West Yorkshire Police


West Yorkshire Police, formerly the West Yorkshire Metropolitan Police, is the territorial police force responsible for policing the metropolitan county of West Yorkshire, England. It is the fourth largest territorial police force in England and Wales by number of officers.

History

West Yorkshire Metropolitan Police was formed in 1974, when part of the West Yorkshire Constabulary was amalgamated with the Leeds City Police and Bradford City Police, under the Local Government Act 1972. The force was originally known as the West Yorkshire Constabulary. 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 county councils were abolished.
The new Force was known as the present West Yorkshire Police. Proposals made by the Home Secretary on 21 March 2006 would see the force merge with North Yorkshire Police, South Yorkshire Police and Humberside Police to form a strategic police force for the entire region. This did not take place.
On 12 December 2006, Sir Norman Bettison was announced as the new chief constable, replacing Colin Cramphorn and resigned from his post on 24 October 2012. He was replaced by Temporary Chief Constable John Parkinson until the appointment of Mark Gilmore as chief constable on 1 February 2013.
In 2018, it was reckoned West Yorkshire Police would lose 400 officers from its 4,800 officers due to austerity. In August 2023, the West Yorkshire Police attracted controversy when they arrested an autistic 16-year-old girl in Leeds for telling a female police officer that she looked like her 'lesbian nana' while in her own home.

Operational structure

For operational purposes West Yorkshire Police is divided into five geographic divisions known within the force as ‘policing districts’. The change in nomenclature reflects that of April 2014 the alignment with council boundaries for policing districts and the reduction of divisions in Leeds and Bradford so that each policing district was conterminous with its respective local authority boundaries. Each district is made up of Partnership Working Areas which consist of an Inspector and three teams of sergeants, police constables, special constables and PCSOs. The first single police commander of the Bradford district, Chief Superintendent Simon Atkin, was appointed in October 2013 as part of ongoing moves to merge the district’s two policing divisions, while Chief Superintendent Angela Williams was appointed in Calderdale.
The five existing divisions with their divisional identifiers are as follows:
IdentifierDistrictPartnership Working AreasDistrict HQ
LDLeedsCity, Inner East, Inner North East, Inner North West, Inner South, Inner West, Outer East, Outer North East, Outer North West, Outer South, Outer WestElland Road Police Station, Beeston
BDBradfordBradford East, Bradford South, Bradford West, City, Keighley, ShipleyTrafalgar House Police Station, Bradford
WDWakefieldCastleford, Normanton and Featherstone, Pontefract and Knottingley, South East, Wakefield Central, Wakefield North West, Wakefield RuralHavertop Lane Police Station, Normanton
KDKirkleesBatley and Spen, Dewsbury and Mirfield, Huddersfield, RuralHuddersfield Police Station
CDCalderdaleHalifax Centre, Halifax North, Halifax West, Valley North, Valley North East, Valley South, Valley South East, Valley WestHalifax Police Station

The force headquarters is situated on Laburnum Road to the north of Wakefield city centre along with the Learning and Development Centre and specialist operations facility at Carr Gate, Wakefield at Junction 41 of the M1 motorway.
The Sir Alec Jeffreys Building in the Calder Park Business Estate houses the Yorkshire and The Humber Scientific Support Service and was opened in May 2012 by Sir Alec Jeffreys himself. West Yorkshire Police is the 'lead force' for scientific support and provides such services for North Yorkshire Police, South Yorkshire Police and Humberside Police.

Estate

The current estate of police stations and other buildings is changing with certain buildings closing and new buildings opening., there are three PFI projects completed and as a result of these new buildings a number of police stations have closed and been sold.
Wakefield district police headquarters is now located on Havertop Lane, Normanton. The total area is and provides office accommodation as well as a 35-cell custody suite. As a result of its construction, police stations in Wood Street, Wakefield,
Normanton,
and Castleford were closed.
The new headquarters for the newly formed Leeds district is operational on Elland Road, Beeston, Leeds. The total area is and provides office accommodation as well as a 40-cell custody suite. It replaced Millgarth,
and Holbeck police stations in Leeds.
The existing operational support facilities at Carr Gate, Wakefield were expanded and new buildings constructed which provide centralised specialist training for the force in one location. The new facility, which totals includes:
  • Training hub facility
  • Public order training facility
  • Driver training facility
  • Firearms training facility and two firing ranges, armoury, etc.
  • Method of entry area approximately

    Leadership

List of chief constables

West Riding Constabulary
West Yorkshire Constabulary
West Yorkshire Police
From November 2012 until May 2021, the West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner was Mark Burns-Williamson.
In 2021, his role was abolished when Tracy Brabin was elected Mayor of West Yorkshire and assumed responsibility for the force.

PEEL inspection

conducts a periodic police effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy inspection of each police service's performance. In its latest PEEL inspection, Home Office Performance and Measurement was rated as follows:
OutstandingGoodAdequateRequires ImprovementInadequate
2021 rating

Notable cases

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.
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,
  • PC Conal Daood Hills, 2006
  • PC Sharon Beshenivsky, 2005
  • PC Ian Nigel Broadhurst, 2003
  • PC David Sykes, July 1986, struck by a lorry whilst on the hard shoulder of the M62 near Brighouse
  • Sergeant John Richard Speed, 1984
  • Sergeant Michael Hawcroft, 1981
  • Inspector Barry John Taylor, 1970

    Arms