# South Yorkshire Police

South Yorkshire Police (SYP) is the territorial police force responsible for policing South Yorkshire in England.
The force is led by Chief Constable Lauren Poultney. Oversight is conducted by Mayor Oliver Coppard.

## History

The force was formed in 1974, as a merger of the previous Sheffield and Rotherham Constabulary along with part of the West Yorkshire Constabulary area (which Barnsley Borough Police and Doncaster Borough Police had been merged into on 1 October 1968).
The force's roads policing unit and its helicopter, Sierra Yankee 99, have been a feature in three television series: Traffic Cops, Sky Cops and Police Interceptors. The helicopter unit was subsequently taken over by the National Police Air Service (NPAS), and closed down.

### Chief constables

Chief constables of South Yorkshire Police :
| Period of Appointment | Name |
| 1974–1979 | Sir Richard Barratt |
| 1979–1983 | James Hilton Brownlow |
| 1983–1990 | Peter Wright |
| 1990–1998 | Richard Wells |
| 1998–2004 | Mike Hedges |
| 2004–2011 | Meredydd Hughes |
| 2011–2012 | Robert Dyson (temporary) |
| 2012–2016 | David Crompton |
| 2016–2021 | Stephen Watson |
| 2021–present | Lauren Poultney |

### Roll of honour

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.
The list below shows sworn police officers who have died whilst on duty:
| Name | Rank | Organisation | Date | Cause of death |
| Alfred Austwick | 09Police constable | West Riding of Yorkshire Constabulary | 1886-08-01(1886-08-01)1 August 1886 (aged 30) | Shot and fatally wounded by a man he had warned about his conduct |
| William Beardshaw | 09Police constable | Sheffield Borough Police | 1855-07-23(1855-07-23)23 July 1855 (aged 26) | Struck on head by a stone during a street disturbance and died next day |
| Arthur Tyler Bull | 10Special constable | Rotherham Borough Police | 1916-10-02(1916-10-02)2 October 1916 (aged 46) | Collapsed of heart failure while on duty in the early hours |
| Archie Cornish | 07Inspector | Sheffield Police Fire Brigade | 1931-02-18(1931-02-18)18 February 1931 (aged 47) | Burns sustained fighting a fire at a hospital in November 1930 |
| Sandra Jane Edwards | 09Woman police constable | South Yorkshire Police | 1995-05-10(1995-05-10)10 May 1995 (aged 28) | Traffic car crashed while pursuing a stolen car |
| Dave Fields | 09Police constable | South Yorkshire Police | 2017-12-25(2017-12-25)25 December 2017 (aged 45) | Traffic car crashed while responding to an incident |
| Samuel Pidd Gibson | 09Police constable | Sheffield Borough Police | 1872-02-24(1872-02-24)24 February 1872 (aged 33) | A fractured skull received during an arrest in a hostile crowd |
| Harold Grainger | 09Police constable | South Yorkshire Police | 1974-10-26(1974-10-26)26 October 1974 (aged 35) | Police vehicle accident while on prisoner escort to Paisley |
| Glen Howe | 09Police constable | South Yorkshire Police | 2008-10-24(2008-10-24)24 October 2008 (aged 48) | Police motorcycle accident attending an emergency in Sheffield |
| Matt Lannie | 09Police constable | South Yorkshire Police | 2008-10-24(2020-04-21)21 April 2020 (aged 40) | Police motorcycle accident in Sheffield while responding to a vehicle failing to stop |
| Thomas Andrew Jackson | 09Police constable | South Yorkshire Police | 2003-12-13(2003-12-13)13 December 2003 (aged 46) | Collapsed dispersing rival football crowds with his police dog |
| William Jackson | 08Sergeant | Sheffield City Police | 1914-11-26(1914-11-26)26 November 1914 (aged 41) | Accidentally killed by a train while crossing the line on patrol at night |
| John William Kew | 09Police constable | West Riding of Yorkshire Constabulary | 1900-07-11(1900-07-11)11 July 1900 (aged 29) | Fatally shot challenging two armed suspects who had threatened him |
| Harry Marriott | 09Police constable | Sheffield City Police | 1961-06-08(1961-06-08)8 June 1961 (aged 31) | Accidental collision with a van while on motorcycle patrol |
| Lot Moor | 09Police constable | West Riding of Yorkshire Constabulary | 1900-06-16(1900-06-16)16 June 1900 (aged 58) | Found dead on his beat in the early morning believed from heart failure |
| Frank Hides Munks | 10Police war reserve constable | Sheffield City Police | 1940-12-13(1940-12-13)13 December 1940 (aged 52) | Enemy air raid |
| John Pollard | 01Chief constable | Rotherham Borough Police | 1888-06-30(1888-06-30)30 June 1888 (aged 41) | Collapsed while running to the scene of a fire late at night |
| Edwin Pryor | 09Police constable | Sheffield Borough Police | 1857-04-08(1857-04-08)8 April 1857 | Struck on head by a stone during a street disturbance and died next day |
| Rex Webster Robinson | 08Sergeant | Doncaster Borough Police | 1961-12-09(1961-12-09)9 December 1961 (aged 52) | Collapsed while briefing traffic officers on shift changeover |
| Gina Corin Rutherford | 09Woman police constable | South Yorkshire Police | 1994-02-07(1994-02-07)7 February 1994 (aged 25) | Drowned in a patrol car which left an icy road and crashed into a river |
| Barry Saunders | 09Police constable | South Yorkshire Police | 1989-11-24(1989-11-24)24 November 1989 (aged 31) | Fell through a roof while checking burgled factory premises |
| James Slee | 09Police constable | Sheffield City Police | 1940-09(1940-09-00)September 1940 (aged 30) | Road accident on patrol in a police motorcycle combination |
| Kenneth South | 09Police constable | Sheffield City Police | 1960-03-30(1960-03-30)30 March 1960 (aged 25) | Motorcycle accident after finishing an extended tour of duty |
| Frederick Parkes Spencer | 09Police fireman | Sheffield Police Fire Brigade | 1940-12-12(1940-12-12)12 December 1940 (aged 36) | Killed fighting a fire at the Empire Theatre after an enemy air raid |
| George William Watson | 07Inspector | West Riding of Yorkshire Constabulary | 1953-11-05(1953-11-05)5 November 1953 (aged 48) | Collapsed soon after leading a police funeral escort |

