Police service in Scotland
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Police Service of Scotland Polis Service o Scotland (Scots) Seirbheis Phoilis na h-Alba (Scottish Gaelic) |
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| Common name | Police Scotland |
Logo of Police Scotland
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| Motto |
Semper Vigilo (Always Vigilant) Keeping People Safe |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | 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 | |
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National agency (Operations jurisdiction) |
Scotland |
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| Map of Police Scotland jurisdiction | |
| Size | 30,414 sq mi (78,772 km2) |
| Population | 5,404,700 (2016) |
| Legal jurisdiction |
 Scotland
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| 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 |
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Police Scotland (Scots: Polis Scotland; Scottish Gaelic: Poileas Alba) – legally named the Police Service of Scotland – is the national 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 respective 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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