Sussex Police are the territorial police force responsible for policing the ceremonial counties of East Sussex and West Sussex in South East England. Their headquarters are in Malling House, Lewes, East Sussex."Non-emergency enquiries." (Archive) Sussex Police. Retrieved on 13 February 2011. "Sussex Police Headquarters Church Lane, Lewes East Sussex, BN7 2DZ."
History Policing in Sussex can be traced back to Brighton Borough Police, established in 1830.
A few years later on 13 March 1844, Chief Constable Henry Solomon was murdered in his office by a detainee he was interviewing. He is believed to be the only chief police officer to have suffered such a fate.
Prior to 1830 local watchmen were appointed to provide some degree of law enforcement in the area.
In 1812, there were some 12 watchmen who were responsible for the town. By 1814 the number had grown to 28 and at this time the title of constable was in use for them.
By 1868 the force had grown to 100 officers and helmets replaced top hats.
In 1918, the first woman was appointed as a police officer in this force.
By 1930, it had grown to 216 officers.
On 14 September 1933, Brighton Borough Police were the first force to introduce police radios.
Forces were established at various times for the counties of East Sussex and West Sussex, as well as separate forces in the boroughs of Brighton, Hove, Eastbourne and Hastings.
In April 1943, in order to provide a co-ordinated approach to the wartime emergency, these forces were amalgamated to form the Sussex Combined Police, with headquarters at Haywards Heath.
In April 1947, with the exception of Hove, policing reverted to the old system for another two decades. Hove remained part of East Sussex Constabulary.
On 1 January 1968, Sussex Constabulary was created from the amalgamation of Brighton Borough Police, Eastbourne Borough Police, Hastings Borough Police, West Sussex Constabulary and East Sussex Constabulary. In 1974, the amalgamated forces became Sussex Police.
Chief constables Brighton Constabulary Henry Solomon appointed 18 May 1838 (murdered in 1844 by prisoner) Thomas Hayter Chase appointed 22 May 1844 George White appointed 21 December 1853 Owen Crowhurst appointed 7 December 1876 Isaiah Barnden appointed 8 August 1877 James Terry appointed 6 April 1881 Thomas Carter appointed 27 January 1894 Sir William Gentle appointed 26 September 1901 Charles Griffin appointed 5 June 1920 William James Hutchinson appointed 1 December 1933 Charles Field Williams Ridge appointed 1 July 1956 Albert Edgar Rowsell appointed 28 October 1957 William Thomas Cavey appointed 8 October 1963"SPI" Brighton amalgamated with East Sussex Constabulary, West Sussex Constabulary, Hastings and Eastbourne Constabularies to form Sussex Constabulary, 1968 Sussex Constabulary 1968–1972: Thomas Christopher Williams (died 9 September 1972) 1973–1983: George Terry 1983–1993: Roger Birch 1993–2001: Paul Chapple Whitehouse 2001–2006: Kenneth Lloyd Jones 2006–2007: Joseph Edwards 2008–2014: Martin Richards 2014–2020: Giles York 2020–present: Jo Shiner
Sussex Police Roll of Honour The Police Roll of Honour Trust and Police Memorial Trust list and commemorate all British police officers killed in the line of duty. Since its establishment in 1984, the Police Memorial Trust has erected 50 memorials nationally to some of those officers. A list of officers of Sussex Police and its predecessors who died on duty (in progress) is shown below:
Name Rank Age Force Date of death Circumstances Sgt 47 West Sussex Constabulary Shot. Insp 44 Eastbourne Borough Police Shot. PC 26 Sussex Police Fatally injured by a speeding van, which failed to stop at a road check. CC 50 Brighton Borough Police Bludgeoned with poker. PC 47 Parish of Brighthelmstone Fatally wounded when accidentally bayoneted by the military during a riot. PC 31 Brighton Borough Police Fatally injured in a collision with a motor lorry while cycling to duty. WRC 48 Brighton Borough Police Killed on duty as two allied aircraft collided and he was hit by debris. WRC 40 Brighton Borough Police Killed by enemy action whilst on duty during an enemy air raid. PC 33 Brighton Borough Police Killed in an enemy air raid after moving a party of children to safety. PC 31 Brighton Borough Police Killed by enemy action whilst on duty during an enemy air raid. PC 57 Brighton Borough Police Fatally injured when he fell alighting from a bus while reporting for duty. Sgt 37 Eastbourne Borough Police Killed dealing with an unexploded bomb following an enemy air raid. SPC 33 Hastings Borough Police Killed in an enemy air raid, duty status unknown. PC 38 Hastings Borough Police Collapsed and died at St. Leonards shortly after reporting for night duty.
Key to rank abbreviations: A/x = Acting • CC = Chief Constable • ACC = Assistant Chief Constable • CEO = Civilian Explosives Officer • Cmdr = Commander • DC = Detective Constable • DI = Detective Inspector • DS = Detective Sergeant • Insp = Inspector • PC = Police Constable • Sgt = Sergeant • SPC = Special Police Constable • Stn Sgt = Station Sergeant • Supt = Superintendent • WPC = Woman Police Constable • WRC = War Reserve Constable.
Old Police Cells Museum Opened on 4 May 2005 by Councillor Pat Drake, the then mayor of Brighton & Hove, the Old Police Cells Museum is located in the basement of Brighton Town Hall and offers an educational and entertaining insight into the history of policing within Sussex.
