Policing Sussex

The first ‘professional’ paid police officers in Sussex appeared in 1836, with Hastings, Arundel and Chichester setting up rudimentary Forces. By the 1880’s the whole of the County was patrolled with the County Borough’s having their own Forces, whilst the rural areas were covered by the West Sussex Constabulary and the East Sussex Constabulary. Only in 1968 were the remaining five Forces combined to form Sussex Police.  The speaker joined Sussex Police that year as a sixteen year of Cadet and stayed for another 32 years !

This illustrated talk will look at the history of the Forces and include some of the more notable crimes investigated over the years including the murder of a Chief Constable and the gruesome contents of a luggage trunk found at Brighton Station in 1934 as well as looking at the advances in transport, communications and forensic detection.