Humberside Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the unitary authority areas of the East Riding of Yorkshire, Kingston upon Hull, North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire. The four areas correspond to the former county of Humberside.
History
Humberside Police was created on 1 April 1974 with a strength of 1,700 officers following a merger of previous forces under the Local Government Act 1972, along with the non-metropolitan county of Humberside. The forces whose area formed Humberside Police were the entirety of Kingston upon Hull City Police, the southern half of York and North East Yorkshire Police, the western tip of West Yorkshire Constabulary and the northern half of Lincolnshire Constabulary.
Following the abolition of Humberside in 1996, the local council members of the Police Authority were appointed by a joint committee of the councils of the East Riding of Yorkshire, Kingston upon Hull, North Lincolnshire, and North East Lincolnshire. On 21 November 2012, the Police Authority was made redundant by the election of the Humberside Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC). The authority, at the time it ceased to exist, had 17 members in total; nine Local Authority Elected members from the area's four unitary authorities and eight independent members.
Proposals made by the Home Secretary on 21 March 2006, would have seen the force merge with North Yorkshire Police, South Yorkshire Police and West Yorkshire Police to form a strategic police force for the entire region. These proposals were later scrapped.
Chief constables 19741976: Robert Walton 19761991: David Hall 19911999: D. Anthony Leonard 19992005: David Westwood 20052013: Timothy Stancliffe Hollis 20132017: Justine Curran 20172023: Lee Freeman 20232024: Paul Anderson 20242025: Judi Heaton (interim) 2025present: Chris Todd
From March 2013 to February 2017, the chief constable of Humberside Police was Justine Curran, previously chief constable of Tayside Police in Scotland before the introduction of the national Police Scotland service on 1 April 2013. Her appointment was unanimously approved by the Humberside Police and Crime panel after PCC Matthew Grove, proposed her for the post. Curran took over the position from Tim Hollis, who retired from the service in March 2013.
On 11 November 2015, it was revealed that Curran had claimed for more than £39,000 in expenses for her relocation from Tayside to Humberside in March 2013.
After Keith Hunter was elected as PCC in May 2016, Curran was given six months to improve the force after it was rated inadequate by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC). Nine months later, after a further HMIC inspection which identified further "significant failings", Hunter asked Curran to consider her position, and she announced her retirement. She left on 20 February 2017, 18 months before she had been due to retire.
In August 2017, it was revealed that Hunter had "lost confidence" in Curran and was "completely undermined" by her when it was decided to withhold the findings of an HMIC investigation which revealed further inadequacies within the force. Hunter sought legal advice, and Curran was allowed to retire before the statutory procedure to remove a chief constable was started.
Lee Freeman, a former assistant chief constable in Lincolnshire from August 2013 who had joined Humberside in May 2015, took over as deputy chief constable on Curran's departure. He was appointed temporary chief constable in May 2017 and the position was made permanent on 26 June 2017.
Freeman implemented a callout system named 'Right Care, Right Person' (RCRP) in May 2020, in which Humberside officers would only attend mental health-related callouts deemed 'essential' and instead have other callouts responded to by medical services. As of May 2023, Freeman claims that Humberside has achieved more arrests per 1,000 people in the population under RCRP while still attending 25% of mental health callouts, with officers having attended 508 fewer callouts per month. RCRP is planned to be copied by the Metropolitan Police and other police forces in England and Wales.
In August 2023 Paul Anderson, previously the Assistant Chief Constable under Freeman, took over as Chief Constable of Humberside Police. In June 2024, Anderson announced his intention to retire, with Judi Heaton appointed as interim Chief Constable for six months the following July. In November 2024, Anderson was under investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct for allegations of gross misconduct in regards to 'unprofessional behaviour, discriminatory, insensitive and offensive comments', as well as a separate allegation of interference with the outcome of a disciplinary matter.
In March 2025 Chris Todd was appointed as the new chief constable who would take up the position on 7 April 2025.
Officers killed in the line of duty
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.
Since the formation of Humberside Police six officers have been killed in the line of duty, these officers are:
September 1979 Police Constable, Linton Andee Le Blanc, 19, killed when his patrol car crashed on Hedon Road in Kingston upon Hull while responding to a burglar alarm call January 1998 Police Constable Steven Stimpson, 33, accidentally killed when his Volvo T5 traffic patrol car left the A1035 road near Tickton and overturned August 1998 Police Constable James Heaton, 30, fatally injured when his Volvo T5 traffic car left the A1079 road near Beverley and overturned while responding to an accident September 1998 Police Constable Jonathan Templeton, 37, collapsed and died of heart failure whilst on duty at Hedon police station July 2003 Police Constable Robert Douglas, 44, killed in a road traffic accident returning from his duties at the airport April 2015 Police Constable Russell Wylie, 28, during the morning of Monday 13 April 2015 he was on routine motorcycle patrol when he was involved in a collision with a car on the B1362, Burstwick, East Riding of Yorkshire. He was airlifted to Hull Royal Infirmary, however his injuries proved to be fatal. He was a traffic officer based at Melton.
