Sussex Police

Brighton Constabulary

• Henry Solomon appointed 18 May 1838 (murdered in 1844 by prisoner)
• Thomas Hayter Chase appointed 22 May 1844
• George White appointed 21 December 1853
• Owen Crowhurst appointed 7 December 1876
• Isaiah Barnden appointed 8 August 1877
• James Terry appointed 6 April 1881
• Thomas Carter appointed 27 January 1894
• Sir William Gentle appointed 26 September 1901
• Charles Griffin appointed 5 June 1920
• William James Hutchinson appointed 1 December 1933
• Charles Field Williams Ridge appointed 1 July 1956
• Albert Edgar Rowsell appointed 28 October 1957
• William Thomas Cavey appointed 8 October 1963[7]
• Brighton amalgamated with East Sussex Constabulary, West Sussex Constabulary, Hastings and Eastbourne Constabularies to form Sussex Constabulary, 1968

Sussex Constabulary

• 1968–1972: Thomas Christopher Williams[8] (died 9 September 1972)
• 1973–1983: George Terry
• 1983–1993: Roger Birch
• 1993–2001: Paul Chapple Whitehouse[9]
• 2001–2006: Kenneth Lloyd Jones
• 2006–2007: Joseph Edwards[10]
• 2008–2014: Martin Richards
• 2014–2020: Giles York
• 2020–present Jo Shiner

The Police Roll of Honour Trust and Police Memorial Trust list and commemorate all British police officers killed in the line of duty. Since its establishment in 1984, the Police Memorial Trust has erected 50 memorials nationally to some of those officers. A list of officers of Sussex Police and its predecessors who died on duty (in progress) is shown below:[11]

Key to rank abbreviations: A/x = Acting • CC = Chief Constable • ACC = Assistant Chief Constable • CEO = Civilian Explosives Officer • Cmdr = Commander • DC = Detective Constable • DI = Detective Inspector • DS = Detective Sergeant • Insp = Inspector • PC = Police Constable • Sgt = Sergeant • SPC = Special Police Constable • Stn Sgt = Station Sergeant • Supt = Superintendent • WPC = Woman Police Constable • WRC = War Reserve Constable.

Opened on 4 May 2005 by Councillor Pat Drake, the then mayor of Brighton & Hove, the Old Police Cells Museum is located in the basement of Brighton Town Hall and offers an educational and entertaining insight into the history of policing within Sussex.

It provides an opportunity to visit Brighton Borough main police station for the period 1830 to 1967 and learn about the murder of Chief Constable Henry Solomon in 1844 by a prisoner. It is possible to view the old cells with their graffiti from the mods and rockers era, the policemen's wash room and uniform store areas, police memorabilia and artifacts. The museum also houses a unique collection of truncheons and tipstaffs, one of the largest in the country. This collection was made by Alderman Caffyn throughout his lifetime and is on permanent loan to the Museum from the Sussex Police Authority.[12]

Police aviation is provided across England and Wales by the National Police Air Service (NPAS). Prior to its establishment in 2012, Sussex Police used to operate an MD-902 helicopter, callsign Hotel 900 jointly with the South East Coast Ambulance Service, providing both policing and emergency medical support to Sussex and beyond. The closest NPAS base to Sussex Police is at Redhill Aerodrome in neighbouring Surrey. The helicopter's call-sign is NPAS 15 and it has a registration of G-CPAS. This aircraft was previously used by Cleveland Police until NPAS was formed.

Sussex Police has a dedicated Counter-Terrorist Intelligence Unit (CTIU) which works alongside the rest of the force in protecting and reassuring the public, and reducing the risk from terrorism. The unit engages with communities, local authorities, higher education and universities and other local bodies, in order to prevent violent extremism. The unit also offers specialist protective security advice to locations deemed to be at a greater risk from terrorism.

The CTIU is involved in the disruption and detection of terrorist activity and has close links between local police and the communities it serves. It also works at ports and airports alongside Border Force[26]

A Ford Mondeo of Sussex DSU at Chichester

Police dogs and their handlers are huge assets to the force and hold a vitally important role in safeguarding the whole of Sussex. General purpose dogs are one of the most effective means for tracking, chasing and detaining suspects, searching for stolen property and missing people, and assisting public order units with crowd control. Specialist search dogs are used for drug, cash and weapon recovery, for detecting explosives and for following the scent of a specific person. Dog handlers are also trained to deal with dangerous dogs.[12]

The Emergency and Planning Team provides Sussex Police with the ability to plan for major incidents, natural disasters and large policing operations that occur throughout the communities of Sussex. The team delivers specialist equipment to front line officers, staff for operations and tactical advice to police commanders; this helps to deliver the best service possible to the public during critical times. The team also has responsibilities with regards to business continuity, local resilience partnership working and contingency planning.[12]

BMW 3 Series Road Policing Unit

The Road Policing Unit (RPU) covers the whole force from three bases. Those bases include Sussex Police HQ (Lewes), Arundel and Hastings. The primary aims of RPU are to deny criminals the use of the road, tackle anti-social driving such as mobile phone use and drink-driving and to bring down the number of KSI (killed and seriously injured) casualties on the roads of Sussex. Vehicles in use include fully marked and unmarked vehicles of various types fitted with covert warning equipment.

The SEU was formed on 26 January 2021 with the sole task of denying criminals the use of the roads, particularly car crime such as car theft and ‘county line’ drug smuggling between counties. It differs from the RPU as it targets these specific areas.

This unit was disbanded in June 2015, due to cuts in the police budget.[12][27]

Prior to disbandment Specialist Search Unit officers searched where other police officers could not go. They were trained to search in demanding environments that needed specialist equipment, such as underwater (mostly inland waters), at height, in flooded areas as in the Lewes floods in 2000, and confined spaces. The team were experts in searching for missing people, stolen property, drugs, weapons and firearms, and they were also licensed to find and identify improvised explosive devices. A police boat was used by the unit to undertake marine patrols along the Sussex coastline and during diving operations.[12]

The Tactical Firearms Unit covers the entire force from two bases. Those bases include Sussex Police HQ (Lewes) and Gatwick. Firearms officers are deployed to incidents involving the use of firearms or other lethal weapons either on a spontaneous or pre-planned basis. They are able to be deployed across all of Sussex, dealing with high priority crime such as drugs, burglary and violent crime. All tactical firearms (TFU) officers are trained in conflict resolution methods, meaning every incident is resolved using the minimum amount of force necessary. Non-lethal methods used by officers include the Baton Gun for firing rubber bullets and the Taser stun-gun. Officers are rigorously trained in threat assessment and perception, ready to make split-second decisions to protect the public against threats of violence. Officers are required to complete a two-year probationary period as firearms officers at Gatwick Airport after completing initial training.[12]

Sussex Police currently operates a number of different drone models in conjunction with Surrey Police to assist with searches for missing persons, road traffic collisions, major crime and industrial accident investigation, event planning and management, and to provide situational awareness to officers and commanders in a variety of policing situations. The drones are small battery powered rotor systems, commonly known as quad or hexacopters. They are powered by either four or six electric motors and take off and land vertically like helicopters.