Penzance Borough Police
| Penzance Borough Police | |
|---|---|
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | 1836 |
| Dissolved | 1947 |
| Legal personality | Governmental: Government agency |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| Operations jurisdiction* | Police area of in the country of England, UK |
| Legal jurisdiction | England & Wales |
| Governing body | Police Watch Committee |
| Constituting instrument | Municipal Corporations Act 1835 |
| General nature | |
| Operational structure | |
| Overviewed by | Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary |
| Headquarters | St. John's Hall, Alverton Street, Penzance (1868-1947) |
| Agency executive | Frederick G. Beale (1947 at dissolution), Chief Constable |
| Facilities | |
| Stations | 1 |
| Footnotes | |
| * Police area agency: Prescribed geographic area in the country, over which the agency has usual operational jurisdiction. | |
Penzance Borough Police was the police force for the borough and corporate town of Penzance, Cornwall, from 1836 to 1947. It was formed following the passing of the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, which reformed all UK boroughs, and stipulated that each appoint a Watch Committee to oversee a police force. The police force formed part of the commonality of the town’s government, led by an elected Mayor, six aldermen and eighteen councillors.
Prior to 1835, law and order in Penzance was enforced by a Parish Constable appointed by a Justice of the Peace, under supervision of the Lord Lieutenant, a tradition begun in the 13th Century during the reign of Edward I. Parish Constables were part-time and unpaid. Justices of the Peace were also unpaid members of the local gentry deemed to be “good and lawful,” and were able to hold courts of Petty Sessions to deal with minor misdemeanours. In Penzance, Petty Sessions were held on the second and fourth Monday in the month at 11am, first at Penzance Grammar School and later at the newly constructed Guildhall. The first Petty Sessions of the new borough took place on Monday 18 July 1836. Serious matters of theft, criminal damage, trespass and infringement were dealt with by the Justice at Quarter Sessions, held four times a year. Petty and Quarter Sessions were retained following the formation of the Borough Police. The title of Parish Constable was abolished in favour of the title of Head Constable.
The Penzance Borough Police was governed by a Police Watch Committee, the body itself led by a town councillor responsible for appointing a Head Constable who held the rank of Superintendent. Watch Committees granted strong autonomy for police forces, resulting in regional variations in organisation and decision-making. The offices of the force were housed within St. John’s Hall, built in 1867-68, on Alverton Street, which also contained the Police Court. In 1895 a County police station was erected at Chyandour. There were also County stations in Nancherrow and Charles Hill, containing a sergeant and one constable, in St. Just. The County stations formed part of the larger Cornwall County Constabulary, and were not directly related to the borough. The force was led by a Head Constable from its inception, a term that fell out of use in the early twentieth century in favour of the title (and rank) of Chief Constable.
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