Huntingdonshire
The Police Act 1856 prompted the creation of both Huntingdon County Constabulary, with its own Chief Constable, and the Liberty of Peterborough Police Force, sharing its Chief Constable with Northamptonshire Constabulary. In 1874 the City of Peterborough Constabulary was created with its own Chief Constable; in 1947 the City and Liberty forces were amalgamated, and in 1965 further amalgamation with Cambridgeshire created the Mid-Anglia Constabulary (since 1974 Cambridgeshire Constabulary).
Records
Huntingdonshire Archives holds original records of:
- Huntingdon County Constabulary 1857-1965, including records of Hurstingstone, Leightonstone, Norman Cross, Ramsey and Toseland police divisions.
- Mid Anglia Constabulary: Eastern Division covered the Peterborough area 1965-1974
Huntingdonshire Archives also holds some printed annual reports of Cambridgeshire Constabulary, as part of the Office Library collection.
Online lists of the Huntingdonshire records may be found by following the link in the right hand column.
The following records were transferred to Peterborough Local Studies and Archives in 2009:
- Liberty of Peterborough Police Force 1812-1947
- City of Peterborough Police Force 1874-1947
- Peterborough Combined Police Force 1947-1965
Details of these can be found by following the link to the Peterbrough Local Studies and Archives webpages in the right hand column.
Cambridgeshire
Cambridge Borough had a police force from 1836; the Municipal Corporation Act required boroughs to appoint a Watch Committee, which, in turn, appointed constables to police towns.
The County Police Act of 1839 permitted Justices to set up paid county police forces. The Isle of Ely had its own Constabulary from 1841, comprising of four divisions - Ely, Wisbech, Whittlesey and Chatteris - each of which were self-contained and independent from one another.
There was no organised policing for the rest of
Cambridgeshire until 1851 when the Cambridgeshire County Force was established.
The Mid-Anglia Constabulary was formed in 1965 from the amalgamation of Cambridge City Police (formerly Cambridge Borough), the Cambridgeshire Constabulary, Huntingdonshire Constabulary, Isle of Ely Constabulary, and the Soke of Peterborough Combined Police Force.
In 1973, the Mid-Anglia Force became the present Cambridgeshire Constabulary.
Records
Cambridgeshire Archives holds records of the following forces, transferred from the Police Museum in Peterborough [R96/19]:
Cambridge Borough Constabulary, 1836 – 1965
Isle of Ely Constabulary, 1841 – 1965
Cambridgeshire County, 1851 – 1965
Mid Anglia Constabulary, 1965 – 1974
Cambridgeshire Constabulary, 1974 – 1991
For more details click 'Cambridgeshire Police records' below.
Access
Some of the more recent records of these forces may be closed to the public, due to the details they contain about individual members of the police, and about specific crimes.