His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS) is a

public body A statutory corporation is a government entity created as a statutory body by statute. Their precise nature varies by jurisdiction, thus, they are statutes owned by a government or controlled by national or sub-national government to the (in so ...

of the Scottish Government and reports to the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyr ...

. It has statutory responsibility for the inspection of the effectiveness and efficiency of the police service in Scotland. HMICS is part of a tripartite distribution of powers for accountability for the Scottish police service. The Scottish Government has powers to make regulations for the governance and administration of the police force and the promotion of efficiency. The

Scottish Police Authority The Scottish Police Authority (SPA), ( gd, Ùghdarras Poilis na h-Alba), is a public body of the Scottish Government which holds Police Scotland, the national police service, to account. Both bodies were established on 1 April 2013 following a ...

is responsible for setting the budget and ensuring that best value is attained for the public purse. The chief constable is responsible for operational policing. The head of the service is HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary, held by Craig Naylor since March 2022. The HMICS is based at St Andrew's House in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

and had £1.2m of funding allocated by the Scottish Government in 2013–14.

History

HMICS was established by the

Police (Scotland) Act 1857 The Police (Scotland) Act 1857 (20 & 21 Vict c 72) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was one of the Police (Scotland) Acts 1857 to 1890. The legislation made the establishment of a police force mandatory in the counties of S ...

. Until 1 April 2013, HMICS was responsible for inspections of the eight Scottish territorial police forces, the

Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency The Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency (SCDEA) was a special police force of Scotland responsible for disrupting and dismantling serious organised crime groups. The Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency (SDEA) was established on 1 April 2001 ...

, the Scottish Criminal Record Office, the

Scottish Police College The Scottish Police College is based at Tulliallan Castle, in Kincardine. Since 1 April 2013, the college has been under the control of Police Scotland. In addition to probationer training, the college provides training in various specialist a ...

and the Scottish Police Information Strategy. Until 1 April 2007, HMICS was also responsible for dealing with complaints against the police; since then non-criminal complaints have been dealt with by the Police Complaints Commissioner, following the passing of the

Police, Public Order and Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2006 The Police, Public Order and Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2006 (asp 11) is an Act of the Scottish Parliament. It received Royal Assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either dire ...

. HMIC has no authority to deal with complaints against chief police officers.

List of chief inspectors

* John Kinloch, 18571872 * Charles Carnegie, 18721884 *

David Monro Sir David Monro (27 March 1813 – 15 February 1877) was a New Zealand politician. He served as Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives from 1861 to 1870. Early life Monro was born in Edinburgh. His father was Alexander Monro ...

, 18841904 *

Arthur George Ferguson Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Arthur George Ferguson CBE (22 June 1862 – 14 February 1935) was a British Army officer and police officer, who served as His Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary in Scotland. Family Ferguson was the eldest son of Lieutena ...

, 19041927 *

William David Allan Lieutenant-Colonel William David Allan OBE (4 November 1879 – 9 January 1961), known as David Allan, was a British soldier and police officer. Allan was born in Elgin, Moray, Scotland. He was educated at Elgin Academy and Blundell's School an ...

, 19271930 *

Robert Maxwell Dudgeon Robert Maxwell Dudgeon, CBE, DSO, MC, JP (20 February 1881 – 6 November 1962) was a Scottish soldier and policeman. The eldest son of Colonel Robert Francis Dudgeon, CB, he was educated at Uppingham School and Loretto School. Following n ...

, 19301945 *

Sidney Anderson Kinnear Sidney Anderson Kinnear, CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil ...

, 19461957 *

Thomas Renfrew Thomas Renfrew, CBE (18 June 1901 – 17 January 1975) was HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary for Scotland from 1957 to 1966. Renfrew was educated at Eastbank Academy and the University of Glasgow. He joined the City of Glasgow Police in 1919; ...

, 19581966 *

Andrew Meldrum Andrew Meldrum (born 1951) is an American journalist who has concentrated on Africa and human rights. He worked in Zimbabwe for 23 years. Currently Meldrum is Africa News Editor for The Associated Press, working in Johannesburg, South Africa. He ...

, 19661969 * David Gray, 19701979 *

Edward Frizzell Edward Frizzell, CBE, QPM, OStJ (6 December 1918 – 25 May 1987) was HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary for Scotland from 1979 to 1983. After wartime service with the RAF he joined the Paisley Burgh Police rising to the rank of Detective C ...

, 19791983 * Alexander Morrison, 19831990 * Colin Sampson, 19911993 * John MacInnes Boyd, 19931996 *

William George MacKenzie Sutherland Sir William George MacKenzie Sutherland (12 November 1933 – 30 May 2022), often known as Bill Sutherland, was a British police officer.‘SUTHERLAND, Sir William (George MacKenzie)’, Who's Who 2016, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publ ...

, 19961998 * William Taylor, 19992001 * Hugh Roy Graham Cameron, 20022004 *

Andrew Gibson Brown Andrew Gibson Brown, CBE, QPM (b 11 April 1945) was HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary for Scotland from 2004 to 2007. He was educated at Kelso High School. He began his career as a Police Cadet in 1961; and by 1998 was Assistant Chief Consta ...

, 20042007 *

Paddy Tomkins Patrick Tomkins QPM was appointed HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary for Scotland by Royal Warrant in March 2007 and retired from the post in April 2009. He was formerly the Chief Constable of Lothian and Borders Police, which he joined in 2002 ...

, 20072009 *

Andrew Laing Andrew Laing (born 1966) is a New Zealand actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, ...

, 20102013 *George Graham, 20132014 * Derek Penman, 20142018 *Gill Imery, 2018March 2022 *Craig Naylor, 2022-present ″

References

External links

* * 1857 establishments in Scotland 1857 in law Government agencies established in 1857 Law enforcement in Scotland Ombudsmen in Scotland Organisations based in Edinburgh Police misconduct in the United Kingdom Police oversight organizations Public bodies of the Scottish Government {{Scotland-law-stub

History

List of chief inspectors

See also

References

External links