Cathedral Constables

The Cathedral’s Constabulary

Supt. Jim Morley
Head Constable
James Morley MSyl MInstLM, is the Head Constable of the Cathedral Constabulary at Canterbury. Jim is the Fire and Security lead at Canterbury Cathedral and sits on the Safeguarding Committee. Jim spent 24 years in the British Army, ending his career as a Senior Warrant Officer and is the national lead for Heritage Crime for the Cathedral Constabulary Association and sits on the National Cathedral Chief Officers’ Council. In 2018, Jim received the CCA’s highest award, a commendation for bravery from the Royal Humane Society. In addition to these, Jim also holds the CCA Diamond Jubilee and Faithful Service medals in recognition of his service to Cathedral Constabulary.
Off duty, Jim is married with a son and daughter, and is a keen historian.
Officer Profile

Acting Leading Constable 1 016 Jay HEAD
Jay has served at Canterbury Cathedral since 2004, and is now the Acting Leading Constable supervising A Section. In 2019 Jay was promoted to Senior Constable and qualified in Cathedral Constabulary Policing, Jay was sworn in with other members of the Constabulary as a warranted officer by Dean Robert and the Chair of the Bench of Magistrates in Canterbury. Jay holds both the CCA Diamond Jubilee and Faithful Service medals for long service, and will bring his sixteen years of cathedral experience to what will be his second Lambeth Conference in 2020.Off duty, Jay is married with a stepson and daughter, and is keen on personal fitness and martial arts.

News
As well as their officer safety and legislation training, the Cathedral Constables are trained as first responders for fire and first aid emergencies. This training is ongoing.
History, Affiliation and Oversight
Until the First World War, Canterbury Cathedral retained a unitary Constabulary of paid, uniformed Cathedral “Bobbies”, equipped identically to the then Canterbury City Police Force, with powers under the Ecclesiastical Courts Jurisdiction Act and both Statute and Common Law. This was, and is, in common with several Cathedrals around the UK and some overseas. In 2016, the Dean and Chapter of Canterbury approved the revival of the office of the Cathedral Constable at Canterbury due to the changing nature of social and economic times, service delivery reductions by the emergency services and vicarious liability for the safety and security of staff, residents, visitors and worshippers.

The Cathedral Constabularies now operate nationally alongside their Home Office County Police Force under a Memorandum of Understanding signed by a senior Silver Level Commander and with the approval of the Chief Constable for that County and the approval of the Cathedrals’ Dean and Chapter.