The Police (Scotland) Act 1857 (20 & 21 Vict c 72) was an Act of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

. It was one of the Police (Scotland) Acts 1857 to 1890. The legislation made the establishment of a police force mandatory in the

counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, and also allowed existing

burgh A burgh is an autonomous municipal corporation in Scotland and Northern England, usually a city, town, or toun in Scots. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when King David I created the first royal burghs. Burg ...

police forces to be consolidated with a county force.

Establishment of County Police Forces

The

Commissioners of Supply Commissioners of Supply were local administrative bodies in Scotland from 1667 to 1930. Originally established in each sheriffdom to collect tax, they later took on much of the responsibility for the local government of the counties of Scotland. ...

for each county were required to form a Police Committee to administer a police force for their area. The committee was to consist of not more than 15 commissioners, plus the

Lord Lieutenant A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility ...

and

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

of the county (or their deputies). The police force forces were to come into existence on 15 March 1858. A Chief Constable was to be appointed to each police force by the committee. It was, however, permitted for two or more adjoining counties to appoint a single chief constable. The chief constable was to run the day-to-day activities of the force, and to appoint and dismiss constables. He was also to appoint a deputy chief constable to act in his absence. The commissioners of supply were to levy a "police assessment" or special rate to finance the constabulary. They were also permitted to divide a county into Police Districts, with constables allocated to each district, and a separate assessment to be paid in each area.

Jurisdiction of County Constables

Constables of a county police force were to have full powers within their county, which was to include for policing purposes any detached parts of other counties locally situate within it. Similar provisions were made in regard to sheriffs and

justices of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

. They had jurisdiction in all harbours, lochs and bays, and in burghs within the county, and in any adjoining county. Constables in

Berwickshire Berwickshire ( gd, Siorrachd Bhearaig) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in south-eastern Scotland, on the English border. Berwickshire County Council existed from 1890 until 1975, when the area became part of th ...

Dumfriesshire Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries or Shire of Dumfries (''Siorrachd Dhùn Phris'' in Gaelic) is a historic county and registration county in southern Scotland. The Dumfries lieutenancy area covers a similar area to the historic county. I ...

and

Roxburghshire Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh ( gd, Siorrachd Rosbroig) is a historic county and registration county in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. It borders Dumfriesshire to the west, Selkirkshire and Midlothian to the north-west, and Berw ...

were permitted to serve warrants in the counties of

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

and

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

across the English border.

Inspector of Constabulary

Inspector of Constabulary His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS), formerly Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC), has statutory responsibility for the inspection of the police forces of England and Wales, and since ...

was to be appointed to ensure that an efficient police system was being operated by the various forces in Scotland. He was to certify annually that each force was being effectively, making it eligible to payment of one quarter of its costs by the treasury. According to the Inspector's first report in 1859, 32 counties and 57 burghs had established police forces.

Burgh Police Forces

A number of burghs had established police forces, either under the

Burgh Police (Scotland) Act 1833 A police burgh was a Scottish burgh which had adopted a "police system" for governing the town. They existed from 1833 to 1975. The 1833 act The first police burghs were created under the Burgh Police (Scotland) Act 1833 (3 & 4 Wm IV c.46). Thi ...

or by local Acts. The magistrates and town council of a burgh could agree with the commissioners of supply of a county to consolidate the burgh force with the county police. One or more members of the town council would be appointed to the county police committee in this case. Conversely, the Act allowed any burgh which had not yet established a police force to do so within six months of the passing of the Act. Burgh forces were also to be subject to inspection, but those unconsolidated burghs with a population of 5,000 or less were not permitted to avail of central government funds.

Exceptions

The Act did not automatically extend to

Orkney Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...

and

Shetland Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the no ...

, although it could be applied by

Order in Council An Order-in-Council is a type of legislation in many countries, especially the Commonwealth realms. In the United Kingdom this legislation is formally made in the name of the monarch by and with the advice and consent of the Privy Council ('' Ki ...

on the request of the Sheriff of the county. The Act did not affect any police forces employed by railway or canal companies, or established by local act of parliament.

References

{{UK legislation United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1857 Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning Scotland 1857 in Scotland Police legislation in the United Kingdom