Notable incidents and investigations Notable major incidents and investigations in which Humberside Police have been involved in include:
July 2001-2006: Humberside Police launched a major investigation into child sexual abuse at St Williams School in Market Weighton. The largest investigation in Humberside Police history, with hundreds of complainants, led to the Principal of the home, James Carragher, being convicted of sexual offences and sentenced to 14 years imprisonment. July 2010: Northumbria Police manhunt: Humberside Police was involved in the major police manhunt for Raoul Moat who, upon release from prison, shot his ex-girlfriend's new partner, his ex-girlfriend and the then serving traffic police Officer, PC David Rathband. Humberside Police, along with other police forces, provided mutual aid to Northumbria Police by providing armed police officer to assist in the armed police coverage and search for Raoul Moat. August 2011: 2011 England Riots: Specially trained officers were sent to assist the Metropolitan Police as riots broke out across the London area, which later spread across the country. Over 50 officers travelled to London to assist the Met Police. October 2012: Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal: following posthumous revelations of sexual abuse by media personality Jimmy Savile, Humberside Police investigated alleged sexual offences by Savile at De la Pole Hospital in Willerby in the 1970s, in conjunction with the Met Police-led Operation Yewtree. February 2019: Murder of Libby Squire: On 1 February 2019, Humberside police launched a major search for missing Hull University student Libby Squire. Appeals were made on social media and a large police presence was focused around the Beverley Road area of Hull. Humberside Police arrested a man on suspicion of abduction a few days later and charged him with several unrelated offences. He was released under investigation in connection to Libby Squire. Seven weeks later, the body of Libby Squire was discovered in the Humber Estuary, over 30 miles from her last known location in Hull. On 24 October 2019, police charged 25 year old Pawel Relowicz for the rape and murder of Libby Squire. On 10 February 2021, Pawel Relowicz was found guilty of rape and murder. March 2024–July 2026: Legacy Independent Funeral Directors inquiry: On 6 March 2024, Humberside Police officers were called to three branches of Legacy Independent Funeral Directors in Hull and Beverley on a report for 'concern for care of the deceased'. The largest investigation ever held by Humberside Police saw forensic officers find 35 bodies as well as a quantity of ashes at Legacy's site on Hessle Road, resulting in two arrests for preventing the lawful burial of a body and for fraud. The force set up an inquiry into the funeral directors and established a helpline for affected families, later presenting the Crown Prosecution Service with a file of 13,000 exhibits from the inquiry to consider using as evidence, and on 2 April 2025, the CPS charged Robert Bush with 30 counts of preventing the lawful burial of a body, 36 counts of fraud by false representation and one count of theft from twelve charities. On 15 October 2025, Bush pled guilty to the charges of fraud by false representation, and on 2 April 2026, Bush changed his pleas for preventing the lawful burial of a body and for theft to guilty. Bush was sentenced to 20 years in prison on a total of 67 individual counts on 31 July 2026. August 2024: 2024 United Kingdom riots: Eleven Humberside officers were injured amid rioting in Hull City Centre on 3 August 2024 at a protest in response to the 2024 Southport stabbing. Windows were broken at the Royal Hotel, adjacent to Hull Paragon Interchange and used to house asylum seekers, city centre shops were attacked and looted, and fires were set by rioters in both the city centre and on Spring Bank. Officers later claimed they were unprepared and sent to the scene with 'little support' from senior leadership, with chief officers not present during the weekend of the riot and injured officers taken to hospitals in personal vehicles. Twenty-five arrests were made by Humberside officers on 3 August, and as of 13 August 2024, 61 arrests had been made in connection to the disorder. March 2025: 2025 North Sea ship collision: Following a collision on 10 March 2025 between container ship MV Solong and the oil tanker MV Stena Immaculate, which was at anchor in the North Sea off the coast of Spurn Point, resulting in both ships catching fire, one crew member being hospitalised and another reported missing, presumed dead, Humberside Police arrested the captain of the Solong, a Russian national, in Grimsby on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter on 11 March. A criminal investigation into the cause of the collision was subsequently opened in cooperation with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.
Notable incidents and investigations involving Humberside officers include: