Thames Valley Police
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Thames Valley Police is one of the largest police services in England and the largest non-metropolitan one, covering 2200 sq mi (5,700 km²) and a population of 2.1 million. They are responsible for the area covered by the ceremonial counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire. The service was formed through the amalgamation of the Buckinghamshire Constabulary, the Berkshire Constabulary, Oxford City Police, the Oxfordshire Constabulary and the Reading Borough Police in 1968.
The headquarters of the Thames Valley Police is at Oxford Road, Kidlington, Oxfordshire.
The former HQ was at Sulhamstead House in Sulhamstead, Berkshire. From 1949 to 1968, the house was owned by the Berkshire County Police and became their headquarters in 1952. Following the merge of the Berkshire County Police into the Thames Valley Police, the house took on the additional role of being the service's training college. This is also the location of the Thames Valley Police Museum.
In December 2003 Thames Valley Police employed over 6000 staff, including 4,036 police officers
Its motto is Sit pax in valle tamesis (Latin: 'Let there be peace in the Thames Valley') [1] (http://www.thamesvalley.police.uk/about/crest.htm); its slogan is reducing crime, disorder and fear.
Inspector Morse
The most famous Thames Valley Police officer may be the fictional Inspector Morse, the main character in 13 novels by Colin Dexter and 33 television episodes by ITV.
See also
External links
- Official Thames Valley Police website (http://www.thamesvalley.police.uk/)
- Sulhamstead House (http://www.berkshirehistory.com/castles/sulhamstead_house.html)