Strathclyde Police is the territorial police force

Territorial police force

The phrase Territorial Police Force varies in precise meaning according to the country to which it is related, generally distinguishing a force whose area of responsibility is defined by sub-national boundaries from others which deal with the entire country or a restricted range of...

 responsible for the Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 council areas

Subdivisions of Scotland

For local government purposes, Scotland is divided into 32 areas designated as "council areas" which are all governed by unitary authorities designated as "councils"...

 of Argyll and Bute

Argyll and Bute

Argyll and Bute is both one of 32 unitary council areas; and a Lieutenancy area in Scotland. The administrative centre for the council area is located in Lochgilphead.Argyll and Bute covers the second largest administrative area of any Scottish council...

, City of Glasgow, East Ayrshire

East Ayrshire

East Ayrshire is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders on to North Ayrshire, East Renfrewshire, South Lanarkshire, South Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway...

, East Dunbartonshire

East Dunbartonshire

This article is about the East Dunbartonshire council area of Scotland. See also East Dunbartonshire .East Dunbartonshire is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders onto the north-west of the City of Glasgow. It contains many of the suburbs of Glasgow as well as containing many of...

, East Renfrewshire

East Renfrewshire

East Renfrewshire is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. Until 1975 it formed part of the county of Renfrewshire for local government purposes along with the modern council areas of Renfrewshire and Inverclyde...

, Inverclyde

Inverclyde

Inverclyde is one of 32 council areas used for local government in Scotland. Together with the Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire council areas, Inverclyde forms part of the historic county of Renfrewshire - which current exists as a registration county and lieutenancy area - located in the west...

, North Ayrshire

North Ayrshire

North Ayrshire is one of 32 council areas in Scotland with a population of roughly 136,000 people. It is located in the south-west region of Scotland, and borders the areas of Inverclyde to the north, Renfrewshire to the north-east and East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire to the East and South...

, North Lanarkshire

North Lanarkshire

North Lanarkshire is one of 32 council areas in Scotland. It borders onto the northeast of the City of Glasgow and contains much of Glasgow's suburbs and commuter towns and villages. It also borders Stirling, Falkirk, East Dunbartonshire, West Lothian and South Lanarkshire...

, Renfrewshire

Renfrewshire

Renfrewshire is one of 32 council areas used for local government in Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Renfrewshire, the others being Inverclyde to the west and East Renfrewshire to the east...

, South Ayrshire

South Ayrshire

South Ayrshire is one of 32 council areas of Scotland, covering the southern part of Ayrshire. It borders onto East Ayrshire, North Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway....

, South Lanarkshire

South Lanarkshire

South Lanarkshire is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland, covering the southern part of the former county of Lanarkshire. It borders the south-east of the city of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs, commuter towns and smaller villages....

 and West Dunbartonshire

West Dunbartonshire

West Dunbartonshire is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland. Bordering onto the west of the City of Glasgow, containing many of Glasgow's commuter towns and villages as well as the city's suburbs, West Dunbartonshire also borders onto Argyll and Bute, Stirling, East...

. The Police Authority

Police authority

A police authority in the United Kingdom, is a body charged with securing efficient and effective policing of a police area served by a territorial police force or the area and/or activity policed by a special police force...

 contains members from each of these authorities. Until 1996 the police area was also the local government region

Regions and districts of Scotland

The local government areas of Scotland were redefined by the Local Government Act 1973 and redefined again by the Local Government etc Act 1994....

 of Strathclyde.

It is the largest of the eight Scottish police forces. It is the second largest in terms of area in Scotland, after the area covered by the Scottish Northern Constabulary

Northern Constabulary

The Northern Constabulary is 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...

.

Personnel

The force's Senior Management Team (as of June 2011) are as follows:
Chief Constable: Stephen House

Stephen House

Stephen House QPM is the current Chief Constable of Strathclyde Police.He was appointed in 2007 and joined the force in the November of that year, replacing retiring Chief Constable, Sir Willie Rae....