### Notable incidents and investigations

The force has received national attention for the unlawful killing of over 90 people in the Hillsborough Disaster, and the failure to investigate of child sex abuse in the Rotherham scandal in the 2000s.

#### Conduct in the 1984 miners' strike

During the 1984 miners' strike, officers from South Yorkshire attacked striking miners then arrested 95 on the charge of rioting. It was found the Police Force had fabricated evidence, carried out false arrest and assaulted miners. No police officer has ever been disciplined or accepted responsibility for their actions. Ex officer Tony Munday has called for an inquiry into how South Yorkshire Police handled the aftermath of the Battle of Orgreave claiming he was told what to put in his statement "by a senior South Yorkshire detective" after he arrested a miner during the Orgreave confrontation. "I've never before or since, while I've been a police officer, been involved where effectively chunks of a statement were dictated. They weren't my words."

#### Hillsborough disaster

The force was condemned by Prime Minister David Cameron in September 2012 for their dishonesty and gross negligence in their handling of the Hillsborough disaster in 1989, which led to an apology from the then Chief Constable David Crompton. The Hillsborough Independent Panel had exposed the way in which the force had attempted to divert blame from their own mishandling of the tragedy by feeding false information to the media and altering statements given by their own officers. In June 2013, UK newspaper The Guardian reported on emails sent by Crompton in which he had suggested that the families of fans killed at the Hillsborough disaster had been untruthful. In one, Crompton had written: "One thing is certain – the Hillsborough Campaign for Justice will be doing their version … in fact their version of certain events has become 'the truth' even though it isn't!! I just have the feeling that the media 'machine' favours the families and not us, so we need to be a bit more innovative in our response to have a fighting chance otherwise we will just be roadkill."
On 27 April 2016, it was reported that the force's Chief Constable David Crompton was to be suspended following statements made by South Yorkshire Police after the verdict of the jury in the second Hillsborough disaster inquest. He was temporarily replaced by Deputy Chief Constable Dawn Copley, but the following day it was announced that she herself would be stepping down "in the interests of the force and the workforce" after an investigation into her conduct whilst serving as Assistant Chief Constable at Greater Manchester Police was reported.

