Avon and Somerset Constabulary

Infobox UK Police
name= Avon and Somerset Constabulary
area= Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset, Somerset, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset.
start= 1974 (merger)
population= 1.5 million
size= 1,333
officers= 3,398, 660 vehicles
title= Chief Constable
head= Colin Port
divname= Divisions
divno= 6
stations= 39
HQ= Portishead

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web= http://www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/

Avon & Somerset Constabulary is the Home Office police force in England responsible for policing the non-metropolitan county of Somerset and the districts of South Gloucestershire, Bristol, North Somerset and Bath and North East Somerset; before 1996 these districts formed the now-defunct county of Avon, hence the force's name. The force, providing service for 1.5 million people, it is about the 6th highest force in England.History of the A&S Force from their [http://www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/contact/PoliceStationLocator/headquarters/tour/3_history_of_force.aspx site] retrieved on March 15 2007] The Chief Constable since January 2005 has been Colin Port, and the force has around 3,400 officers and 350 special constables.

History

The first police force in the entire of England was formed in Westminster by Somerset born novelist Henry Fielding, in 1748. In 1835, Bristol and Bath became the first to create their own police forces in the county itself, after that year's Municipal Corporations Act. The original Bristol constabulary had 232 officers issued with a top hat, blue coat and white trousers. this constabulary began certain practices that were eventually adopted country-wide, including recruiting female officers (with 13 on patrol by 1918) and photographing prisoners. Bridgwater and Chard followed with their own constabularies in 1839, with all forces being merged into the Somerset Constabulary in 1940.

The force as it is today was created on April 1, 1974, the same day as Avon, from a merger of the Bristol City Police, the Somerset and Bath Constabulary, and the Staple Hill division of Gloucestershire Constabulary. It was the only force to provide a mounted escort for the Queen during her Royal Jubilee tour of Bristol in 1977.

Controversy

Race and sex discrimination in recruitment

In 2006 the force admitted it had contravened the Sex Discrimination and Race Relations Act when it deselected 186 white male candidates from its recruitment process solely because of their gender and sex. Ralph Welsman, one of those discriminated against, sued the constabulary for their breach of employment laws and he received compensation in an out of court settlement. The policy was condemned by both the Police Federation and Commission for Racial Equality and it has now been abandoned. [ [http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article741092.ece White man wins payout over police job race bias - Times Online ] ]

Headquarters and stations

The headquarters of the force is currently Portishead in North Somerset, close to the B3124, it was chosen as the site for the new HQ when the Bristol Constabulary's Bridewell Headquarters was deemed to be too small to continue serving as the A&S HQ. The Portishead complex cost £31 million to construct and was opened by Queen Elizabeth II on June 2, 1995.

Avon and Somerset Police use a total of 40 Police stations.
* Fishponds
* Bath
* Keynsham
* Radstock
* Avonmouth
* Bishopsworth
* Brislington
* Broadbury Road
* Kenneth Steele House
* New Bridewell
* Redland
* Southmead
* Newfoundland Road
* Trinity Road
* Bristol International Airport
* Clevedon
* Nailsea
* Portishead
* Weston-super-Mare
* Frome
* Chard
* Crewkerne
* Ilminster
* Somerton
* Wincanton
* Shepton Mallet
* Street
* Wells
* Yeovil
* Bridgwater
* Burnham-on-Sea
* Cheddar
* Dulverton
* Minehead
* Williton
* Taunton
* Wellington
* Chipping Sodbury
* Thornbury
* Filton
* Staple Hill

ee also

*List of police forces in the United Kingdom
*Policing in the United Kingdom

External links

* [http://www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/index.aspx Force web site]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bristol/6194328.stm "Police helicopter chases online", BBC News, Nov 29, 2006] link to website at [http://www.westerncounties.org.uk/]

References