 QPM
Deputy Chief Constable: Neil Richardson
Assistant Chief Constable (Crime): George Hamilton
Assistant Chief Constable (Territorial Policing): Campbell Corrigan
Assistant Chief Constable (Operational Support): Fiona Taylor
Director of Legal Services: Ian McPherson LLB NP
Director of Finance and Resources: Allan Macleod BA (Hons), MBA, CPFA
Director of Corporate Communications: Rob Shorthouse
Director of Human Resources: John Gillies

Currently over 11,100 personnel work for Strathclyde Police. They are the following (as of June 2011):
Police Staff: 2474
Police Officers: 8110
Special Constables: 601

History

The force was created as a consequence of major restructuring of police in Scotland and the creation of new regional councils. Thus, Strathclyde Police boundaries matched that of Strathclyde Regional Council boundaries.
Strathclyde Police was created on 16 May 1975 from the merger of several police services :

• City of Glasgow Police
  City of Glasgow Police
  The City of Glasgow Police was the police of the City of Glasgow, Scotland. In the 17th century, Scottish cities used to hire watchmen to guard the streets at night, augmenting a force of unpaid citizen constables. On June 30, 1800, the authorities of Glasgow, successfully petitioned the British...
  
  
• Lanarkshire Constabulary
• Renfrew & Bute Constabulary
• Dunbartonshire Constabulary
• Argyll County Police
• Ayrshire Constabulary
• small portion of Stirling and Clackmannan Police

Organisation

Since 23 October 2007 the Force has been organised into 8 Territorial Divisions (designated A,B,G,K,L,N,Q & U Divisions), a Headquarters Division (H), a Support Services Division (V) and a Road Policing Division (T).

The Force is commanded by a Chief Constable, supported by a Deputy Chief Constable (DCC) and 4 Assistant Chief Constables (ACC).

The Territorial Divisions are commanded by an officer of Chief Superintendent rank supported by their deputy who holds the rank of Superintendent. These Divisions are further sub divided into a number of Sub Divisions, which are commanded by a Sub Divisional Officer (S.D.O.) of Superintendent rank supported by a Deputy Sub Divisional Officer (D.S.D.O.) of Chief Inspector Rank. The exception to this is LB Sub Division which covers the Argyll area. There is a Superintendent based at Dunoon with three Chief Inspectors designated as Deputy Sub Divisional Officer, they are based at the three main stations (Oban

Oban

Oban Oban Oban ( is a resort town within the Argyll and Bute council area of Scotland. It has a total resident population of 8,120. Despite its small size, it is the largest town between Helensburgh and Fort William and during the tourist season the town can be crowded by up to 25,000 people. Oban...

, Dunoon

Dunoon

Dunoon is a resort town situated on the Cowal Peninsula in Argyll, Scotland. It sits on the Firth of Clyde to the south of Holy Loch and to the west of Gourock.-Waterfront:...

 and Campbeltown

Campbeltown

Campbeltown is a town and former royal burgh in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies by Campbeltown Loch on the Kintyre peninsula. Originally known as Kinlochkilkerran , it was renamed in the 17th century as Campbell's Town after Archibald Campbell was granted the site in 1667...

), the latter also covering Lochgilphead.

Strathclyde police employ over 8,000 police officers and approximately 2,800 police staff. Individually designated as members of police staff (MOPS) Their jobs range from drivers to computer technicians and everything in-between, such as vehicle technicians, communications operators, word processor operators, police custody and security officers (PCSO) and specialised posts in Information Technology and Forensic Science although the specialised posts will be shortly transferring to the Scottish Police Services Authority

Scottish Police Services Authority

The Scottish Police Services Authority is a Scottish public body of the Scottish Government responsible for certain central services for police forces in Scotland. It was established on the 1 April 2007, following the passing of the Police, Public Order and Criminal Justice Act 2006...

.

The force also currently employ over 20 cadets (as of 01/10/09) who work initially inside the police office helping members of the public with their enquiries, they also go on secondments to other departments within the force, such as, the mounted branch, CID, dog branch and road policing. As of March 2008 the cadet scheme has been closed and is no longer accepting applications. Cadets who joined prior to March 2008 continued their posts as normal.
The Cadet Programme normally lasts between 1 and 2 years with the cadet having to resign before their 19th birthday. Cadets do not progress straight into the Police as a Constable automatically - they must apply like any other member of the public. The only difference is that they are progressed to final interview panel stage, and do not need to sit the SET or go through any initial or home interviews. It should be noted however, cadets had to pass all of the before mentioned, during their initial cadet applications.

