Our force

Durham Constabulary has been in existence since December 1839, just over ten years after Sir Robert Peel formed the Metropolitan Police in London.

The first Chief Constable was Major James Wemyss who had served as a staff officer at the Battle of Waterloo. He was paid £250 a year.

The current geographic boundaries date back to local government reorganisation of 1974.

The operational structure of the force has undergone a number of reviews and a full re-structure was implemented in 2011.

Our force values are Positivity, Fairness, Courage, Inclusivity, and Integrity.

Our staff will perform their duty consistent with the Code of Ethics which has been developed by the College of Policing. The Code provides information on how to achieve ethical decision making and indicates how breaches of the Code will be dealt with.

It combines policing principles and standards of behaviour in a single document; is inclusive, applying to everyone in Durham Constabulary be it police officers, staff, special constables, volunteers or contractors.