Due to various parliamentary Acts the numbers of
law enforcement agencies in the United Kingdom has varied drastically since the
Metropolitan Police Act 1829 set up the first modern police force in London.
There are currently over 60 law enforcement agencies operating in the United Kingdom. See
List of law enforcement agencies in the United Kingdom, Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories for these.
For former (non-police) law enforcement agencies, see
Category:Defunct law enforcement agencies of the United Kingdom . For defunct police forces, see
Category:Defunct police forces of the United Kingdom
England and Wales police forces
Abolished before 1889
The
County Police Act 1840 allowed for borough police forces to voluntarily amalgamate with county constabularies.
Abingdon Borough Police , to Berkshire
Andover Borough Police (1846, to Hampshire)
Banbury Borough Police , to Oxfordshire
Bodmin Borough Police (1865, to Cornwall)
Bradninch Borough Police (1865, to Devon)
Chipping Norton Borough Police , to Oxfordshire
Henley Borough Police , to Oxfordshire
Honiton Borough Police; (to Devon County)
Launceston Borough Police (1883, to Cornwall)
Liskeard Borough Police (1877, to Cornwall)
Lymington Borough Police (1852, to Hampshire)
Monmouth Borough Police (1881, to Monmouthshire)
Newbury Borough Police (1875, to Berkshire)
Okehampton Borough Police (1860, to Devon)
Romsey Borough Police (1865, to Hampshire)
South Molton Borough Police (1877, to Devon)
Tavistock Borough Police (1856, to Devon)
Thames River Police , absorbed into the London Metropolitan Police in 1839
Torrington Borough Police (1870, then again from 1878–1886, to Devon)
Torquay Borough Police (1870, to Devon)
Totnes Borough Police (1884, to Devon)
Wallingford Borough Police , to Berkshire
Wantage Borough Police , to Berkshire
Warwick Borough Police (1875, to Warwickshire)
Wolborough Borough Police (1859, to Devon)
Abolished under the Local Government Act 1888
The Act, which came into force in 1889 passed control of county constabularies to standing joint committees of county councillors and magistrates, and merged smaller borough police forces (where the town had a population of less than 10,000) with the county police.
Basingstoke Borough Police (1889, to Hampshire)
Bideford Borough Police (1889, to Devon)
Buckingham Borough Police (1889 to Buckinghamshire)
Deal Borough Police (1889, to Kent)
Falmouth Borough Police (1889, to Cornwall)
Faversham Borough Police (1889, to Kent)
Helston Borough Police (1889, to Cornwall)
Hertford Borough Police (1889, to Hertfordshire)
Hythe Borough Police (1889, to Kent)
Maidenhead Borough Police (1889, to Berkshire)
Newport Borough Police (1890, to Isle of Wight)
Penryn Borough Police (1889, to Cornwall)
Sandwich Borough Police (1889, to Kent)
Stratford-upon-Avon Borough Police (1889, to Warwickshire)
St Ives Borough Police (1889, to Cornwall)
Tenterden Borough Police (1889, to Kent)
Abolished 1890–1942
Abolished under the Defence (Amalgamation of Police Forces) Regulations 1942
NB – Some were re-constituted after the war but then abolished in 1946.
Abolished under the Police Act 1946
Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme Police hat badge, in the collection of the
Staffordshire County Museum and displayed at the
Shire Hall, Stafford
Non-county borough forces
County borough forces
County forces
Abolished under the Police Act 1964
Borough forces
County/combined forces
Abolished by the Local Government Act 1972
All territorial police forces in
England and Wales (except the Metropolitan Police and City of London Police) were abolished and reconstituted at midnight on 31 March 1974/1 April 1974. This list shows the ones that existed then and their fate (ignoring minor transfers).
Bedfordshire and Luton Constabulary ; reconstituted as
Bedfordshire Police
Birmingham City Police ; merged into
West Midlands Police
Bradford City Police ; merged into
West Yorkshire Metropolitan Police
Bristol City Constabulary ; merged into
Avon and Somerset Constabulary
Cheshire Constabulary ; reconstituted, areas transferred to
Merseyside Police and
Greater Manchester Police
Cumbria Constabulary ; reconstituted
Derby County and Borough Constabulary ; reconstituted as
Derbyshire Constabulary
Devon and Cornwall Constabulary ; reconstituted
Dorset and Bournemouth Constabulary ; reconstituted as
Dorset Police
Durham Constabulary ; reconstituted, areas transferred to
Cleveland Constabulary and
Northumbria Police
Dyfed-Powys Constabulary ; reconstituted
Essex and Southend-on-Sea Joint Constabulary ; reconstituted as
Essex Police
Gloucestershire Constabulary ; reconstituted, areas transferred to
Avon and Somerset Constabulary
Gwent Constabulary ; reconstituted
Gwynedd Constabulary ; reconstituted as
North Wales Police
Hampshire Constabulary ; reconstituted, areas transferred to
Dorset Police
Hertfordshire Constabulary ; reconstituted
Kent County Constabulary ; reconstituted
Kingston-upon-Hull City Police ; merged into
Humberside Police
Lancashire Constabulary ; reconstituted, areas transferred to
Merseyside Police ,
Greater Manchester Police ,
Cheshire Constabulary and
Cumbria Constabulary
Leeds City Police ; merged into
West Yorkshire Metropolitan Police
Leicester and Rutland Constabulary ; reconstituted as
Leicestershire Constabulary
Lincolnshire Constabulary ; reconstituted, areas transferred to
Humberside Police
Liverpool and Bootle Constabulary ; merged into
Merseyside Police
Manchester and Salford Police ; merged into
Greater Manchester Police
Mid-Anglia Constabulary ; reconstituted as
Cambridgeshire Constabulary
Norfolk Constabulary ; reconstituted
Northampton and County Constabulary ; reconstituted as
Northamptonshire Constabulary
Northumberland Constabulary ; merged into
Northumbria Police
Nottinghamshire Combined Constabulary ; reconstituted as
Nottinghamshire Police
Sheffield and Rotherham Constabulary ; merged into
South Yorkshire Police
Somerset and Bath Constabulary ; merged into
Avon and Somerset Constabulary
South Wales Constabulary ; reconstituted
Staffordshire County and Stoke-on-Trent Constabulary ; reconstituted as
Staffordshire Police
Suffolk Constabulary ; reconstituted
Surrey Constabulary ; reconstituted
Sussex Constabulary ; reconstituted
Teesside Constabulary ; merged into
Cleveland Constabulary
Thames Valley Constabulary ; reconstituted
Warwickshire and Coventry Constabulary ; split between
Warwickshire Constabulary and
West Midlands Police
West Mercia Constabulary ; reconstituted
West Midlands Constabulary ; merged into
West Midlands Police
West Yorkshire Constabulary ; split mainly between
West Yorkshire Metropolitan Police ,
South Yorkshire Police and
North Yorkshire Police
Wiltshire Constabulary ; reconstituted
York and North East Yorkshire Police ; split between
North Yorkshire Police ,
Humberside Police ,
Durham Constabulary and
Cleveland Constabulary .
