What we do

The police helicopter Hotel 900 (H900) can reach speeds of 150mph and get to anywhere in Sussex in only 20 minutes. Over 1,500 tasks are undertaken by H900 each year, from major incidents and life-threatening road traffic collisions, to missing person searches and crimes in progress.

The crew consists of a police observer, pilot and paramedic, providing a service which is second to none, saving lives, preventing crime and catching criminals. You can learn more about what H900 is doing by following them on Twitter.

ANPR (Automatic Numberplate Recognition) is used by every force in England and Wales.

Sussex Police have a dedicated team that work using both fixed and mobile cameras to deny criminals the use of the roads in Sussex.

ANPR is used to intercept vehicles involved in criminal activity as well as gather intelligence about persons and vehicles of interest and help in tracing vulnerable and missing people.

Sussex Police have a command team of both police officers and police staff who work together to ensure the effective and efficient running of the force.

You can read more about the command team of Sussex Police here.

We have a dedicated Counter-Terrorist Intelligence Unit (CTIU) which works alongside the rest of the force in protecting and reassuring the public, and reducing the risk from terrorism. The Unit engages with all communities, local authorities, higher education and universities, as well as many other local bodies, in order to prevent violent extremism. The Unit also offers specialist protective security advice to locations deemed to be at a greater risk from terrorism.

CTIU are involved in the disruption and detection of terrorist activity and has close links between local police and the communities they serve. CTIU work at airports and ports in conjunction with the UK Border Agency.

Police dogs and their handlers are huge assets to the Force and hold a vitally important role in safeguarding the whole of Sussex. General purpose dogs are one of the most affective means for tracking, chasing and detaining suspects, searching for stolen property and missing people, and assisting public order units with crowd control.

Specialist search dogs are used for drug, cash and weapon recovery, for detecting explosives and for following the scent of a specific person. Dog handlers are also trained to deal with dangerous dogs.

Our canine crime fighters

Sussex Police's Dog Unit employs a wide range of canine talent: from explosives sniffer Spaniels to conflict-management Belgian Shepherds, they prove that, when it comes to fighting crime, they can track down even the most cunning criminals!

Two would-be burglars were arrested after police dog Gruff tracked the suspects' movements back to the scene of the crime. Officers stopped two men matching the description of the offenders and called upon Gruff and his handler PC Michelle Innes. Gruff traced their scent directly back to a property where the officers found a smashed window and metal bar.

Another offender found he couldn't escape from police dog Sabre when he swam out to sea to escape arrested for assaulting a woman. Dog handlers PC Desmond Kirby and PC Geoff Fox had pursued the man onto the beach where he threatened them before plunging into the water.  Police dogs aren't trained to swim in rough seas, but Sabre followed the suspect and held onto him to prevent him swimming out further. PC Kirby then brought the man back to shore and detained him.

Dog Unit Inspector Diane Lewis said: "Police dogs are a huge asset to the Force and these examples demonstrate the vitally important role they play in tackling crime in Sussex."

The Emergency and Planning Team provides Sussex Police with the ability to plan for major incidents, natural disasters and large policing operations that occur throughout the communities of Sussex. The team delivers specialist equipment to front line officers, staff for operations and tactical advice to Police commanders, this helps to deliver the best service possible to the public during critical times.

The team also has responsibilities with regards to business continuity,  local resilience partnership working and contingency planning.

