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Police Service of Scotland

Police Service of Scotland
Scottish Gaelic: Seirbheis Phoilis na h-Alba
Common name Police Scotland
Logo of Police Scotland.svg
Logo of the Police Service of Scotland
Motto Semper Vigilo (Always Vigilant)
Keeping People Safe
Agency overview
Formed 1 April 2013; 4 years ago (1 April 2013)
Preceding agency
Employees 23,000
Volunteers 1,400 special constables
Annual budget £1.138 billion (FY 2015–16)
Legal personality Non government: Police force
Jurisdictional structure
National agency
(Operations jurisdiction)
Scotland
Map of Scotland Police area in the United Kingdom (no borders).svg
Map of Police area
Size 30,414 sq mi (78,772 km2)
Population 5,373,000 (2016)
Legal jurisdiction Scotland Scotland
Governing body Scottish Government
Constituting instrument Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012
General nature
Operational structure
Overviewed by Police authority Scottish Police Authority
Headquarters Tulliallan Castle
Police Officers 17,241 Full-time Officers
939 Special Constables
Others 5,600 police staff
Minister responsible Michael Matheson MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Justice
Agency executive Phil Gormley, Chief Constable
Divisions 13
Facilities
Stations 214
Airbases Glasgow City Heliport
Vehicles 3,800
Helicopters 1 (1 reserve)(Eurocopter EC135)
Website
scotland.police.uk

The Police Service of Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Seirbheis Phoilis na h-Alba; operationally shortened to Police Scotland) is the police force of Scotland. It was formed in 2013 with the merger of eight regional police forces in Scotland, as well as the specialist services of the Scottish Police Services Authority, including the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency. Although not formally absorbing it, the merger also resulted in the winding up of the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland.

Police Scotland is the second-largest police force in the United Kingdom (after the Metropolitan Police Service) in terms of officer numbers, and the largest territorial police force in terms of its area of jurisdiction. The Chief Constable is answerable to the Scottish Police Authority, and the force is inspected by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland.

Scotland is also policed by the Ministry of Defence Police, British Transport Police and the Civil Nuclear Constabulary within their specific jurisdictions. The National Crime Agency also has some jurisdiction in Scotland. In 2016, the Scottish Government introduced legislation which will integrate the Scottish division of the British Transport Police into Police Scotland, following the devolution of railway policing.

After a consultation process, the Scottish Government confirmed on 8 September 2011 that a single police service would be created in Scotland. The Scottish Government stated that "reform will safeguard frontline policing in communities by creating designated local senior officers for every council area with a statutory duty to work with councils to shape local services. Establishing a single service aims to ensure more equal access to national and specialist services and expertise such as major investigation teams and firearms teams, whenever and wherever they are needed." The Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Bill was published in January 2012 and was approved on 27 June 2012 after scrutiny in the Scottish Parliament. The Bill received Royal Assent as the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012. In September 2012, Chief Constable Stephen House of Strathclyde Police was announced as the future first Chief Constable of Police Scotland. He was sworn into the post on 1 October 2012. The first chair of the Scottish Police Authority, Vic Emery (then the convener of the Scottish Police Services Authority), was appointed in August 2012.


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