Ardsley, the town had a population of 47,579 in... & Rothwell Rothwell, West Yorkshire Rothwell is a market town on the River Dolphin in the south east of the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, situated between Oulton to the east, Belle Isle to the west, Woodlesford to the north east and Robin Hood to the south west. Swillington, Methley and Kippax are located...	covering Central and South Leeds
DA	Wakefield	Wakefield Wakefield Wakefield is the main settlement and administrative centre of the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district of West Yorkshire, England. Located by the River Calder on the eastern edge of the Pennines, the urban area is and had a population of 76,886 in 2001.... , Pontefract Pontefract Pontefract is an historic market town in West Yorkshire, England. Traditionally in the West Riding, near the A1 , the M62 motorway and Castleford. It is one of the five towns in the metropolitan borough of the City of Wakefield and has a population of 28,250... , Castleford Castleford Castleford is the largest of the "five towns" district in the metropolitan borough of the City of Wakefield, in West Yorkshire, England. It is near Pontefract, and has a population of 37,525 according to the 2001 Census, but has seen a rise in recent years and is now around 45-50,000. To the north... & South Kirkby	covering the Wakefield Metropolitan District area
EA	Kirklees	Huddersfield Huddersfield Huddersfield is a large market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, situated halfway between Leeds and Manchester. It lies north of London, and south of Bradford, the nearest city.... , Dewsbury Dewsbury Dewsbury is a minster town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. It is to the west of Wakefield, east of Huddersfield and south of Leeds... & Holmfirth Holmfirth Holmfirth is a small town located on the A6024 Woodhead Road in the Holme Valley, within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England. Centred upon the confluence of the Holme and Ribble rivers, Holmfirth is south of Huddersfield and from Glossop. It mostly consists of...	covering the Kirklees Metropolitan District area
FA	Calderdale	Halifax Halifax, West Yorkshire Halifax is a minster town, within the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale in West Yorkshire, England. It has an urban area population of 82,056 in the 2001 Census. It is well-known as a centre of England's woollen manufacture from the 15th century onward, originally dealing through the Halifax Piece... & Todmorden Todmorden Todmorden is a market town and civil parish, located 17 miles from Manchester, within the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale, in West Yorkshire, England. It forms part of the Upper Calder Valley and has a total population of 14,941....	covering the Calderdale Metropolitan District area
GA	Bradford South	Bradford South Bradford Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...	covering Central and South Bradford
HA	Airedale & North Bradford	Keighley Keighley Keighley is a town and civil parish within the metropolitan borough of the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, England. It is situated northwest of Bradford and is at the confluence of the River Aire and the River Worth... , Ilkley Ilkley Ilkley is a spa town and civil parish in West Yorkshire, in the north of England. Ilkley civil parish includes the adjacent village of Ben Rhydding and is a ward within the metropolitan borough of Bradford. Approximately north of Bradford, the town lies mainly on the south bank of the River Wharfe... , Shipley Shipley, West Yorkshire Shipley is a town in West Yorkshire, England, by the River Aire and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, north of Bradford and north-west of Leeds.... & Eccleshill Eccleshill Eccleshill is a Ward in the City of Bradford Metropolitan District in the county of West Yorkshire, England....	covering North Bradford and Keighley

Neighbourhood Policing Teams

Within West Yorkshire Police, there is an operational focus on Neighbourhood Policing. The three 'aims' of Neighbourhood Policing are as follows:

Dedicated and accountable teams with local ownership
Intelligence-led targeting of the problems that matter most to the public
Joint action by police, partner agencies and the public

Each division has a number of Neighbourhood Policing Teams, consisting of an Inspector; who is in turn in charge of three teams, headed by a Sergeant and made up of Police Constables, PCSOs and Special Constables. The three teams work in a shift pattern so that the neighbourhood will always have a Neighbourhood Policing Team on duty.

