Salisbury City Police

Salisbury City Police
Agency overview
Formed April, 1838
Preceding agency New Sarum Police
Dissolved Brodie's Volunteers
Superseding agency Wiltshire Constabulary
Legal personality Governmental: Government agency
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdiction* Police area of in the country of England, United Kingdom
Size 1-square-mile (2.6 km2)
Constituting instrument Municipal Corporations Act 1835
General nature
Operational structure
Facilities
Stations 2
Footnotes
* Police area agency: Prescribed geographic area in the country, over which the agency has usual operational jurisdiction.

Salisbury City Police was a British police force that existed officially between 1835 and 1943. It was absorbed by Wiltshire Constabulary during the Second World War.

History

Policing in Salisbury, previously known as New Sarum can be traced back to the 18th century when a local militia known as Brodie's Volunteers were instructed to watch over the city. They were overseen by the Salibsury Watch Commission who decided to disband the thirteen constables in 1836 in favour of forming a more official looking organisation. The new force called 'New Sarum Police' was to consist of one 'Superintending High Constable', one 'High Constable', four 'Day Constables' and ten 'Night Constables'. The City was one mile 330 yards in length and 1500 yards in breadth.[1]

In May 1836 the decision to dress the constables in a new uniform was made, it was to be similar to other forces with the letters 'NSP' (New Sarum Police) on the collar. Police stations were created on Endless Street and Salt Street.[2][3]

In April 1838, New Sarum Police was disbanded and reorganised into Salisbury City Police, under the Municipal Corporation Act 1835. Mr John Bunter was the first Superintending Constable, earning £40 a year. More constables were hired in the reorganisation.

In 1839, the County Policing Act passed allowing counties to form police forces on top of city police forces, as a result Wiltshire Constabulary was formed in October 1839.

Due to World War II, Salisbury City Police decided to temporarily amalgamate with Wiltshire Constabulary, however towards the end of the war the separation of the two forces never happened due to the Defence (Amalgamation of Police Forces) Regulations of 1942 and Salisbury City Police ceased to exist after an official handover on April 1, 1943, when Wiltshire Constabulary took responsibility for policing Salisbury. The outgoing Chief Constable was made Assistant Chief Constable in Wiltshire Constabulary.[4]

Chief Constables

Salisbury Museum now hold the original Hazelwood & Dent Badge & Button Dies of the Salisbury City Police. Found in a load of scrap iron By Eugene Maidment in 1975 & donated to Salisbury Museum over thirty years later, to ensure they stayed in the City of Salisbury. Rather than a private collection.

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See also

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, April 05, 2014. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.