The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the counties of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight in South East England.
The force area includes Southampton, the largest city in South East England, and the naval city of Portsmouth. It also covers the New Forest National Park, sections of the South Downs National Park, large towns such as Basingstoke, Eastleigh, Andover, Fareham and Aldershot, and the historic city of Winchester. The constabulary, as it is currently constituted, dates from 1967, but modern policing in Hampshire can be traced back to 1832.
In late 2015, the force moved its strategic headquarters to Eastleigh, into a building now shared with Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service. At the same time, the force moved its Operational Headquarters to Mottisfont Court in Winchester. The Support & Training Headquarters and control room are located in Netley, near Southampton, in buildings of the former Netley Hospital.
History
The first fully constituted police force formed in Hampshire was the Winchester City Police, founded in 1832. The Hampshire County Constabulary was established seven years later in December 1839 as a result of the passing of the County Police Act that year. Initially the force had a chief constable and two superintendents: one was based in Winchester, and the second based on the Isle of Wight (then part of Hampshire). The first separate police force on the island was formed in 1837 when the Newport Borough Police was established. A separate Isle of Wight Constabulary was not formed until 1890 when the island was the granted administrative county status.
During the 19th century, Hampshire County Constabulary absorbed various borough forces including Basingstoke Borough Police (1836–1889), Romsey Borough Police (1836–1865), Lymington Borough Police (1836–1852) and Andover Borough Police (1836–1846). The Isle of Wight Constabulary likewise absorbed the borough forces of Newport and Ryde. Winchester, Southampton and Portsmouth continued to have independent police forces. In 1914 the Special Constabulary started to perform regular duties 'for the continuous preservation of order during the war'. Prior to this Special Constables were only called up to assist at major events and riots.
In 1943, as part of the Defence (Amalgamation of Police Forces) Regulations 1942, Hampshire County Constabulary was amalgamated with the Isle of Wight and Winchester City Police forces to form the Hampshire Joint Police Force. The two city forces, Southampton City Police and Portsmouth City Police, remained independent. Although this arrangement was originally intended only as a wartime measure, it continued after hostilities ended. In 1948, the merger was made permanent, with Hampshire Joint Police Force being renamed Hampshire Constabulary.
The name was changed once again in 1957, to Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary. The Police Act 1964 led to the amalgamation of the city forces (Southampton and Portsmouth) into the Hampshire force. This created the present-day Hampshire Constabulary. The last major changes to the police area were in 1974, when the Local Government Act changed a number of local government areas, and the responsibility for policing Christchurch was transferred to Dorset Police.
In November 2022, the force was renamed Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary by Police and Crime Commissioner Donna Jones.
The names of forces that have policed the counties of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight since the nineteenth century are illustrated below:
In 1965, the force had an establishment of 1,346 and an actual strength of 1,137.
The headquarters moved to their current locations in Eastleigh (Strategic HQ) and Winchester (Operational HQ) in 2015. The previous facility in Winchester, close to Winchester Prison sat on the site of the first county headquarters, built in 1847.
Between 2013 and 2017, a number of police stations were closed and sold, while others had their public facilities closed. The need to reduce costs also led to the formation of a Joint Operations Unit with Thames Valley Police which, during the course of 2012, saw the amalgamation of Roads Policing Units, Training, Firearms and Dog Units of the two forces. The IT departments of the forces merged in early 2011. In April 2015, Hampshire Constabulary announced a "new-look policing model", beginning a major reorganisation.