Below is a table of all Neighbourhood Policing Teams within West Yorkshire Police:
|+ West Yorkshire Police: Neighbourhood Policing Teams> ! style=" border-bottom:1.5px solid black"|Division
! style=" border-bottom:1.5px solid black"|Division Name
! style=" border-bottom:1.5px solid black"|Neighbourhood Policing Teams> | width=5% style="border-bottom:1px solid gray"|AA
| width=19% style="border-bottom:1px solid gray"|North West Leeds
| width=60% style="border-bottom:1px solid gray"|North West Inner; North West Inner – Hyde Park; North West Outer; West Inner; West Outer> | style="border-bottom:1px solid gray"|BA
| style="border-bottom:1px solid gray"|North East Leeds
| style="border-bottom:1px solid gray"|Burmantofts & Richmond Hill; Chapel Allerton; Cross Gates, Whinmoor & Temple Newsam; Garforth, Kippax, Swillington & Methley; Gipton & Harehills; Killingbeck & Seacroft; Roundhay, Alwoodley & Moortown; Wetherby & Harewood> | style="border-bottom:1px solid gray"|CA
| style="border-bottom:1px solid gray"|City & Holbeck
| style="border-bottom:1px solid gray"|City; Holbeck; Morley; Rothwell> | style="border-bottom:1px solid gray"|DA
| style="border-bottom:1px solid gray"|Wakefield
| style="border-bottom:1px solid gray"|Castleford; Normanton & Featherstone; Pontefract & Knottingley; South East; Wakefield Central; Wakefield North West; Wakefield Rural> | style="border-bottom:1px solid gray"|EA
| style="border-bottom:1px solid gray"|Kirklees
| style="border-bottom:1px solid gray"|Batley, Birstall & Birkenshaw; Dewsbury & Mirfield; Huddersfield South; Huddersfield North; Kirkburton & Denby Dale; Spen Valley; The Valleys> | style="border-bottom:1px solid gray"|FA
| style="border-bottom:1px solid gray"|Calderale
| style="border-bottom:1px solid gray"|Halifax Central; Halifax North & East; Lower Valley; Upper Valley> | style="border-bottom:1px solid gray"|GA
| style="border-bottom:1px solid gray"|Bradford South
| style="border-bottom:1px solid gray"|NP Area 1; NP Area 2; NP Area 3; NP Area 4; NP Area 5; NP Area 6> | style="border-bottom:1.5px solid black"|HA
| style="border-bottom:1.5px solid black"|Airedale & North Bradford
| style="border-bottom:1.5px solid black"|Bingley & Worth; Eccleshill; Keighley; North Bradford; Shipley; Wharfedale & Craven>

Former Divisions

From the mid 1990s, there were seventeen geographical divisions within West Yorkshire Police; however from 2000 onwards the number of divisions decreased as the move towards aligning police divisions with local council wards was implemented. In the present day there are eight geographical divisions.
The grid below outlines the mergers of the former divisions to the eight operational divisions today.

Notable cases

The hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper (1975 to 1981)
Chapeltown riots
Chapeltown riots
The Chapeltown riots can refer to three different riots in the area of Chapeltown in Leeds. These being:* 1975 Chapeltown race riot* 1981 Chapeltown race riot* 1987 Chapeltown race riot...

(1975, 1981 and 1987)
Bradford riots (2001)
Harehills riot (2001)
Hunt for murderer David Bieber
David Bieber
David Francis Bieber also known under the alias Nathan Wayne Coleman is an American convicted murderer. A fugitive from the United States, he murdered PC Ian Broadhurst and attempted to murder PCs Neil Roper and James Banks on 26 December 2003 in Leeds, England, sparking a nationwide search...

(2003)
The disappearance of Shannon Mathews (2008)

Officers killed in the line of duty

The Police Memorial Trust

Police Memorial Trust

The Police Memorial Trust is a charitable organisation founded in 1984 and based in London. The trust's objective is to erect memorials to British police officers killed in the line of duty, at or near the spot where they died, thereby acting as a permanent reminder to the public of the sacrifice...

lists and commemorates all British police officers killed in the line of duty, and since its establishment in 1984 has erected over 38 memorials to some of those officers.

Since 1900 the following officers of West Yorkshire Police are listed by the Trust as having died during the course of their duties in attempting to prevent, stop or solve a criminal act:

PC Mark Goodlad, 2011 (struck by a HGV on the M1 whilst assisting the driver of a broken down vehicle)
PC Conal Daood Hills, 2006 (fatally injured when his vehicle crashed during a police pursuit)
PC Sharon Beshenivsky, 2005 (shot dead attending a robbery)
PC Ian Nigel Broadhurst, 2003 (shot dead by David Bieber
David Bieber
David Francis Bieber also known under the alias Nathan Wayne Coleman is an American convicted murderer. A fugitive from the United States, he murdered PC Ian Broadhurst and attempted to murder PCs Neil Roper and James Banks on 26 December 2003 in Leeds, England, sparking a nationwide search...

)
Sgt John Richard Speed, 1984 (shot dead; posthumously awarded the Queen's Commendation for Brave Conduct)
Sgt Michael Hawcroft, 1981 (stabbed; posthumously awarded the Queen's Commendation for Brave Conduct)
Insp Barry John Taylor, 1970 (shot dead; posthumously awarded the Queen's Commendation for Brave Conduct)
PC Charles John Skevington, 1955 (fatally injured when his vehicle crashed during a police pursuit)
DI Duncan Alexander Fraser and PC Arthur Gordon Jagger, 1951 (both shot dead attempting to arrest a suspected burglar)
Sgt Naylor Whitaker, 1949 (died from injuries sustained in an assault in 1940)
PC Duncan Alexander Fraser, 1946 (shot dead)
PC Arthur Joseph Webb, 1923 (died from injuries sustained in a violent assault in 1920)
PC Alfred Haddon Hudson, 1910 (fatally injured attending a disturbance)
PC Albert Smith, 1907 (died from an illness contracted after being assaulted during an arrest)

External links

Video clips

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