History of policing
Different systems of law enforcement have been in place in Cambridgeshire since Anglo-Saxon times. But it wasn’t until the Nineteenth Century that proper police forces were set up throughout the county.
Crime prevention throughout England and Wales varied dramatically during the Nineteenth Century.
For example, London had 450 police constables and 4500 night watchmen in the early part of the century. They were responsible for policing almost a million and a half Londoners. Many other metropolitan centres didn’t have a proper police force in place. Night watchmen and parish constables were responsible for maintaining law and order in Liverpool. [Provincial Police Forces]
Policing throughout Cambridgeshire was similarly patchy. Some parts of the county had small forces in place while others had no organised policing at all. The County and Borough Police Act of 1856 (also known as the Police Act) made it compulsory for a police force to be established in every county in England and Wales.
Early policing
Before 1856 there were few police forces in place throughout Cambridgeshire. Those that did exist were completely independent of each other.
The Municipal Corporation Act 1835 and Rural Constabulary Act 1839 allowed towns and counties throughout England and Wales to set up their own police forces. Throughout the country there was opposition to setting up forces, largely because people didn’t want to pay for them.
Riots bring call for more policing
During the early Nineteenth Century there were a series of uprisings throughout Britain, largely linked to mass unemployment and rising grain prices following the Battle of Waterloo.
These included the Littleport and Ely riots of 1816 and the “Captain Swing” riots that followed throughout East Anglia and the South of England from 1828 to 1832.
The Municipal Corporation Act 1835 and Rural Constabulary Act 1839 came about partly because provinces wanted better law enforcement to deal with future uprisings. [Provincial Police Forces]
The first forces in Cambridgeshire
The Cambridge Borough Police Force was set up in 1836 in the city of Cambridge, initially employing just 30 police officers. The Isle of Ely had its own force from 1841, with stations based in Ely, Chatteris, Wisbech and Whittlesey.
Smaller police forces existed in Cottenham, Soham, Godmanchester and Huntingdon, although little is known about them.
The Cambridgeshire County Force was set up in 1851. [Cambridgeshire Constabulary History]
The County and Borough Police Act
The County and Borough Police Act 1856, also known as the Police Act, compelled counties throughout England and Wales to establish police forces if they didn’t already have them.
Once a police force was established in a county or borough, a quarter of the costs for constables’ pay and uniforms would be funded by the Treasury. However, small boroughs with separate forces received no financial assistance and were encouraged to merge with the county constabulary.
The Huntingdon County Constabulary and the Liberty of Peterborough Police Force were created as a result of the act. The latter shared its Chief Constable with Northampton Constabulary.
The City of Peterborough Constabulary, with its own Chief Constable, was established in 1874.
An old police station, built in 1879, was based near Castle Hill in Cambridge.
The building now houses Cambridge Connexions.
The Twentieth Century
Throughout the Twentieth Century police forces throughout Cambridgeshire evolved and grew.
In 1947 the City of Peterborough Constabulary and Liberty of Peterborough Police Force merged to form the Peterborough Combined Police Force.
Further changes took place in 1965, when forces throughout the county were voluntarily amalgamated to create the Mid-Anglia Constabulary. The constabulary was made up of former forces from Cambridge City, Cambridgeshire County, Ely, Huntingdonshire and Peterborough. The headquarters of this new police force were based in Brampton, Huntingdon.
The old police station in St Andrew's Street, Cambridge,
now houses Cambridge City Council offices.
Cambridgeshire Constabulary
Following changes to county boundaries, Cambridgeshire Constabulary was established in 1974 as a result of the Local Government Act 1972, which also created the non-metropolitan county of Cambridgeshire.
Cambridgeshire Constabulary’s headquarters are based at Hinchingbrooke Park in Huntingdon. The force has 15 stations throughout the county and employs over 1400 officers.
The constabulary’s split into three divisions, covering corresponding local government authority areas: Northern (Peterborough), Central (Huntingdonshire and Fenland) and Southern (Cambridge, South Cambridgeshire and East Cambridgeshire).
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