Scottish Police Forces
Each police burgh had a police force originally, although many merged in the 19th century. The gradual process of amalgamation culminated with the creation of a single Police Service of Scotland in 2013.
- Abolished 1930
The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929 merged two pairs of county constabularies.
- Kinross-shire County Constabulary to Perthshire and Kinross-shire Constabulary
- Morayshire County Constabulary to Moray and Nairn Constabulary
- Nairnshire Constabulary to Moray and Nairn Constabulary
- Perthshire County Constabulary to Perthshire and Kinross-shire Constabulary
- Abolished 1931–1946
- Lerwick Burgh Police 29 May 1940 to Zetland Constabulary
- Zetland County Police 29 May 1940 to Zetland Constabulary
- Abolished under the Police (Scotland) Act 1946
- Aberdeenshire Constabulary 16 May 1949 to Scottish North Eastern Counties Constabulary
- Banffshire Constabulary 16 May 1949 to Scottish North Eastern Counties Constabulary
- Berwickshire Constabulary to Berwick, Roxburgh and Selkirk Constabulary
- Bute County Constabulary to Renfrew and Bute Constabulary
- Clackmannanshire Constabulary 1949 to Strling and Clackmannan Constabulary
- Dumfriesshire County Police 16 February 1948 to Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary
- Dunfermline City Police 16 May 1949 to Fife Constabulary
- East Lothian Constabulary to Lothians and Peeblesshire Constabulary
- Fife County Constabulary 16 May 1949 to Fife Constabulary
- Kincardineshire Constabulary 16 May 1949 to Scottish North Eastern Counties Constabulary
- Kirkcaldy Burgh Police 16 May 1949 to Fife Constabulary
- Midlothian Constabulary to Lothians and Peeblesshire Constabulary
- Moray and Nairn Constabulary 16 May 1949 to Scottish North Eastern Counties Constabulary
- Peeblesshire Constabulary to Lothians and Peeblesshire Constabulary
- Renfrewshire Constabulary to Renfrew and Bute Constabulary
- Roxburghshire Constabulary to Berwick, Roxburgh and Selkirk Constabulary
- Selkirkshire constabulary to Berwick, Roxburgh and Selkirk Constabulary
- Stewartry of Kirkcudbright Police 16 February 1948 to Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary
- Stirlingshire Constabulary 1949 to Strling and Clackmannan Constabulary
- West Lothian Constabulary to Lothians and Peeblesshire Constabulary
- Wigtownshire County Police 16 February 1948 to Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary
- Abolished 1950s
- Dumbarton Burgh Police 1959 to Dunbartonshire Constabulary
- Dunbarton County Constabulary 1959 to Dunbartonshire Constabulary
- Abolished 1960s
- Caithness Constabulary 1969 to Northern Constabulary
- Coatbridge Burgh Police 1967 merged into Lanarkshire Constabulary
- Greenock Burgh Police to Renfrew and Bute Constabulary
- Inverness Burgh Police 16 November 1969 to Inverness Constabulary
- Inverness-shire County Constabulary 16 November 1969 to Inverness Constabulary
- Kilmarnock Burgh Police to Ayrshire Constabulary
- Orkney Constabulary 1969 to Northern Constabulary
- Perth City Police 1964 to Perth and Kinross Constabulary
- Perthshire and Kinross-shire Constabulary 1964 to Perth and Kinross Constabulary
- Ross and Cromarty Constabulary 1963 to Ross and Sutherland Constabulary
- Sutherland Constabulary 1963 to Ross and Sutherland Constabulary
- Zetland Constabulary 1969 to Northern Constabulary
- Abolished 1975
The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 created new police forces based on the new regions and island areas from 16 May 1975.
- Aberdeen City Police to Grampian Police
- Angus Constabulary to Tayside Police
- Argyll County Police to Strathclyde Police, part to Northern Constabulary
- Ayrshire Constabulary to Strathclyde Police
- Berwick, Roxburgh and Selkirk Constabulary to Lothian and Borders Police
- City of Glasgow Police to Strathclyde Police
- Dunbartonshire Constabulary to Strathclyde Police
- Dundee City Police to Tayside Police
- Edinburgh City Police to Lothian and Borders Police
- Inverness Constabulary to Northern Constabulary
- Lanarkshire Constabulary to Strathclyde Police
- The Lothians and Peebles Constabulary to Lothian and Borders Police
- Northern Constabulary (name retained by its successor after merger)
- Perth and Kinross Constabulary most to Tayside Police to Central Scotland Police
- Renfrew and Bute Constabulary to Strathclyde Police
- Ross and Sutherland Constabulary to Northern Constabulary
- Scottish North Eastern Counties Constabulary to Grampian Police, part to Northern Constabulary
- Stirling and Clackmannan Police to Central Scotland Police, part to Strathclyde Police
- Abolished 2013
An Act of the Scottish Parliament, the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012, created a single Police Service of Scotland (and single Scottish Fire and Rescue Service) with effect from 1 April 2013. (The functions of the British Transport Police, the Civil Nuclear Constabulary and the Ministry of Defence Police within Scotland were not affected).
- Central Scotland Police to Police Service of Scotland
- Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary to Police Service of Scotland
- Fife Constabulary to Police Service of Scotland
- Grampian Police to Police Service of Scotland
- Lothian and Borders Police to Police Service of Scotland
- Northern Constabulary to Police Service of Scotland
- Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency to Police Service of Scotland
- Strathclyde Police to Police Service of Scotland
- Tayside Police to Police Service of Scotland
Read more about this topic: List Of Defunct Law Enforcement Agencies In The United Kingdom
Famous quotes containing the words scottish, police and/or forces:
“Better wear out shoes than sheets.”
—18th-century Scottish proverb, collected in J. Kelly, Complete Collection of Scottish Proverbs (1721)
“There are all sorts of ways of murdering a person or at least his soul, and that’s something no police in the world can spot.”
—Max Frisch (1911–1991)
“And whoever forces himself to love anybody
begets a murderer in his own body.”
—D.H. (David Herbert)