Northern Constabulary

Northern Constabulary Poileas a' Chinn a Tuath
Northern Constabulary patch
Motto	Dion is Cuidich (Gaelic) Protect and Serve
Agency overview
Formed	16 May, 1975 (merger)
Dissolved	2013 (amalgamation)
Superseding agency	Police Service of Scotland
Legal personality	Governmental: Government agency
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdiction*	Police area of Highland, Western Isles, Orkney Isles and Shetland Isles, UK
Map of Northern Constabulary's jurisdiction.
Size	31,186 km²
Population	approx. 300,000
General nature	Law enforcement Civilian agency
Operational structure
Headquarters	Inverness
Sworn members	Approx 715
Agency executive	George Graham, Chief Constable
Divisions or Area Commands	8
Facilities
Stations	71
Website
www.northern.police.uk
Footnotes
* Police area agency: Prescribed geographic area in the country, over which the agency has usual operational jurisdiction.

The Northern Constabulary (Scottish Gaelic: Poileas a' Chinn a Tuath) was the territorial police force responsible for Northern Scotland, covering the Highland council area along with the Western Isles, the Orkney Isles and the Shetland Isles, which comprise most of the Highlands and Islands area. It was the police force covering the largest geographical area in the United Kingdom, equivalent to the size of Belgium, but was one of the smallest in terms of officers, with about 715 officers. The Constabulary was one of those which was amalgamated to form Police Scotland in 2013.

This police force was formed on 16 May 1975 as a merger of the pre-existing Northern Constabulary, the Ross and Sutherland Constabulary (itself a merger of Ross and Cromarty Constabulary and Sutherland Constabulary) and the Inverness Constabulary (a merger of Inverness Burgh Police and Inverness-shire Constabulary), along with the northernmost portion of the Argyll County Police area, and the Nairn part of the Scottish North East Counties Constabulary. The previous Northern Constabulary had been created in 1969 by the merger of the Caithness Constabulary, Orkney Constabulary and Zetland Constabulary.

The new Northern Constabulary was created at the same time as local government reorganisation created the Highland regional council and the islands councils of the Western Isles, the Orkney Isles and the Shetland Isles. The rest of the Argyll County Police was merged into the Strathclyde Police, and the rest of the Scottish North East Counties Constabulary into the Grampian Police.