Kent Police | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Logo of the Kent Police
|
|||||
Motto | Protecting and serving the people of Kent | ||||
Agency overview | |||||
Formed | 1857 | ||||
Employees | 6,602 | ||||
Volunteers | 349 | ||||
Annual budget | £257.9 million | ||||
Legal personality | Governmental: Government agency | ||||
Jurisdictional structure | |||||
Operations jurisdiction* | Police area of Kent in the country of England, UK | ||||
Map of Kent Police's jurisdiction. | |||||
Size | 1,433 square miles (3,710 km2) | ||||
Population | 1.65 million | ||||
Legal jurisdiction | England & Wales | ||||
Constituting instrument | Police Act 1996 | ||||
General nature | |||||
Operational structure | |||||
Headquarters | Police Headquarters, Sutton Road, Maidstone | ||||
Constables | 3,323 (of which 364 are special constables) | ||||
Police Community Support Officers | 377 | ||||
Police and Crime Commissioner responsible | Matthew Scott | ||||
Agency executives |
|
||||
Areas | 3 (Reduced from 6 in 2011) | ||||
Facilities | |||||
Stations | 27 | ||||
Patrol cars |
General Patrol: Skoda Fabia 1.4/1.6 Emergency/Incident Response: Skoda Octavia Estate 2.0TDi & Ford Focus Estate 1.6TDCI Prisoner Transport/Police Personnel Carrier Vans: Mercedes Sprinter (Police/Prisoner Transport), Vito Vans (Police/Prisoner Transport), LDV Maxus vans (Police/Prisoner Transport), Volkswagen Crafter (Police/Prisoner Transport) & Ford Connect (Forensics) Traffic & Armed Response: Volvo V70 (Traffic & ARV), BMW 530D (Traffic), BMW 330D (Traffic), BMW X5 (Traffic & ARV) & Audi A6 (Traffic) Motorcycles: BMW R1200RT (On Road Policing) & Yamaha WR450F (Off Road Policing) Other Vehicles: Land Rover Discovery (Traffic/Rural Area Policing), Mitsubishi Shogun (Rural Area Policing) & Ford Ranger (Rural Area Policing) |
||||
Boats | Princess Alexandra III - ex Tamar-type Lifeboat | ||||
Planes | Shared helicopter with Essex Police. G-ESEX EC 135 Eurocopter. | ||||
|
|||||
Website | |||||
http://www.kent.police.uk/ | |||||
Footnotes | |||||
* Police area agency: Prescribed geographic area in the country, over which the agency has usual operational jurisdiction. |
Notables | |
---|---|
Programme | Street Wars; Coppers |
General Patrol: Skoda Fabia 1.4/1.6
Emergency/Incident Response: Skoda Octavia Estate 2.0TDi & Ford Focus Estate 1.6TDCI
Prisoner Transport/Police Personnel Carrier Vans: Mercedes Sprinter (Police/Prisoner Transport), Vito Vans (Police/Prisoner Transport), LDV Maxus vans (Police/Prisoner Transport), Volkswagen Crafter (Police/Prisoner Transport) & Ford Connect (Forensics)
Traffic & Armed Response: Volvo V70 (Traffic & ARV), BMW 530D (Traffic), BMW 330D (Traffic), BMW X5 (Traffic & ARV) & Audi A6 (Traffic)
Motorcycles: BMW R1200RT (On Road Policing) & Yamaha WR450F (Off Road Policing)
Kent Police is the territorial police force for Kent in England, including the unitary authority of Medway.
The force covers an area of 1,443 square miles (3,740 km2) with an approximate population of 1,660,588 (1,114,100 in Kent, and 249,488 in Medway). The Chief Constable is currently Alan Pughsley, who was appointed in 2014. Kent Police were the first force in the United Kingdom to be led by a black Chief Constable; Michael Fuller QPM.
Due to the Channel Tunnel, Kent Police is unique among English forces in having a police station outside of the country, in Coquelles, France, staffed by Kent Police. Kent Police work with other UK and European forces as part of the Cross Channel Intelligence Community, helping to tackle cross-border crime. The cross channel traffic occasionally causes Kent Police and the Highways Agency to enforce Operation Stack, controlling the freight flow on that part of the M20 motorway closest to the ports. Kent also has the largest strategic road network of any force in the UK, covering four motorways.
Proposals made by the Home Secretary on 20 March 2006 saw Kent Police stay as a standalone strategic force for Kent and Medway; it had been suggested that Kent should merge with another police force.
The Port of Dover maintains its own independent police force, the Port of Dover Police, however Kent Police has statutory responsibility for policing the entire county and will take over primacy of serious investigations and incidents within the port when appropriate.