#### Rotherham child sexual exploitation scandal

The force's judgement has been called into question over a number of incidents in the Rotherham child sexual exploitation scandal, where prosecutions were not undertaken.
In January 2020, the Independent Office for Police Conduct found that South Yorkshire Police had taken insufficient action to protect from harm a child, who had been sexually abused and exploited by Asian men for several years from 2003 onwards. An unnamed chief inspector had told the investigation that the force had been aware of similar abuse for 30 years but had ignored it for fear of increasing racial tensions. In July 2020 the Independent Office of Police Conduct again considered the force's response in relation to the death of Amy-Leanne Stringfellow.

#### Other incidents

In May 2016, it was reported that two serving police officers, a pilot serving with the National Police Air Service and two retired police officers who crewed the South Yorkshire Police helicopter were to stand trial accused of misusing the camera on the SY Police helicopter to film people who were naked or having sex. Four of the men denied charges of misconduct in a public office and were due to stand trial at Sheffield Crown Court on 17 July 2017. A fifth man did not appear at the hearing. All of the men apart from the fifth were found not guilty of any offence by a jury – he had previously admitted four charges of misconduct in a public office.

## Police area

The police force covers an area of approximately 600 square miles (1,554 square kilometres) which is made up of the county's three boroughs (Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham) along with the City of Sheffield. The resident population is 1.2 million.
The force is divided into four basic command units (BCUs):
* Churchfield police station
* Wombwell police station
* Adwick police station
* Dome police station
* Doncaster police station
* Mexbrough police station
* Rossington police station
* Stainforth police station
* Thorne police station
* Brinsworth police station
* Dinnington police station (closed down)
* Kimberworth police station
* Maltby police station
* Rawmarsh police station
* Rotherham Main Street police station
* Wharncliffe police station
* Wath-upon-Dearne police station
* Attercliffe police station
* Deepcar police station
* Ecclesfield police station
* Elm Tree police station
* Hammerton Road police station (closed in 2014)
* Hayes House (Tailoring)
* Meadowhall police office
* Moss Way police station
* Niagara Sports and Social Club
* Nunnery Square offices
* Operation Support Complex
* Snig Hill police station
* Woodseats police station
Force headquarters is at Carbrook House, in Tinsley, Sheffield, following a move from Snig Hill police station in early 2013. This move saw the senior command team and other services (such as firearms licensing) move into one location, funded by the sale of outdated buildings, including West Bar police station, and the future sale of vacated properties.

## Fleet

South Yorkshire Police is one of a number of police forces in the United Kingdom to merge its vehicle maintenance operations with their area fire service, merging maintenance operations with the South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service in June 2018. Joint maintenance operations are based at a workshop in Rotherham, which opened in late 2020.

## Management

The chief constable since May 2021 is Lauren Poultney. She replaced Stephen Watson, who left South Yorkshire Police to take over as chief constable of Greater Manchester Police. Watson replaced Dawn Copley, the former deputy chief constable, who stood down a day after assuming the acting chief constable post due to 'her conduct at a previous force being investigated'. Copley assumed the post after David Crompton was suspended regarding comments made about the Hillsborough disaster.

## Governance

South Yorkshire Police is governed by the Mayor of South Yorkshire. The incumbent mayor is Oliver Coppard, who was re-elected in 2024. The mayor is overseen by the police and crime panel.
Before November 2012, police governance was undertaken by the South Yorkshire Police Authority, made up of elected councillors from the four metropolitan boroughs. In that month it was transferred to the South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner and then the PCC's responsibilities were merged into the mayor's role in May 2024.