page_title: North Wales Police
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: North Wales Police / History
caption_attribution_description: English: North Wales Police H.Q., Colwyn Bay
context_page_description: North Wales Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing North Wales. Its headquarters are in Colwyn Bay.
context_section_description: Gwynedd Constabulary was formed in 1950 by the amalgamation of the Caernarfonshire, Anglesey and Merionethshire Constabularies. In 1965, the force had an establishment of 308 and an actual strength of 296.
  Flintshire Constabulary and Denbighshire Constabulary were merged into the force in 1967, but it retained its existing name. On 1 April 1974, the Local Government Act 1972 created an administrative county of Gwynedd covering part of the police area (equivalent to the original Gwynedd Constabulary area). To avoid confusion, the force was renamed North Wales Police.
  Under proposals made by the Home Secretary on 6 February 2006, the force would merge with Dyfed-Powys Police, Gwent Police and South Wales Police to form a single strategic force for all of Wales. The proposals were later shelved.
  On 4 May 2011, North Wales Police completed a major restructuring, moving from 3 territorial divisions to a single North Wales-wide Policing function.
caption: North Wales Police Headquarters in Colwyn Bay
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