Full details are available in the Public Performance Report 2006-7, which can be downloaded from the Strathclyde Police website.

The force features in the TV detective

Detective

A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...

 series Taggart

Taggart

Taggart is a Scottish detective television programme, created by Glenn Chandler, who has written many of the episodes, and made by STV Productions for the ITV network...

.

In December 2009, the force announced it was halving the size of its dog unit.

In 2005, Strathclyde Police established its groundbreaking Violence Reduction Unit (VRU). The unit was set up to bring together communities and agencies to tackle the root causes of violence. The work of the VRU has now been extended throughout the whole of Scotland.

Uniform

From the formation of Strathclyde Police in 1975 to 1994 the uniform was similar to the uniform previously used by the antecedent City of Glasgow Police

City of Glasgow Police

The City of Glasgow Police was the police of the City of Glasgow, Scotland. In the 17th century, Scottish cities used to hire watchmen to guard the streets at night, augmenting a force of unpaid citizen constables. On June 30, 1800, the authorities of Glasgow, successfully petitioned the British...

. This changed to a shirt, tie and woollen pullover for a few years until the present all-black uniform with no tie was phased in during 2002 and 2003.

The current all-black uniform is composed of black short sleeved Under Armour

Under Armour

Under Armour is an American sports clothing and accessories company. The company is a supplier of a wide range of sportswear and casual apparel mainly focusing on hi-tech sportswear for professional athletes...

-style 'wicking' T-shirts with Police insignia in white (older shirts have Strathclyde Police on them) displayed on both sleeves and epaulette straps on each shoulder for the affixing of Divisional identifier number and insignia of rank. Trousers were of a USA army style cargo pocket style i.e. two thigh pockets and two conventional side and rear pockets however as of 2008, all trousers come without cargo pockets due to the introduction of new body armours being issued with pockets.

Worn over the wicking top on all operational duties is a Stab vest

Stab vest

A stab vest, or stab proof vest is a reinforced piece of body armor, worn under or over other items of clothing, which is designed to resist knife attacks to the chest, back and sides...

 which until recently was supplied by Highmark Ltd, Body armour is now supplied by Hawk Protection and has a blue and white chequered band on them. The insignia of Strathclyde Police is sown on the left breast of this garment. Service medal ribbons such as the Police Long Service and Good Conduct medal and/or the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal

Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal

The Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2002 to mark the 50th anniversary of the accession to the throne of Queen Elizabeth II...

 can be worn on the left breast of this cover and gallantry ribbons like the Queen's Police Medal

Queen's Police Medal

The Queen's Police Medal is awarded to police officers in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth for gallantry or distinguished service. Recipients may use the post-nominal letters "QPM", although the right to use these was only granted officially on 20 July 1969...

 on the right breast.

A black fleece with a reflective "POLICE" badge displayed on the back was worn prior to November 2009. Now a Black Microfibre fleece with "POLICE" sewn into the sleeve is now worn under the Body Armour.

Waterproof jackets in two styles are also provided, all black, and fluorescent, both are zip and stud fastening. Black waterproof trousers also issued as well as black leather gloves (Constables and Sergeants) or brown leather gloves (Inspectors and above).

All officers wear a uniform cap, a peaked cap

Peaked cap

A peaked cap, forage cap, barracks cover, or combination cap is a form of headgear worn by the armed forces of many nations and also by many uniformed civilian organizations such as law enforcement agencies...

 for males, or a round reinforced bowler style for females. Both types of hat feature the famous Sillitoe Tartan

Sillitoe Tartan

The Sillitoe Tartan is the name given to the distinctive black and white chequered pattern which was originally associated with the police in Scotland, but which later spread to Australia, New Zealand, and the rest of the United Kingdom, as well as to some other places such as Chicago...

 design and the standard Scottish Police cap badge in metal for the ranks of Constable or Sergeant or embroidered for Inspectors and above. The Road Policing Unit also have a white cover over the top of the cap. No prescribed footwear is issued to the Force's officers except for those in a few specialist roles such as Public Order officers and those within "V" Support Services.