In Force we are modernising our Finance and Business functions to improve the service we deliver to our staff and to our customers. From 4 April 2011 a new central team will be in place to process and issue invoices and deal direct with suppliers and customers. In the future we will also be developing a comprehensive knowledge base so that many more queries can be resolved through self-service and payments can be accepted online.
Suppliers of goods and services to Sussex Police

Please direct paper invoices to our Finance Operations team:

Finance Operations
Sussex Police HQ
Church Lane
Lewes
BN7 2DZ

Or you can email us: finance.operations@sussex.pnn.police.uk
You can also call the team on: 101  extension 40888

If you have received an invoice from Sussex Police, please make payment via the following options and terms:

Payment terms: Standard Sussex Police 30 Days
VAT number: GB 193 631 452

Please send remittance advice to Sussex Police Authority, Finance Department, Malling House, Church Lane, Lewes, East Sussex, BN7 2DZ

Cheques should be made payable to Sussex Police Authority

Please quote the invoice number on all correspondence

BACS payments can be paid using the following details:

National Westminster Bank Plc, 5 East Street, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 1HH
Account Number: 96204273
Sort Code: 60-05-24

Human Resources is not just responsible for the recruitment of police officers, but also police staff and transferees. HR also work to develop talent within the organisation and support ongoing self-improvement, training and mentoring.

The HR department also support staff in their health and wellbeing by developing initiatives to encourage staff to be more active and develop a personal awareness.

Public order officers are specially trained to resolve conflicts and keep the peace. They facilitate peaceful protests, allowing protestors to have their voices heard, whilst still protecting the safety and rights of others.

Through observation and risk assessment, officers are able to respond to the mood and behaviour of protestors, deciding which tactics are appropriate and proportionate for a particular situation. Effective public order policing extends beyond tactics used on the ground and officers are continually exploring innovative new ways to engage with protestors to help protests run smoothly, such as through Twitter and Facebook.

The Road Policing Unit (RPU) cover the whole force from four bases. The primary aims of RPU are to deny criminals the use of the road, tackle anti-social driving such as mobile phone use and drink-driving and bring down the number of fatalities on the roads of Sussex.

RPU consists of experienced police officers who specifically target criminality on the roads by using intelligence based policing and high visibility patrols. If you have experienced anti-social driving in Sussex, help them to help you by reporting it through Operation Crackdown.

If you're a fan of CSI and Waking the Dead on TV, you'll already know a bit about the work done by the Sussex Police Scenes of Crimes Officers (SOCOs). It's thanks to them that we collect, preserve and investigate the evidence which allows us to convict ever-growing numbers of offenders - some of them for crimes which took place many years ago.

But don't imagine our SOCOs spend their days like Gil Grissom and Horatio Caine surrounded by the latest graphics and technology. When you speak to James Gartrell, one of our most experienced SOCOs, he'll tell you that his job isn't just about playing with new gadgets.

After 22 years in the job, James still gets a kick out of coming to work every morning. He finds it hugely satisfying to be able to identify a criminal from a tiny sample of DNA but he says that it's just as rewarding to be able to turn around people's perceptions. "Often we deal with people who aren't big fans of the police and to have them say thank you when we're leaving means we've done a really good job."

And, just as you've already seen on screen, James will soon be able to send fingerprints direct from the scene of a crime for immediate identification if a match exists in our system. He says: "The quicker we identify a burglar, the quicker we can stop them breaking into someone else's home - at the end of the day, that's what our job is all about."

Who knows - perhaps we'll be able to look forward to a series of 'CSI: Sussex' before too long?

Specialist Search Unit (SSU) officers search where other police officers cannot go. They are trained to search in demanding environments that need specialist equipment, such as underwater, at height, in flooded areas and confined spaces.

The team are experts in searching for missing people, stolen property, drugs, weapons and firearms, and are also licensed to find and identify improvised explosive devices. A police boat is used by the unit to undertake marine patrols along the Sussex coastline and during diving operations.

If a firearms incident occurs, these officers are assigned to deal with it. They are able to be deployed all across Sussex, dealing with high priority crime such as drugs, burglary and violent crime. All Tactical firearms (TFU) officers are trained in conflict resolution methods, meaning every incident is resolved using the minimum amount of force necessary.

Non-lethal methods used by officers include the Baton Gun for firing rubber bullets and the Taser stun-gun. Officers are rigorously trained in threat assessment and perception, ready to make split-second decisions to protect the public against threats of violence.