The British Transport Police (BTP) is a national special police force that polices railways and light-rail systems in England, Scotland and Wales, for which it has entered into an agreement to provide such services. Seventy five percent of the force's funding comes from Britain's privatised train companies. British Transport Police officers do not have jurisdiction in Northern Ireland unless working under mutual aid arrangements for the Police Service of Northern Ireland, in which case any duties performed on a railway will be merely incidental to working as a constable in Northern Ireland.
Thames Valley Police, formerly known as Thames Valley Constabulary, is the territorial police force responsible for policing the Thames Valley area covered by the counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire. It is one of the largest territorial police forces in England covering 2,200 square miles (5,700 km2) and a population of over 2.1 million people. The police force consists of 4,244 constables, 506 special constables, 466 Police Community Support Officers (PCSO) and 2,576 police staff.
West Mercia Police, formerly known as West Mercia Constabulary, is the territorial police force responsible for policing the counties of Herefordshire, Shropshire and Worcestershire in England. The force area covers 2,868 square miles (7,430 km2) making it the fourth largest police area in England and Wales. The resident population of the area is 1.19 million. Its name comes from the ancient kingdom of Mercia.
A police community support officer (PCSO), or as written in legislation community support officer (CSO) is a uniformed member of police staff in England and Wales, a role created by Section 38(2) of the Police Reform Act 2002, which was given Royal Assent by Queen Elizabeth II on 24 July 2002. They are non-warranted but are provided a variety of police powers and the power of a Constable in various instances by the forty-three territorial police forces in England and Wales and the British Transport Police.
Most of the police forces of the United Kingdom use a standardised set of ranks, with a slight variation in the most senior ranks for the Metropolitan Police Service and City of London Police. Most of the British police ranks that exist today were chosen by Home Secretary Sir Robert Peel, the founder of the Metropolitan Police, enacted under the Metropolitan Police Act of 1829. The ranks at that time were deliberately chosen so that they did not correspond with military ranking, because of fears of a paramilitary force.
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 or informally as specials.
West Midlands Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England.
Avon and Somerset Constabulary is the territorial police force in England responsible for policing the county of Somerset and the now-defunct county of Avon, which includes the city and county of Bristol and the unitary authorities of Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire.
Cumbria Constabulary is the territorial police force in England covering Cumbria. As of September 2017, the force had 1,108 police officers, 535 police staff, 93 police community support officers, 25 designated officers and 86 special constables. In terms of officer numbers, it is the 7th smallest of the 48 police forces of the United Kingdom. Conversely, its geographic area of responsibility is the 7th largest police area of a territorial police force in the United Kingdom. The force area's size and its population of just under 500,000 people makes it sparsely populated. The only major urban areas are Carlisle and Barrow-in-Furness.
Norfolk Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for the county of Norfolk in England. In March 2016, the force had a strength of 1,515 constables, 915 police staff, 251 special constables and 171 PCSOs
Hertfordshire Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Hertfordshire in England. Its headquarters is in Welwyn Garden City. From 2011-2016 the force was headed by Chief Constable Andy Bliss, the current Chief Constable is Charlie Hall QPM. The forces manpower consists of over 3,900 police officers and staff, supported by more than 410 special constables.
Warwickshire Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing Warwickshire in England. It was known as Warwickshire Constabulary until 2001. It is the second smallest territorial police force in England and Wales after the City of London Police, with only 823 regular officers as of September 2017. The resident population of the force area is 554,002.
Dorset Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the English county of Dorset in the south-west of England. As of September 2017, the force had a workforce of 1,276 police officers, 1,049 police staff, 127 police community support officers, 63 designated officers and 118 special constables. In comparison to the 48 police forces of the United Kingdom, Dorset Police is the 14th smallest in terms of officer numbers. In terms of geographic area of responsibility, Dorset Police is the 20th smallest of the 45 territorial police forces.
Nottinghamshire Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the shire county of Nottinghamshire and the unitary authority of Nottingham in the East Midlands of England. The area has a population of just over 1 million.
Northamptonshire Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Northamptonshire in the East Midlands of England, in the United Kingdom.
Lincolnshire Police is the territorial police force covering the non-metropolitan county of Lincolnshire in the East Midlands of England. Despite the name, the force's area does not include North East Lincolnshire and North Lincolnshire, which are covered by Humberside Police instead.
Neighbourhood policing teams (NPT) sometimes called safer neighbourhood teams (SNT) are a concept developed by the United Kingdom police. It involves small teams of police officers who are dedicated to policing a certain community or area.
