More about this area
The force says...
South Yorkshire police force area covers 1,552 square kilometres. This is a mixture of rural and urban areas with the population being mainly in the city of Sheffield (one of the 8 largest regional cities in England), and the towns of Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham. South Yorkshire has a population of 1,365,847; a rise of 16% since 2012, with 9.3% from a minority ethnic background. South Yorkshire is an economically deprived area attracting investment from the European Regional Development fund.
South Yorkshire Police has reintroduced local neighbourhood policing across 14 main neighbourhood areas (covering 78 smaller neighbourhoods) within the local authority boundaries and controls its own specialist operations (firearms, road policing and specialist search). Specialist staff are employed within its investigative and corporate services departments. The force’s information systems, legal services and human resources departments are shared with Humberside Police.
As of November 2017, recorded crime has risen by 33% compared to the previous 12 months. These rises are largely attributable to victim-based crime identified through improved crime recording standards. Child sexual exploitation (CSE) and abuse, gang related violence and domestic abuse continue to be a focus for the force.
Delivering neighbourhood policing and protecting vulnerable people; proactively understanding and preventing crime and harm; and tackling crime and ASB are the key priorities for the force.
The workforce has reduced by 15% since 2011 and the force continues to work with partner agencies to reduce demand. The force demonstrates robust financial management. The challenges for the force include addressing the complex demands of today, planning for the future and dealing effectively with, and learning from, some difficult legacy issues such as Hillsborough and CSE in Rotherham.
Disclaimer: the above statement has been prepared by South Yorkshire Police. The views and information in it are not necessarily those of HMICFRS.