Guernsey Police | |
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![]() Guernsey Police Logo (as at 2016) | |
Common name | Guernsey Police |
Motto | Nous travail ensemble pour protègier et sauvergarder le Balillage Working together to make the Bailiwick safe and secure |
Agency overview | |
Formed | 10 April, 1920 |
Employees | 245 |
Jurisdictional structure | |
National agency | Guernsey |
Operations jurisdiction | Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, Herm, Guernsey |
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Map of Guernsey Police's jurisdiction | |
Size | 78 km² |
Population | Approx 67,500 |
Governing body | States of Guernsey |
General nature | |
Operational structure | |
Headquarters | Hospital Lane, St Peter Port |
Sworn members | 145 |
Agency executive |
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Parent agency | Home Affairs Committee |
Facilities | |
Stations | 2 |
Website | |
www.guernsey.police.uk |
The Guernsey Police, is the police service for the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a jurisdictional sub-group of Crown Dependencies within the Channel Islands.
The service's enforcement jurisdiction extends across the entire bailiwick and encompasses the Islands of Guernsey, Alderney, Herm, and Sark. The Guernsey Police falls under the government department of Home Affairs, States of Guernsey.
In common with many communities, a historical development of parish constables formed the system of law enforcement for many centuries. In the 19th century, the people of Guernsey complained that this system was inadequate for a growing population, and a professional police force was demanded. The parish constables retained their historic role, but from 1853 uniformed assistant constables were appointed. Initially, there were four of them, with a uniform hat and belt worn over their civilian clothing. They provided full-time policing, under the authority of the elected parish constables. [1]
The current police force was formed following approval by the States of Deliberation in March 1915, consisting of an inspector, two sergeants, two corporals and eleven constables, with the force being formally founded on 10 April 1920. [2] During the five-year German occupation of the Channel Islands the police had a difficult time whilst working alongside the German military police and the Feldgendarmerie (field police). In 1945 the force resumed its normal role and is now considerably expanded, as of 2018 it had 151 officers. These are supported by 94 civilian staff, who work in roles where warranted officers are not required.
From March 2015, emergency calls for all emergency services in Guernsey have been routed through the Joint Emergency Services Control Centre (JESCC), linking police, fire, ambulance and coastguard services. [3]
In late January 2019, Guernsey Police led the investigation into the high-profile disappearance of Argentinian footballer Emiliano Sala, whose aircraft had last made radar contact near Alderney. [4] [5]
On 10 April 2020, the Guernsey Police celebrated its 100th anniversary, with a planned set of events to commemorate this event. These events were postponed in light of the COVID-19 pandemic which resulted in a lockdown of the island as positive cases were confirmed in the island.
The force is headed by a chief officer (CO), with two deputy chief officer's (DCO) as a joint second in command. The current Chief Officer of the Guernsey Police is Ruari Hardy, After the retirement of the previous Chief Officer, Patrick Rice. As of 2020, the two Deputy Chief Officers are Philip Breban and Ian Scholes. Each of the four branches within the Guernsey Police is headed by a chief inspector; the branches are uniformed operations, crime services, operations and specialist services. Significant units within these four divisions include the commercial fraud department, the explosive ordnance disposal unit and the police dog section.
In 2015, Guernsey Police's control room for bailiwick and the Islands of Guernsey, Alderney, Herm, and Sark was combined into one central location. Operators in the room use a bespoke computer-aided dispatch software to manage, Police, Guernsey Ambulance and Rescue Service, Guernsey Fire and Rescue Service, and Guernsey Coastguard 999 (emergency telephone number) Calls. All four emergency services were merged into one area and all operators are trained to deal with emergency and non-emergency calls, similar to the Police 101 and the NHS 111 services. JESCC does not offer on the phone medical advice like the 111 service but triages calls through a standardised set of questions as part of their computer-aided dispatch system.
Guernsey Coastguard is also based within the Joint Emergency Services control centre and maintains and 24/7 watch on Channel 16 VHF and its local frequency, VHF channel 20. Guernsey Costguard also broadcasts marine Navigation Warnings for the terrestrial waters within the Bailiwick of Guernsey.
JESCC staff are all trained in emergency call handling, dispatch of all services land-based emergency services and Coastguard Search and rescue. Staff in JESCC are civilians and not members of the Guernsey Police.
Guernsey Police has a system of special constables, with three distinct types of volunteer officer, known as 'A', 'B', or 'C' division of the special constabulary.
'A' division special constables are full-time employees of third party agencies who are granted limited police powers within their workplace, to provide a first response whilst professional police officers are travelling to an incident; for example, a number of hospital porters are sworn as 'A' division special constables to provide an enhanced level of hospital security. [6]
'B' division special constables are fully trained to support their full-time colleagues in all aspects of policing. They are commonly deployed in tandem with professional colleagues at large scale public events, and during weekend periods.
'C' division special constables carry out the duties of a traffic warden, but have certain police powers in respect of traffic control, for example around school areas at peak times.
The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, consisting of Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, Herm and some smaller islands. Historically, they are the remnants of the Duchy of Normandy. Although they are not part of the United Kingdom, the UK is responsible for the defence and international relations of the islands as it is for the other Crown Dependency, the Isle of Man, and the British Overseas Territories. The Crown Dependencies are neither members of the Commonwealth of Nations, nor part of the European Union. They have a total population of about 171,916, and the bailiwicks' capitals, Saint Helier and Saint Peter Port, have populations of 33,500 and 18,207 respectively.
