The Police In Scotland

Organisation

There are eight police forces in Scotland (see page11). In the main, the territories of these forces correspond to local government regional boundaries, with the exceptions of Lothian and Borders Police, which covers Lothian and Borders Regions; and Northern Constabulary, which covers Highland Region, Western Isles, Orkney and Shetland. Since local government reorganisation in 1975 the total strength of the police service has increased from around 12,000 to 14,323 at June 1995.

Police Authorities

Each police force is maintained by a police authority. Normally this is the Regional Council, but joint police committees have been formed from the Regional and Islands Councils for the areas covered by the two combined forces mentioned above. The main responsibilities of police authorities are to:

set the budget for the force and provide the chief constable with the resources (manpower, building and equipment) necessary to police the area adequately and efficiently;

appoint officers of the rank of Assistant Chief Constable and above; and

determine the number of officers and the number of civilians in the police service, subject in each case to the consent of the Secretary of State.

The Chief Constable

The chief constable alone is responsible for police operations. While police authorities appoint the chief constables (subject to the approval of the Secretary of State), neither police authorities nor the Secretary of State have power to direct chief constables on enforcement of the law or on the deployment of police officers. The chief constable has a duty to comply with instructions from the Lord Advocate, the sheriff principal or the appropriate prosecutor in relation to offences and prosecutions. Efficient and effective use of the resources placed at his disposal by the police authority is a matter for the chief constable. The chief constable is required to submit to the police authority an annual report on the policing of the force area. This is copied to the Secretary of State and to the sheriff principal.

Secretary of State for Scotland

Policy responsibility for law and order in Scotland rests with the Secretary of State who, in turn, is answerable to Parliament. The Secretary of State has power to make regulations governing various aspects of the terms and conditions of service of police officers and their pay and allowances. Regulations also specify certain duties which constables are not required to perform. Some regulations are in the first instance subject to consultation in the Police Negotiating Board for the United Kingdom or the Police Advisory Board for Scotland, on which bodies are represented police authorities, police staff associations and the Government. The Secretary of State also issues guidance to police authorities and chief constables on a wide range of policing matters. The Secretary of State provides central training and other common police services (recovering half the cost from police authorities). The Secretary of State's consent is required for appointments - by police authorities - of officers in the rank of Assistant Chief Constable and above.

Her Majesty's Inspectors of Constabulary

HM Inspectors of Constabulary, under the direction of the Secretary of State, visit and inquire into the state and efficiency of police forces and report to the Secretary of State. HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary submits an annual report to the Secretary of State.
*Publication of inspection reports of individual forces began in 1991.

Finance

The police service is financed partly by central government and partly by local government. The local government contribution comes from the community charge and from the revenue support grant and non-domestic rate income provided to local authorities by central government. Police grant is paid by government at 51% of expenditure incurred by local authorities.

Capital expenditure on the police is controlled by the system of capital expenditure consents to local authorities administered by the Secretary of State.

*See Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary for Scotland Report for the year ended 31 December 1994 (Cm 2856) HMSO, price £17.00.

Police Duties

The Police (Scotland) Act 1967 (as subsequently amended) lays down the general functions and jurisdiction of police constables, but as society changes, so does the emphasis in police work alter to reflect current needs and attitudes. However the main functions of the service can still be summarised in the words of the Report of the 1962 Royal Commission:

to maintain law and order and protect persons and property; to prevent crime;

to detect criminals and, in the course of interrogating suspected persons, play a part in the early stages of the judicial process, acting under judicial restraint;

to control road traffic and advise local authorities on traffic questions.

to carry out certain duties on behalf of Government departments - for example, to conduct enquiries on applicants for British nationality;

by long tradition, to befriend anyone who needs their help, and to cope with any minor or major emergency which may arise.

In carrying out their work. police constables work as members of a disciplined force under the direction of the chief constable, although each is expected to act on his or her own initiative and is alone accountable at law for the exercise of his authority. They do much of their work alone and without supervision and they must make decisions based on a sound knowledge of the law. Constables are therefore unique among subordinates in the nature and degree of responsibility they are required to exercise.

Internal Force Organisation

Police forces are generally divided for operational purposes into at least three branches - uniformed, criminal investigation and traffic - and some have, additionally, specialised departments such as under-water units, mounted branch and police dogs. Most Scottish police forces today also have a community involvement branch which, as well as advising the public about personal and domestic security and crime prevention, also organises project within the community designed to help young people understand the role of the police in our society, liaise with schools and provides advice on security in architectural design.