Equipment

Personal equipment consists of a Police duty belt

Police duty belt

Police duty belt is a belt, typically constructed of nylon or leather used by police and security officers to carry equipment easily, in a readily-accessible manner, while leaving the hands free to interact.- History :Many police forces in the United Kingdom began with a uniform consisting of a...

 holding an officer's personal issue protective equipment i.e. Hiatts Speedcuffs

Hiatts Speedcuffs

Speedcuffs are a model of handcuff which were designed and produced by the now defunct UK based Hiatt & Company. They are now produced by Safariland. They are characterised by their rigid grip between the two ratchet cuffs, this replacing the older type which were linked by a chain...

, 21" Autolock baton

Monadnock Lifetime Products

Monadnock Lifetime Products, Inc. is a weapons manufacturer providing equipment to law enforcement and private security companies. Monadnock is well known for several models of police baton they produce.-Company products:...

 with a Hindi cap and CS

CS gas

2-chlorobenzalmalononitrile is the defining component of a "tear gas" commonly referred to as CS gas, which is used as a riot control agent...

/ PAVA incapacitant spray.

Support Unit officers are supplied with the longer 26" Autolock batons.

The force's Panda car

Panda car

The phrase panda car refers to a small or medium-sized police car operated by British police forces. They are used for ordinary patrol work, with larger and more powerful vehicles being used for emergency response, Road Policing Unit duties and as Armed Response Vehicles-History of the term:Panda...

 fleet consists primarily of Ford Focus vehicles, with 530d]], [[Ford Focus ST]]  being used by the Road Policing Unit

Road Policing Unit

The Road Policing Unit is the term for the Highway patrol within the majority of British police forces.-Responsibilities:RPUs work with the National Roads Policing Strategy, which has five strands:* Casualty reduction.* Counter-terrorism....

. On occasion however the Road Policing Department will trial various other vehicles from manufacturers including Volvo and Mitsubishi. The Crash Investigation Unit operate a marked Mitsubishi Outlander van. Divisional Police van

Police van

A police van is a type of vehicle operated by police forces. Police vans are usually employed for the transportation of prisoners inside a specially adapted cell in the vehicle, or for the rapid transportation of a number of officers to an incident.- History :Early police vans were in the form of...

s are predominantly of the ford connect type. All marked vehicles feature high visibility Battenburg markings

Battenburg markings

Battenburg refers to a pattern of high-visibility markings used to maximise conspicuity, primarily used on vehicles of the emergency services, but also in other applications such as uniforms...

.

Strathclyde Police also currently use for their unmarked fleet, Hyundai i30

Hyundai i30

The Hyundai i30 is a small family car by South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Company. The i30 shares its platform with the Kia cee'd, available as a five-door hatchback or estate, with a choice of three petrol and two diesel engines, either with manual or automatic transmissions.The i30 wagon is...

's, Ford Focus

Ford Focus

The Ford Focus is a compact car manufactured by the Ford Motor Company since 1998. Ford began sales of the Focus to Europe in July 1998 and in North America during 1999 for the 2000 model year....

's

The Strathclyde Police Air Support Unit has Scotland's only police helicopter and consists of a Eurocopter EC 135T2+

Eurocopter EC135

The Eurocopter EC135 is a twin-engine civil helicopter produced by Eurocopter, widely used amongst police and ambulance services and for executive transport. It is capable of flight under instrument flight rules .-Development:...

 (G-SPAO) based at the Glasgow City Heliport

Glasgow City Heliport

Glasgow City Heliport is a heliport located in Glasgow, Scotland, approximately from the City Centre. The Heliport is located at Stobcross Quay, within the grounds of the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre and directly across the River Clyde from the Glasgow Science Centre and BBC...

. This helicopter is painted in PSDB highly conspicuous colours of dark blue with a yellow top. The aircraft is supplied on a contract basis by Bond Air Services

Bond Air Services

Bond Air Services, part of Bond Aviation Group, are the largest operators of Air Ambulance and Police aviation units in the UK . Using mainly Eurocopter EC-135 and Bolkow BO-105 helicopters, they operate from 17 bases around the UK and have 2 headquarters, Staverton and Glasgow.Bond is headquarters...