Guernsey is the second largest island in the Channel Islands, located 27 miles (43 km) west of the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy. It forms the major part of the jurisdiction of the same name, which also comprises three other inhabited islands and many small islets and rocks. The jurisdiction has a population of 63,950 and the island has a land area of 24 square miles (62 km2).
Herm is one of the Channel Islands and part of the Parish of St Peter Port in the Bailiwick of Guernsey. It is located in the English Channel, north-west of France and south of England. It is 2,183 m (7,162 ft) long and under 873 metres (2,864 ft) wide; oriented north–south, with several stretches of sand along its northern coast. The much larger island of Guernsey lies to the west, Jersey lies to the south-east, and the smaller island of Jethou is just off the south-west coast.
Sark is a part of the Channel Islands in the southwestern English Channel, off the coast of Normandy, France. It is a royal fief, which forms part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, with its own set of laws based on Norman law and its own parliament. It has a population of about 500. Sark has an area of 2.10 square miles (5.44 km2). Little Sark is a peninsula joined by a natural but high and very narrow isthmus to the rest of Sark Island.
Alderney is the northernmost of the inhabited Channel Islands. It is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown dependency. It is 3 miles (5 km) long and 1+1⁄2 miles (2.4 km) wide.
The Bailiwick of Guernsey is a self-governing British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France, comprising several of the Channel Islands. It has a total land area of 78 square kilometres (30 sq mi) and an estimated total population of 67,334.
A bailiwick is usually the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff, and once also applied to territories in which a privately appointed bailiff exercised the sheriff's functions under a royal or imperial writ.
Guernsey elects a legislature at the national level. The islands of Alderney and Sark also elect their own parliaments.
The States of Guernsey, officially the States of Deliberation and sometimes referred to as the Government of Guernsey, is the parliament and government of the British Crown dependency of Guernsey. Some laws and ordinances approved by the States of Guernsey also apply to Alderney and Sark as "Bailiwick-wide legislation" with the consent of the governments of those islands. All enactments of the States of Guernsey apply to Herm as well as Guernsey, since Herm is directly administered by the Bailiwick of Guernsey.
The Bailiwick of Guernsey includes the island of Guernsey and other islands such as Alderney, Sark, Herm, Jethou, Brecqhou, and Lihou. Each parish was established, probably in the 11th century, as a religious area, each having its parish church. Administratively each parish is now administered by an elected council known as a Douzaine.
Guernsey is the second largest of the Channel Islands. It is part of the Common Travel Area, allowing passport-free travel to and from the United Kingdom, Jersey, the Isle of Man or the Republic of Ireland. Travel to the Schengen Area of Europe requires a passport or an EU national identity document and from 2025 entry to the Schengen Area will require compliance with the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) and non EU citizens may need a visa. Entry from the Schengen Area requires a passport, except when a concession is in place for short trips to Guernsey, when an EU ID card is acceptable.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Guernsey:
Guernsey Ambulance and Rescue Service is the ambulance and rescue service of Guernsey, the second largest of the Channel Islands, and also provides these services to other islands within the Bailiwick of Guernsey, both those directly governed, and those that are semi-autonomous dependencies of Guernsey. It is operated as a private company, but is a subsidiary of the Venerable Order of St John. Unlike ambulance services in the United Kingdom and Jersey, emergency ambulance and patient transport services are not free of charge. The service charges patients who do not have a paid annual subscription.
The first postal service took place using mail sent with captains of packet ships, using agents in the England and in the islands for the end delivery. The cost was normally 3d. The first pillar boxes in Britain were introduced in the Channel Islands as an experiment in 1852, to collect mail for the Royal Mail packet boats. The oldest pillar box in use in the British Isles is in Guernsey.
The Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British Crown dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy. As a bailiwick, Guernsey embraces not only all ten parishes on the island of Guernsey, but also the islands of Alderney and Sark – each with their own parliament – and the smaller islands of Herm, Jethou and Lihou. Although its defence is the responsibility of the United Kingdom, the Bailiwick is not part of the United Kingdom, but, as its description suggests, a possession of the Crown. Consequently, though it lies within the Common Travel Area, it was never part of the European Union.
Same-sex marriage is legal in all parts of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a Crown dependency of the United Kingdom. Legislation to open marriage to same-sex couples in Guernsey was passed by the States of Guernsey on 21 September 2016, and took effect on 2 May 2017. Same-sex marriage laws took effect in Alderney on 14 June 2018, and Sark on 23 April 2020.
The Law of Guernsey originates in Norman customary law, overlaid with principles taken from English common law and French law, as well as from statute law enacted by the competent legislature(s) – usually, but not always, the States of Guernsey.
The Saint Peter Port Lifeboat Station was established in Guernsey in 1803. Originally based at Saint Sampson, it relocated to Saint Peter Port in 1881.
A Piper PA-46 Malibu light aircraft transporting Argentine football player Emiliano Sala crashed in the English Channel off Alderney in the Channel Islands on 21 January 2019. It had been travelling from Nantes, France, to Cardiff, Wales. Sala was due to begin his career at Cardiff City.