Rank Structure

The ranks within the police service are, in descending order of seniority, chief constable, assistant chief constable, superintendent, chief inspector, inspector, sergeant and constable.

Uniformed Branch

Members of the uniformed branch have a particular responsibility for preserving the peace, preventing crime, protecting people and property and maintaining public order. This is done by flexible systems of policing particularly in urban areas, which combine foot and mobile patrols, each with radio facilities. This ensures effective deployment of manpower and best use of modern communication techniques.

Criminal Investigation Department (CID)

As well as investigating crime, the CID deals with the checking and classification of crime reports, collects all kinds of information relating to crime in a district, prepares crime statistics and advises on crime prevention. CID officers are normally distributed throughout the force area and work in close co-operation with their uniformed colleagues. Specialist drugs units operate in each force.

Traffic Department

Officers of the Traffic Department are primarily concerned with enforcement of road traffic laws, traffic management, road safety and related matters. In many forces they also undertake a wider range of policing duties.

Police Representative Associations

There are three organisations which represent members of the Scottish police service. Chief constables and assistant chief constables are members of the Association of Chief Police Officers (Scotland); superintendents belong to the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents; and the remaining ranks from chief inspector to constable are represented by the Scottish Police Federation. The Federation is the only one of the three organisations to have a statutory basis. It operates nationally through an executive known as the Joint Central Committee. At force level the Federation operates through Joint Branch Boards which, like the Joint Central Committee, may divide into separate bodies representing the interests of individual ranks for some purposes. The three representative organisations are consulted by Government about a wide range of matters affecting their members and the service as a whole. They also participate in negotiations within the Police Negotiating Board on questions of pay, allowances and conditions of service, and are represented on the Police Advisory Board for Scotland.

Recruitment and Promotion

Entry to the regular police is open to men and women between 18 1/2 and under 40. Cadet posts are available in some forces to prepare candidates between 16 and 181/2 for a career in the police service but the great majority of entrants come in at the rank of constable. Consideration for promotion to sergeant and inspector requires a pass in the appropriate qualifying examination. A small number of promising young policemen and women - about twelve in any one year - have an opportunity for accelerated promotion by selection under a special scheme.

Special Constables

Each police force has an attachment of special constables comprising members of the public who volunteer for police duties in their spare time. While special constables are unpaid, uniform and equipment are provided and certain allowances (including loss of wages and subsistence) may be paid.

History

Scotland's first constables were appointed in 1617 in the reign of James VI but city and burgh police forces were not established until the 19th century, largely replacing town guards of citizens or old soldiers (although a small but short-lived professional police force had been established in Glasgow in 1778). An Act of 1833 enabled burghs to establish police forces, counties gaining the same powers in 1839.

The title 'chief constable' came into general use around 1857. Heads of burgh forces were known as superintendents, a title they retained until 1892 when they too became known as chief constables. Glasgow then had a force of about 700 men. Edinburgh 300, divided into ranks of superintendent, assistant superintendent, lieutenant, inspector, detective, sergeant and constable. A series of measures during the next half-century strengthened the powers and improved the structure and organisation of forces. Common methods of recruitment were adopted and pay scales and superannuation standardised.

Throughout the 19th century the constable's normal protection was the truncheon, although during the Irish Unrest in 1867-68 most forces were issued with revolvers and cutlasses. Further trouble in London around 1910, including the murder of policemen, led to talk of arming officers but this was rejected for the same reason that prevails today, that is that criminals might then feel more justified in carrying weapons. Scottish police officers do occasionally carry firearms but only senior police officers can authorise their issue to fully trained individuals.

The diced cap of the Scottish police dates from 1932. The distinctive new pattern was quickly accepted throughout Scotland and has since been adopted by other police bodies.

After the Second World War, the police service in Scotland underwent a series of major changes. The Scottish Police College was established at Tulliallan Castle to provide residential training on a centralised basis and senior, junior, detective and traffic training are now provided on a single campus for all ranks up to Superintendent. In 1990, ninety-six courses were held involving 2,434 officers.

Improved effectiveness and efficiency have been achieved through standardisation of responsibilities in the higher police ranks; improvements in examination and recruitment methods, the introduction of new technology and reduction in the number of forces through a series of amalgamations, culminating in the creation of only eight forces covering the whole of Scotland at the time of local government reorganisation in 1975.