[1]
Irish police forces
The partition of
Ireland under the terms of the
Government of Ireland Act 1920 and the subsequent independence of the
Irish Free State in 1922 led to the replacement of the
Royal Irish Constabulary with the
Garda Síochána (in the Free State, later
Éire or
Republic of Ireland ) and by the
Royal Ulster Constabulary (in
Northern Ireland ). Defunct police forces in Ireland:
Scottish police forces
Each
police burgh had a police force originally, although many merged in the 19th century. The gradual process of amalgamation culminated with the creation of a single
Police Service of Scotland in 2013.
Abolished 1930
The
Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929 merged two pairs of county constabularies.
Abolished 1931–1946
Abolished under the
Police (Scotland) Act 1946
Abolished 1950s
Abolished 1960s
Abolished 1975
The
Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 created new police forces based on the new regions and island areas from 16 May 1975.
Abolished 2013
An
Act of the Scottish Parliament , the
Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 , created a single
Police Service of Scotland – better known as
Police Scotland – and a single
Scottish Fire and Rescue Service with effect from 1 April 2013. (The functions of the
British Transport Police , the
Civil Nuclear Constabulary and the
Ministry of Defence Police within Scotland were not affected).
Railway police forces
From the archives of the
British Transport Police :
Birmingham and Derby Railway Police (1836)
Birmingham and Gloucester Railway Police (1836)
Bristol & Exeter Railway Police (1836–1876)
Bristol Joint Railway Station Police (1865–1948)
Caledonian Railway Police (1845–1922)
Cambrian Railways Police (1867–1923)
Cardiff Railway Police (1897–1921)
Cheshire Line Committee Police (1865–1948)
Dundee and Arbroath Railway Police (1836–1923)
Eastern Counties Railway Police (1836–1862)
Eastern Union Railway Police (1847–1862)
East Lincolnshire Railway Police (1848)
Festiniog Railway Police (1884)
Furness Railway Police (1844–1922)
Great Central Railway Police (1897–1923)
Great Eastern Railway Police (1862–1923)
Great Northern Railway Police (1848–1923)
Great Western Railway Police (1835–1947)
Hull and Barnsley Railway Police (1885 – 1922, became part of (North Eastern Railway Police)
Hull and Selby Railway Police (1836/1854 – 1872, became part of North Eastern Railway Police)
Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Police (1833–1846)
Lancaster and Carlisle Railway Police (1844–1879, became part of London & North Western Railway Police)
London & Birmingham Railway Police (1833–1846)
London, Brighton and South Coast Railway Police (1846–1923)
London & Croydon Railway Police (1835–1846)
London & Greenwich Railway Police (1833–1844)
London, Midland and Scottish Railway Police (1923–1948)
London & North Eastern Railway Police (1923–1948)
London & North Western Railway Police (1846–1923)
London and Southampton Railway Police (1838–1839)
London & South West Railway Police (1839–1923)
London, Tilbury & Southend Railway Police (1854–1912, became part of
Midland Railway Police)
London Transport Police (April 1934 – 1 December 1958, became part of
British Transport Commission )
London Underground Railways (13 April 1933–?, became part of London Transport Police)
Manchester & Leeds Railway Police (1837–1847)
Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway Police (1836–1844)
Midland Counties Railway Police (1836–1844)
Newcastle & North Shields Railway Police (1839 – )
North British Railway Police (1840–1844)
Northern & Eastern Counties Railway Police (1840–1844)
North Eastern Railway Police (1854–1923)
North Staffordshire Railway Police (1845–1923)
Pembroke and Tenby Railway Police (1859–1897)
Stockton & Darlington Railway Police (1846–1876)
South Devon Railway Police (1846–1876)
South Eastern Railway Police (1836–1898)
Southern Railway Police (1923–1948)
South Eastern & Chatham Railway Police (1898–1923)
South Wales Railway Police (1845–1863)
Taff Vale Railway Police (1919–1923)
York, North Midland Railway Police (1839–1854)
Docks and port police forces
Canal/river police forces
Airport police forces
Other police forces
Churches
Departmental constabularies
Merged to form the
Admiralty Constabulary in 1949.
Merged to form the
Ministry of Defence Police in 1974.
Markets
Miscellaneous
National
Parks
London
Non-London
Non-police law enforcement agencies
References
External links