.

Headquarters

The Strathclyde Police Headquarters is located at Pitt Street in Blythswood Hill

Blythswood Hill

Blythswood Hill is an area of Glasgow, Scotland.It lies to the immediate west of the city centre and as the name suggests rises to a plateau before dipping again towards the west end area of Woodlands....

, Glasgow

Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

. The building was originally erected in 1934 as Glasgow and West of Scotland Commercial College, later the Scottish College of Commerce. In 1964 the Scottish College of Commerce combined with the Royal College of Science and Technology to form the University of Strathclyde

University of Strathclyde

The University of Strathclyde , Glasgow, Scotland, is Glasgow's second university by age, founded in 1796, and receiving its Royal Charter in 1964 as the UK's first technological university...

. There are plans to relocate the HQ to South Dalmarnock on the outskirts of Glasgow. This has prompted that the Pitt Street HQ building be put on the market.

Crime Priorities

Strathclyde Police decide on very high priorities to concentrate their resources on to proactively protect people on the street which is in addition to responding to calls and reports of crime from the public. There are five very high priorities which Strathclyde Police have been concentrating on between 2009 and 2010.

Violence, Disorder and Antisocial Behaviour
The main contributing factor to violence and antisocial behaviour is alcohol which when it is overly consumed, can make people aggressive and aggitated with the potential of committing serious crimes. Domestic abuse also comes under the heading of "Violence, Disorder and Antisocial Behaviour". This type of crime takes place behind closed doors and requires a different policing style which is mainly delivered by the Domestic Abuse Task Force with specialised methods for disrupting known abusers and protecting those at risk.
Between 2009 and 2010, murder reduced by 26%, attempted murder reduced by 15% and 45,000 fixed penalty notices for disorder were issued.

Serious and Organised Crime
Serious Organised Crime exploits members of the public, harms legitimate businesses, increases the cost to the taxpayer and inflicting misery on victims and families. In 2009 the Tasking and Interventions Unit was set up to tackle serious organised crime groups by tacking a dynamic approach to disrupting their activities.
During the period this unit was set up 134 members of serious organised crime groups were arrested, 82 firearms were recovered and ₤294,955 was seized from organised crime groups.

Drugs
The controlling of drugs in Strathclyde is linked to that of policing organised crime groups as most groups have major links with the cultivation, trafficking and selling of classified drugs. Drugs have a harmful effect on the ethos of the community, feeds vulnerable people's addiction to drugs and funds organised crime and terrorism.
Over the 2009-2010 period, 15,000 drug seizures of Class A and B drugs took place and 2,500 kg worth of drugs including amphetimines, cocaine and heroin was seized and destoryed.

Terrorism
The UK as a whole remains at a hightened state of alert with regards to terrorism following continuing threats from terrorist groups Al-Qaida, dissident IRA

Irish Republican Army

The Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...

 groups and domestic extremist groups. Strathclyde Police dealt with a terrorist incident in 2007 at Glasgow Aiport

2007 Glasgow International Airport attack

The 2007 Glasgow International Airport attack was a terrorist attack which occurred on Saturday 30 June 2007, at 15:11 BST, when a dark green Jeep Cherokee loaded with propane canisters was driven into the glass doors of the Glasgow International Airport terminal and set ablaze...

 which resulted in five members of the public being injured and the perpetrator himself being killed later at hospital.
Strathclyde Police continues to police terrorism using the UK wide CONTEST strategy which prevents, pursues, protects and prepares for terrorism.

Child Protection
To ensure children in Strathclyde are protected from sexual/non-sexual abuse and neglect, the force employs a range of techniques. This includes the management of offenders in the community to ensure children are not put at risk from sex offenders under the Sexual Offences Act 2003

Sexual Offences Act 2003

The Sexual Offences Act 2003 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland that was passed in 2003 and became law on 1 May 2004.It replaced older sexual offences laws with more specific and explicit wording...

to monitor and restrict behaviour. Internet safety is also of importance to educate children on how to enjoy the internet safely which is delivered through the 'Surf Safe' section on Strathclyde Police website with reinforcement by talks in schools.

All information provided by the Chief Constable's Annual Report 2009-2010

External links

• Official website