The establishment of the Scottish Crime Squad in 1969 provided a ready means of tackling major crime affecting more than one police area. In 1986 a dedicated drugs wing was added to the squad with branches in Glasgow and Edinburgh and in 1988 a further unit was established at Stonehaven. A Technical Support Unit was set up in 1989 to provide from a central point a range of equipment for the use of police forces in Scotland to assist them in their technical operations. The Scottish Criminal Record Office, first established in 1960, provides a criminal and fingerprint records service for all eight Scottish police forces. The criminal records section was computerised in 1988 and now provides forces with direct access to criminal records and associated information which is assisting greatly in the investigation of crime. The Scottish police can also access by computer Police National Computer.

SCRO services were enhanced in the autumn of 1991 with the addition of an automated fingerprint recognition system which accelerates dramatically the fingerprint identification process. This system is the first kind to be installed in the UK.

In addition to these centralised facilities all police forces have made considerable investments over recent years to improve communications and technology facilities generally.

Will the number of police forces change?
	No. The existing 8 Scottish police forces will remain as at present, with their boundaries unchanged.
Which force area will my new council be in?
	A table showing the police force areas and the new councils is shown overleaf.
Can I expect the same level of policing?
	Yes. The police will continue to provide the high quality of service which is essential to the fight against crime.
Who will be responsible for the future provision of police services?
	Each of the 32 councils in Scotland will be the police authority for its own area. However, where police forces cover more than one new council area, most of the functions of the police authorities will be exercised by a joint police board. This will mean new joint police boards for Central Scotland, Grampian, Strathclyde and Tayside police forces.
What is a joint board?
	Joint police boards will be set up by the Secretary of State. Each council will be represented on its joint police board, and only elected councillors can be members of joint boards.
What will happen to the 2 existing joint police boards?
	The present joint boards covering the 2 existing police areas of Northern Constabulary and Lothian and Borders Police will be reconstituted with the new councils.
What about the other forces?
	The 2 new councils for Dumfries and Galloway and Fife will be police authorities in their own right.


FACTSHEET 23
The Police in Scotland
Incorporating details of the New Councils
Produced by The Scottish Office Information Directorate in July 1995.
This information will be fully updated.

The Police Forces
The Scottish police forces, headquarters addresses and telephone numbers are as follows (alphabetical order):

	Central Scotland Police Randolphfield Stirling FK8 2HD	01786 456000
	Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary Loreburn Street Dumfries DG1 1HP	01387 252112
	Fife Constabulary Wemyss Road Dysart Fife FY1 2YA	01592 652611
	Grampian Police Queen Street Aberdeen AB9 1BA	01224 639111
	Lothian and Borders Police Fettes Avenue Edinburgh EH4 1RB	0131 311 3131
	Northern Constabulary Perth Road Inverness IV2 3SY	01463 715555
	Strathclyde Police 173 Pitt Street Glasgow G2 4JS	0141 204 2626
	Tayside Police PO Box 59 4 West Bell Street Dundee DD1 9JU	01382 223200

Police Force	New Council
Central Scotland Police	Clackmannan Council Falkirk Council Stirling Council
Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary	Dumfries and Galloway Council
Fife Constabulary	Fife Council
Grampian Police	City of Aberdeen Council Aberdeenshire Council Moray Council
Lothian and Borders Police	East Lothian Council City of Edinburgh Council Midlothian Council West Lothian Council The Borders Council
Northern Constabulary	Highland Council Orkney Islands Council Shetlands Islands Council Western Isles Council
Strathclyde Police	Argyll and Bute Council East Dunbartonshire Council Dumbarton and Clydebank Council South Lanarkshire Council North Lanarkshire Council East Ayrshire Council North Ayrshire Council East Renfrewshire Council City of Glasgow Council Inverclyde Council South Ayrshire Council Renfrewshire Council
Tayside Police	Angus Council City of Dundee Council Perthshire and Kinross Council

Local Government Reform and the Police Service
	Changes in Scotland's system of local government from 1 April 1996 will not alter the 8 police forces, but will affect the arrangements for police authorities set out on page 1 of this Factsheet because there will no longer be regional councils.
	This leaflet attempts to answer some of the questions you might have about these changes and their effect on the level of service you can expect from the police in the future.

	Any queries about the effect of local government reorganisation on the police service should be addressed to:
	The Scottish Office Home and Health Department Police Division Room 363 St Andrew's House EDINBURGH EH1 3DG Tel: 0131-244 2143 or 2155