Sussex Police


Sussex Police are the territorial police force responsible for policing in the whole of Sussex. Their jurisdiction covers the ceremonial counties of East Sussex and West Sussex. Their headquarters are in Malling House, Lewes, East Sussex.

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
  • 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
  • Brighton amalgamated with East Sussex Constabulary, West Sussex Constabulary, Hastings and Eastbourne Constabularies to form Sussex Constabulary, 1968
Sussex Constabulary
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 is shown below:
NameRankAgeForceDate of deathCircumstances
Sgt47West Sussex Constabulary26 2 1942Shot.
Insp44Eastbourne Borough Police9 10 1912Shot.
PC26Sussex Police24 4 1999Fatally injured by a speeding van, which failed to stop at a road check.
CC50Brighton Borough Police14 3 1844Bludgeoned with poker.
PC47Parish of Brighthelmstone6 11 1817Fatally wounded when accidentally bayoneted by the military during a riot.
PC31Brighton Borough Police16 11 1940Fatally injured in a collision with a motor lorry while cycling to duty.
WRC48Brighton Borough Police30 4 1941Killed on duty as two allied aircraft collided and he was hit by debris.
WRC40Brighton Borough Police18 12 1942Killed by enemy action whilst on duty during an enemy air raid.
PC33Brighton Borough Police25 5 1943Killed in an enemy air raid after moving a party of children to safety.
PC31Brighton Borough Police25 5 1943Killed by enemy action whilst on duty during an enemy air raid.
PC57Brighton Borough Police5 10 1951Fatally injured when he fell alighting from a bus while reporting for duty.
Sgt37Eastbourne Borough Police26 10 1940Killed dealing with an unexploded bomb following an enemy air raid.
SPC33Hastings Borough Police26 9 1940Killed in an enemy air raid, duty status unknown.
PC38Hastings Borough Police1 07 1955Collapsed 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 1967 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, the policemen's wash room and uniform store areas, 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, 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 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 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 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.
2007/082008/092009/102010/112011/122012/132013/142014/152015/162016/17
Police officers3,0753,1963,2133,1022,9592,8472,8052,8102,6662,587
Special constables199216240293348350366393387301
PCSOs372399377351335358349325249180
Police staff1,9742,0802,1391,9491,8811,9111,9411,8371,8311,831