It provides an opportunity to visit Brighton Borough main police station for the period 1830 to 1965 and learn about the murder of Chief Constable Henry Solomon in 1844 by a prisoner. It is possible to view the old cells with their graffiti from the mods and rockers era, police memorabilia and artifacts. The museum also houses a unique collection of truncheons and tipstaffs, one of the largest in the country. This collection was made by Alderman Caffyn throughout his lifetime and is on permanent loan to the Museum from the Sussex Police Authority.
Organisation
Sussex Police is commanded by Chief Constable Jo Shiner.
The remainder of the command team consists of Deputy Chief Constable Dave McLaren, Assistant Chief Constable Paul Court, Assistant Chief Constable Peter Gardner and Assistant Chief Constable Stephen Rayland.
Also forming part of the command team are the assistant chief officer, the director of finance and chief information officer although these roles are filled by civilian members of staff.
The force consists of three divisions, each being led by a chief superintendent: West Sussex, East Sussex, and Brighton & Hove.
Divisions are sub-divided into districts, each led by a chief inspector, providing a local identity for policing. These districts are Chichester, Arun, Horsham, Adur & Worthing, Crawley, Mid Sussex, Brighton & Hove, Wealden, Lewes, Eastbourne, Rother and Hastings.
Sussex Police is also responsible for policing Gatwick Airport.
Districts are further divided into Neighbourhood Policing Teams (NPT), each led by an inspector.
Neighbourhood Policing Teams The NPTs are responsible for the bulk of the community work undertaken in an area, and look to deal with long term local issues including anti-social behaviour.
Their role stems from the traditional view of 'bobbies on the beat' with police community support officers (PCSOs) providing a high visibility profile on the street, albeit with limited policing powers.
Special constables also serve alongside various teams including NRT, Prevention and on specialist teams such as RPU and Dogs units; they have full police powers when on duty.
Neighbourhood Response Teams Police response is covered by Neighbourhood Response Teams (NRT) operating from a number of "hub" stations across the area and providing the initial response to most emergency and prompt attendance calls.
These teams are led locally by a sergeant and overall they are managed by an inspector. These teams work 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.
Secondary investigation of crime not dealt with by specialist teams – for example CID – is managed by Response Investigation Teams (RIT) who work closely with the NRT.
The force has a total of six custody suites located around the force area for the detention of arrested persons. They are located in Brighton with 36 cells, Crawley with 27 cells, Eastbourne with 22 cells, Hastings with 10 cells, Worthing with 19 cells, and Chichester with 19 cells.
+ Sussex Police officer and staff numbers: 2007/08Home Office (July 2008). Police Service Strength. 2008/09Home Office (July 2009). Police Service Strength. 2009/10Home Office (July 2010). Police Service Strength. 2010/11Home Office (July 2011). Police Service Strength. 2011/12Home Office (July 2012). Police Service Strength.2012/132013/142014/152015/162016/17 Police officers 3,075 3,196 3,213 3,102 2,9592,8472,8052,8102,6662,587 Special constables 199 216 240 293 348350366393387301 PCSOs 372 399 377 351 335358349325249180 Police staff 1,974 2,080 2,139 1,949 1,8811,9111,9411,8371,8311,831
Police and Crime Commissioner
Oversight of Sussex Police was provided by Sussex Police Authority until November 2012, when this role was taken over by a police and crime commissioner following the first elections.
Katy Bourne was elected police and crime commissioner for Sussex Police on 15 November 2012, with a majority of 24,426.
The police and crime commissioner is scrutinised by the Sussex Police and Crime Panel, made up of elected councillors from the local authorities in the police area.
Sussex Police Authority had nine councillors (drawn from the three councils), three justices of the peace and five independent members."SPCC Website"
Specialist units
Air Support Unit
Police aviation is now provided across England and Wales by the National Police Air Service (NPAS).
Prior to the establishment of NPAS in 2012, Sussex Police used to operate an MD-902 helicopter, callsign Hotel 900 jointly with the South East Coast Ambulance Service, providing both policing and emergency medical support to Sussex and beyond.
The closest NPAS base to Sussex Police is at Redhill Aerodrome in neighbouring Surrey. The helicopter's call-sign is NPAS 15 and it has a registration of G-CPAS. This aircraft was previously used by Cleveland Police until NPAS was formed.
Counter-terrorism Sussex Police has a dedicated Counter-Terrorist Intelligence Unit (CTIU) which works alongside the rest of the force in protecting and reassuring the public, and reducing the risk from terrorism.
The unit engages with communities, local authorities, higher education and universities and other local bodies, in order to prevent violent extremism. The unit also offers specialist protective security advice to locations deemed to be at a greater risk from terrorism.
The CTIU is involved in the disruption and detection of terrorist activity and has close links between local police and the communities it serves. It also works at ports and airports alongside Border Force
Dog Support Unit
The Sussex police have a Dog Support Unit that tracks, chases and detains suspects, searches for stolen property and missing people, and assists public order units with crowd control.
Specialist search dogs are used to recover drugs, casg and weapons; detect explosives; and follow the scent of a specific person. Dog handlers are also trained to deal with dangerous dogs.
Rural Crime Team