States of Jersey Police
Encyclopedia
The States of Jersey Police is the professional police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...

 service of Jersey
Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...

. It was established in its current form by the Police Force (Jersey) Law, 1974 and consists of around 240 officers.

This was some 130 years after the need for a full time force was identified. A body of paid and uniformed town police was set up in Saint Helier
Saint Helier
Saint Helier is one of the twelve parishes of Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands in the English Channel. St. Helier has a population of about 28,000, roughly 31.2% of the total population of Jersey, and is the capital of the Island . The urban area of the parish of St...

 in 1854, which became the nucleus of the Paid Police established to operate Island-wide in 1951 by the Paid Police Force (Jersey) Law. The Paid Police was renamed the States of Jersey Police in 1960.

The States Police supports the system of elected Honorary Police
Honorary Police
There is an Honorary Police force in each of the 12 parishes of Jersey. Members of the Honorary Police are elected by the voters of the parish in which they serve, and are unpaid....

 in each parish
Parishes of Jersey
The Channel Island of Jersey is divided into twelve administrative districts or parishes. All have access to the sea and are named after the saints to whom their ancient parish churches are dedicated.:* Saint Helier...

 that has been in place in the Island since 1204.

The States of Jersey Police are the only officers with Island-wide powers and provide a professional response to all serious crime in the Island. Under a memorandum of understanding
Memorandum of understanding
A memorandum of understanding is a document describing a bilateral or multilateral agreement between parties. It expresses a convergence of will between the parties, indicating an intended common line of action. It is often used in cases where parties either do not imply a legal commitment or in...

 with the twelve parish forces the latter routinely handle minor matters and traffic control, but Centeniers remain the only officers able to bring charges.

The fictional Bureau des Étrangers department of the States of Jersey Police featured in the British TV series Bergerac
Bergerac (TV series)
Bergerac was a British television show set on Jersey. Produced by the BBC in association with the Seven Network, and screened on BBC1, it starred John Nettles as the title character Detective Sergeant Jim Bergerac, a detective in "Le Bureau des Étrangers" Bergerac was a British television show...

.

Notable investigations

An investigation into allegations of historical child abuse
Jersey child abuse investigation 2008
The Jersey child abuse investigation 2008 is an investigation into historic child abuse in Jersey. It started in the spring of 2007. Formerly, a social worker, Simon Bellwood had made a complaint about a "'Dickensian' system" where children as young as 11 were routinely locked up for 24 hours or...

 had begun in 2006. Several sites in the grounds of Haut de la Garenne
Haut de la Garenne
The Jersey Accommodation and Activity Centre is a building in Saint Martin, Jersey, in the Channel Islands. It was formerly known as the Industrial School, the Jersey Home for Boys, and Haut de la Garenne. Its previous uses have included being an industrial school, a children's home, a military...

, a former children's home, were excavated in 2008 and finds of human remains and other items were announced amid sensational international publicity. In September 2008, Detective Superintendent Mick Gradwell of Lancashire Police took over as Senior Investigating Officer in the abuse enquiry. In August 2008 David Warcup, Deputy Chief Constable of Northumbria Police
Northumbria Police
Northumbria Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the areas of Northumberland and Tyne and Wear in North East England. The service is the sixth largest police force in England and Wales. The current Chief Constable is Sue Sim who was appointed by Northumbria Police...

, took over as Deputy Chief Officer of the States of Jersey Police. The new team launched a review of the investigation to date and subsequently in November 2008, the Deputy Chief Officer, David Warcup, expressed "much regret" that misleading information had been released throughout the conduct of the enquiry and that there was "no evidence" of any child murders at Haut de la Garenne Criticism of the investigation intensified after the November 2008 withdrawal by police of claims of evidence with the investigation being described variously as "farcical" and a "shambles". It was suggested that those leading the enquiry had leaped too readily to conclusions.

Detective Superintendent Gradwell retired in August 2009 at the end of his contract and returned to the UK. On retiring, he described the investigation prior to the time he took over as a "poorly managed mess" and, in particular, the decision to excavate at Haut de la Garenne as being without justification and as "a complete and total waste of public money, time and effort".

As a result of the wider investigation, disregarding the controversial excavations at Haut de la Garenne, charges were brought against three individuals, and convictions obtained in court in 2009.

Suspension of Former Chief Officer

The former Chief Officer of the States of Jersey Police, Graham Power, was suspended in November 2008 pending an inquiry into his handling of the historic abuse inquiry, in the wake of the public withdrawal by police of claims of evidence.

In August 2009, it was announced that Graham Power, still on suspension but contesting his suspension through legal process, had been suspended again in relation to the keeping of secret files on politicians, an affair unrelated to the historic abuse inquiry.

Graham Power later retired and was replaced in the interim by David Warcup.

External links

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