| |
Police forces,
in the modern sense, came into existence in Scotland from 1800 onwards,
and their creation is linked with the reform of local government
(especially burgh government) in the late 18th century and early
19th century. The origin of the word lies in the Greek word politeia,
meaning the administration or government, especially of a city (polis).
This wider concept, of civic administration, should be borne in
mind when considering the development of policing. Nineteenth Century
police acts invariably concern the maintenance of roads, street
lighting, pavements, drainage, sewerage, water supply and refuse
disposal, as well as the prevention of crime and disorder.
Policing in Scotland developed in
burghs (out of watch and ward duties imposed on burgesses and town
guards in larger towns), and counties (out of parish constables).
In the nineteenth century burghs and counties obtained salaried
police forces by individual local acts of parliament, and, latterly,
by general police acts. From the late-nineteenth century onwards
there were many amalgamations of county and burgh constabularies.
In 1975 all county, burgh and amalgamated constabularies were replaced
by eight police forces (Strathclyde, Lothian & Borders, Grampian,
Tayside, Fife, Central, Northern, and Dumfries and Galloway), supervised
by regional council police committees. In 2013 these eight forces were amalgamated to form a single national force: Police Scotland. For more information on the development of policing click
on one of the following:
Burgh
forces
County
Constabularies
Amalgamation
and Reorganisation
List of Police forces
To see a list of county, burgh and amalgamated
forces and when each was founded and replaced
click here.
Historical records
Historical records relating to policing come
in various categories. Local authority archives hold some and some
are retained by police forces themselves. In general a wider variety
of records survive for the larger forces, especially the city constabularies,
while, for some smaller constabularies, particularly those absorbed
by larger forces, little survives. To see the Knowledge Base entry
on historical records relating to the police in Scotland click
here.
Bibliography and links
There is no general history of policing in
Scotland. There are various histories of individual forces, but
it would require too much space to list them here: for advice about
the history of a particular police force, take the advice of the
relevant local studies librarian for that area. Reference works
on specific aspects of policing in Scotland are: Martin Stallion
and David S Wall, The British police: forces and chief officers 1829-2012 (2012); J A Haythornthwaite
(ed.) Scotland in the Nineteenth Century: An Analytical bibliography
of material relating to Scotland in Parliamentary Papers 1800-1900
(Aldershot, 1993); G Barrie, Police in the age of improvement: police development and the civic tradition in Scotland 1775-1865 (Cullompton: Willan, 2008). There are several articles on crime and the
records of the criminal justice system in the Scottish Records Association
journal, Scottish Archives, volume 1. Details of its contents
and how to order a copy can be found in the SCAN bookshop under
'Scottish Records Association publications'. Articles on the history
of policing and police records will appear in volume 7 of Scottish
Archives, which is in preparation and is due to be published
around April 2002.
Websites:
Scottish Police (with links to websites
of the Scottish forces)
Glasgow
Police Heritage Society
|
|
|
|
1.
Where should I look for statistics on crime and police activity
for a particular year or years?
2.
Where should I look for information about a former chief constable
or senior officer of a force?
3.
What was a police burgh?
4.
What are (or were) special constables?
5.
Did a particular town or suburb have a police force at one time?
6.
I am doing a school project on the history of the police. Where
should I go for information?
7.
Where can identify or obtain information about the award of a police
medal?
8.
Where can I obtain photographs or illustrations of police?
9.
Is there a complete list or index of Scottish policemen and policewomen?
10.
How can I find the service record of an individual policeman or
policewoman?
11.
Where can I find information about Harbour or Canal Police?
12.
Where can I obtain information about police badges, uniforms or
equipment?
There are more FAQs on the entry on
Police records.
|
