 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(November 2013) |
Bruche Police Training Centre, Warrington , Lancashire was a training complex for probationary police officers in the United Kingdom. The site in a suburb of Warrington was operated by CENTREX, the 'Central Police Training and Development Authority'. It opened in January 1946 and closed in May 2006.
Bruche was originally opened to provide accommodation for U.S. Army Air Force officers during the Second World War. [1] It opened as a police training college in January 1946, as a temporary site to accommodate the number of police officers being trained after the Second World War. [2] In 1955, it was one of the two UK police training centres that accommodated female police officers. [2]
Police forces from the northern part of England and Wales sent new recruits to the centre for the main part of their basic training, which consisted of the development of important attitudes and behaviours, law training and officer safety tactics. Training included several role-play scenarios to enable the development and assessment of important abilities. Newly recruited probationary officers would spend a solid 15 weeks at Bruche before ever stepping onto the street, after having also spent time at their own Force's regional training centre(s).
The centre was the site of Sandford, a mock village used for law enforcement training. The training village allowed police recruits could engage in simulations of routine police activities such as dealing with traffic accidents, football hooligans, and investigating robberies. Criminals, victims and bystanders were portrayed by civilian locals of the Bruche area. [3]
In 2003, an investigative journalist trained undercover at Bruche, and exposed some police officers that used racist behaviour and language. The film was broadcast by the BBC Panorama programme in an episode called 'The Secret Policeman'. [4]
Bruche was the only police training centre to remain in constant use throughout the years during the UK police forces used such facilities [2] In May 2006, Bruche was closed because individual police forces became responsible for training their recruits internally. [1] In 2013, Warrington Council gave permission for 220 houses to be built on the site. [5]
The police forces that sent officers to Bruche were mainly:
Forces in other parts of the country usually sent their recruits to similar centres at Ashford in Kent, Aykley Heads in Durham, Ryton-on-Dunsmore in Warwickshire and Cwmbran in South Wales. When the police training system changed in 2006 Ashford, Cwmbran and Bruche centres closed. Ryton is now used for other police and Immigration Service training. Aykley Heads (Durham) is now used to train Durham Constabulary and Northumbria Police Officers, as well as being Durham Constabulary HQ.[ citation needed ]
Cheshire Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the ceremonial county of Cheshire in North West England, comprising the unitary authorities of Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, Borough of Halton and Borough of Warrington. The force is responsible for policing an area of 946 square miles (2,450 km2) with a population of approximately 1 million people.
The Special Constabulary is the part-time volunteer section of statutory police forces in the United Kingdom and some Crown dependencies. Its officers are known as special constables.
Devon and Cornwall Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the ceremonial counties of Devon and Cornwall in South West England. The force serves approximately 1.8 million people over an area of 3,967 square miles (10,270 km2).
Hendon Police College is the principal training centre for London's Metropolitan Police.
County police, often called county sheriffs in the United States, are police forces existing primarily in the United States that possess primary jurisdiction over an entire county. England and Wales, two constituent countries of the United Kingdom, are policed by territorial police forces largely formed on a county basis. Historically, Northern Ireland and Scotland, the other two constituent countries of the UK, have had county police, although both countries now have unified national police services.
Volunteer Police Cadets (VPC) is a nationally recognised uniformed police youth organisation which operates in most parts of the United Kingdom. It is one of several cadet youth organisations including the Army Cadet Force, Sea Cadets, Royal Marine Cadets, Air Training Corps and Fire Cadets. The Police Cadets teach young people skills in policing, and some may assist police officers with low-risk activities. The purpose of the VPC is not to recruit police officers of the future, but to encourage the spirit of adventure and good citizenship among its members.
Merseyside Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing Merseyside in North West England. The service area is 647 square kilometres with a population of around 1.5 million. As of September 2017 the service has 3,484 police officers, 1,619 police staff, 253 police community support officers, 155 designated officers and 208 special constables. The force is led by Chief Constable Serena Kennedy.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement within the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester in North West England.
Lancashire Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the ceremonial county of Lancashire in North West England. The force's headquarters are at Hutton, near the city of Preston. As of September 2020, the force has 3,088 police officers, 190 special constables, and 280 police community support officers (PCSO), 300 police support volunteers (PSV), and 2,287 staff.
Durham Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the council areas of County Durham and Darlington in North East England. It does not cover all of the ceremonial or historic area of Durham, parts of which are covered by the neighbouring forces of Cleveland Police and Northumbria Police. The other neighbouring forces are Cumbria Constabulary to the west and North Yorkshire Police to the south.
The Police Act 1964 was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that updated the legislation governing police forces in England and Wales, constituted new police authorities, gave the Home Secretary new powers to supervise local constabularies, and allowed for the amalgamation of existing forces into more efficient units.
Centrex, the common name of the Central Police Training and Development Authority (CPTDA), was established under Part 4 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001, and was the primary means of police training in England and Wales. It was based at Bramshill House, formerly known as the Police Staff College, Bramshill. Centrex had the responsibility for many aspects of police training and development. There had been a move away from running police training centres to running police trainee/initial probationer courses in-house under the auspices of Centrex. Centrex was replaced by the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) on 1 April 2007.
A Police Support Unit or PSU is a unit of police officers who have undergone specialist tactical training in Public Order and Riot Control.
Grosvenor Hall is an estate in Kennington, Ashford, Kent. At first a sanitorium, it was repurposed as a training site for police recruits and called the Ashford Police Training Centre between 1973 and 2006. It is now a youth educational and adventure centre.
Initial Police Learning and Development Programme (IPLDP) is the curriculum for the initial training of police officers within England and Wales.
Counter Terrorism Policing is the national collaboration of police forces working to prevent, deter, and investigate terrorism in the United Kingdom.
The Secret Policeman is a documentary about an undercover reporter that reveals racism among police recruits in Manchester, England. It was screened by the BBC in October 2003. It was filmed by Mark Daly, an investigative journalist, who joined the Greater Manchester Police Service and spent several months undercover at the Bruche National Training Centre in Warrington, Cheshire. He filmed episodes of racist behaviour among some recruits and their trainers.