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Map showing location of Portsmouth

Portsmouth City Police (originally known as Portsmouth Borough Police) was the former territorial police force for the county borough and later city of Portsmouth on the south coast of England. In 1967 it amalgamated with its neighbouring force, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary and the Southampton City Police to form the Hampshire Constabulary bringing to an end to its one hundred and thirty year history.

Early History to 1833

The city sits on Portsea Island and, as its name implies, is at the mouth of a number of natural harbours. There is evidence of occupation in Roman times through to the Saxon period with a fishing village occupying a site close to what is now known as Old Portsmouth. but there was no real development until the late twelfth century, sometime after the Norman invasion. This was acknowledged further when, in 1194, Richard I granted the town a royal charter establishing it as a self-governing borough.

Early in the thirteenth century, in an effort to maintain communications with English interests in Gascony, in what is now France, King John, through his "keeper of the galleys" William of Wrotham, based a fleet of royal ships at Portsmouth and this was the first real link with the country's navy.

As the importance of the port grew the continuing political situation with France led to the construction of substantial fortifications around Portsmouth which now incorporated a further urban that had grown up immediately to the east of the naval port - Portsea. By the end of thirteenth century, in line with the Statute of Winchester of 1285, records show that Portsmouth borough had a number of constables who were elected by parishioners. These constables had powers of arrest, as did all members of the public (these were the days of "hue and cry"), but they alone could enforce the order of a court. Their principal duty was to record what happened and provide evidence upon which a court could make a decision. However, towards the end of the eighteenth century the borough found that relying on constables was insufficient and, in 1783, formed a watch composed of twelve men to patrol the borough's streets on foot during the hours of curfew from 8.00pm to 5.00am daily. Their duties included not just the detention of any criminals or suspicious persons they came across during their patrols, but also to keep watch for fire. This combination of law enforcement and the responsibility for giving warning and organising the fighting of fire in the borough would remain in place until the Second World War.

By 1833 such was the importance of what had become the Royal Naval Dockyard that a detachment of the newly formed Metropolitan Police were brought in to improve security. The detachment was composed of three Inspectors, three sergeants and thirty-six constables.. These were the first uniformed police force to patrol any area of the borough.

From Formation to First World War

Image of a typical Police officer of circa 1850

Within two years of the arrival of the uniformed Metropolitan officers in the dockyard, the passing of the Municipal Corporations Act in 1835 saw considerable reform of English and Welsh boroughs including that in Portsmouth. From that point, amongst other things, boroughs could be held financially responsible by being subject to audit and, importantly, they were empowered to form their own police forces. As a result, as set out by the Act, the borough formed a watch committee (a forerunner of the modern police authority)to establish a regular police and arrangements were immediately put in hand to acquire what were called, initially, watch stations and suitable personnel for the Portsmouth Borough Police. By March 1836 thirty staff had been recruited:

• One Superintendant
• A mix of Inspectors and Sub-Inspectors
• Twelve Ordinary Constables and
• Twelve Night Constables

Three watch stations had been set up. One in rooms at the council chambers at the original Town Hall in High Street (in the area now known as Old Portsmouth) and one in St George's Square, Portsea both of which were within the borough fortifications. A third watch station, outside the walls, was based in rooms rented in Union Road, Landport (this latter station would now be in Commercial Road close to the current city centre).

It is not entirely clear what uniform, if any, the new force wore but at length officers were issued with what was becoming the national standard, a blue frock coat and matching trousers, a top hat together with a greatcoat, a cape and belt.

Portsmouth Police Fire Brigade

In addition to its duty to form a police force the watch committee had also become responsible for protecting the borough from fire. Previously, although watchmen had a duty to keep watch for fire, the fighting of it was carried out by borough volunteers and had been somewhat haphazard and unreliable. During the following year the watch committee took control of the borough's horse-drawn "fire-fighting engines" and the newly formed police were given the duty of manning the first fire engine dispatched to an incident continuing the connection between law enforcement and fire-fighting. The Portsmouth Police Fire Brigade was composed of a small nucleus of constables who, when the need arose, became firemen.

In 1876, the now Chief Constable reorganised the fire brigade setting aside twenty-four of his officers for fire-fighting and dictated that twelve of them always be on duty and be available for this purpose - in addition to their policing work. He also requested that he be allowed to purchase brass helmets and waterproof coats for these men.

The Last Witch in England?

In late 1941 the battleship HMS Barham was sunk by a German submarine. A decision was made by the Admiralty that there would be no immediate public announcement of the loss of the ship but during the following two months (before the sinking was made public) word reached naval authorities that a well-known medium, Helen Duncan, who travelled the country conducting séances (also known as 'sittings'), had disclosed knowledge of the loss of the ship during such a séance.

As a consequence her activities were monitored and when, some two years later, she visited Portsmouth two naval officers were present during a 'sitting' on 14 January 1944. As a result of their reports a Portsmouth City detective was present on 19 January at a private home in the Copnor area of the city when just at the moment that a white cloth-like substance was manifested, he blew a whistle and uniformed officers burst into the room. Helen Duncan was arrested together with the organisers of the evening and her agent. Duncan herself was initially charged with an offence under the Vagrancy Act 1824.

The case was eventually heard at the Old Bailey where Duncan appeared on an indictment alleging false mediumship contrary to the Witchcraft Act 1735 and other offences. She was later found guilty and imprisoned for nine months. It was widely believed that she was the last woman to be convicted of being a witch but this is incorrect for two reasons. Firstly, her offence was that of falsely claiming that the spirits of the dead were present at her séance, not of being a witch, and secondly, later the same year another woman medium was convicted of the same offence.

Later, in a note to the Home Secretary, Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill described the case as a misue of the court process in pursuit of an "obsolete tomfoolery" of a charge.. The Witchcraft Act was later repealed.