Fife Constabulary was the

territorial police force A territorial police force is a police service that is responsible for an area defined by sub-national boundaries, distinguished from other police services which deal with the entire country or a type of crime. In countries organized as federations, ...

responsible for the Scottish

council area {{Unreferenced, date=May 2019, bot=noref (GreenC bot) A council area is one of the areas defined in Schedule 1 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 and is under the control of one of the local authorities in Scotland created by that Act. ...

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

. The area policed by Fife Constabulary had a resident population of just over 350,000, almost a third of whom lived in one of the three principal towns of

Dunfermline Dunfermline (; sco, Dunfaurlin, gd, Dùn Phàrlain) is a city, parish and former Royal Burgh, in Fife, Scotland, on high ground from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. The city currently has an estimated population of 58,508. Accord ...

Kirkcaldy Kirkcaldy ( ; sco, Kirkcaldy; gd, Cair Chaladain) is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It is about north of Edinburgh and south-southwest of Dundee. The town had a recorded population of 49,460 in 2011, ...

and

Glenrothes Glenrothes (; , ; sco, Glenrothes; gd, Gleann Rathais) is a town situated in the heart of Fife, in east-central Scotland. It is about north of Edinburgh and south of Dundee. The town had a population of 39,277 in the 2011 census, making i ...

. The force was established in 1949 following the amalgamation of the originally independent Fife County, Dunfermline City and Kirkcaldy Burgh police forces. Then the number of Police Officers totalled 345, supported by 26 civilian staff. During 1949 officers dealt with 7,492 crimes and offences. At dissolution the force had 1027 Officers, who were assisted by 119 Special Constables and approximately 538 support staff. Fife Constabulary dealt with around 65,000 crimes and offences annually. The Chief Constable was responsible for ensuring that the deployment and organisation of personnel is consistent with the demands on the Force. Operational resources were allocated according to the needs of local communities and are complemented by professional administrative and support staff. An

Act of the Scottish Parliament An Act of the Scottish Parliament ( gd, Achd Pàrlamaid na h-Alba) is primary legislation made by the Scottish Parliament. The power to create Acts was conferred to the Parliament by section 28 of the Scotland Act 1998 following the successfu ...

, the ''Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012'', created a single Police Service of Scotland - to be known as

Police Scotland Police Scotland ( gd, Poileas Alba), officially the Police Service of Scotland (), is the national police force of Scotland. It was formed in 2013, through the merging of eight regional police forces in Scotland, as well as the specialist service ...

- with effect from 1 April 2013. This will merge the eight regional police forces in Scotland (including Fife Constabulary), together with 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 ...

, into a single service covering the whole of Scotland. Police Scotland has its headquarters at 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 ar ...

Tulliallan Tulliallan (Gaelic ''tulach-aluinn'', 'Beautiful knoll') was an estate in Perthshire, Scotland, near to Kincardine, and a parish. The Blackadder lairds of Tulliallan, a branch of the Blackadder border clan, wielded considerable power in the 15 ...

Divisions

Fife Constabulary was divided into three Territorial Divisions. Western Division had a population of approximately 133,000 and its Divisional HQ in

. It contained the

Tulliallan Castle Tulliallan Castle is a large house in Kincardine, Fife, Scotland. It is the second structure to have the name, and is a mixture of Gothic and Italian style architecture set amid some of parkland just north of where the Kincardine Bridge spans t ...

Kincardine-on-Forth Kincardine ( ; gd, Cinn Chàrdainn) or Kincardine-on-Forth is a small town on the north shore of the Firth of Forth, in Fife, Scotland. The town was given the status of a burgh of barony in 1663. It was at one time a reasonably prosperous ...

. Central Division was the smallest of the three Divisions but the most densely populated with 148,000 residents, and Divisional HQ in

. Eastern Division was the largest of the three but had the smallest population of some 69,000. Major concentrations of population are

Cupar Cupar ( ; gd, Cùbar) is a town, former royal burgh and parish in Fife, Scotland. It lies between Dundee and Glenrothes. According to a 2011 population estimate, Cupar had a population around 9,000, making it the ninth-largest settlement in Fif ...

, home to the Divisional HQ, and

St Andrews St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fou ...

. Western and Central Divisions were headed by a Chief Superintendent and a Superintendent, and Eastern Division by a Superintendent and a Chief Inspector.

Force Headquarters

The majority of Fife Constabulary's departments and specialist units were based at modern, purpose-built Headquarters, situated at Detroit Road in Viewfield,

which were opened on 25 March 1996. They replaced the previous building at Dysart which had been the HQ since 1975. The building includes modern office accommodation, training facilities, lecture theatre, library, garage & communications workshops, television studio, gymnasium, and an indoor firearms range. In 2004, a new Contact Centre was opened on the Headquarters campus, enabling the Force to bring together under one roof the call handling and despatching services which had previously been dispersed across Police stations in Fife.

Regional police stations

Fife Constabulary also had police stations in Aberdour,

Anstruther Anstruther ( sco, Ainster or Enster ; gd, Ànsruthair) is a small coastal resort town in Fife, Scotland, situated on the north-shore of the Firth of Forth and south-southeast of St Andrews. The town comprises two settlements, Anstruther ...

Auchtermuchty Auchtermuchty ( ; , 'upland of the pigs/boar') is a town in Fife, Scotland. It is beside Pitlour Hill and north of Glenrothes. History Until 1975 Auchtermuchty was a royal burgh, established under charter of King James V in 1517. There is ...

Ballingry Ballingry ( or locally or (older) ); sco, Ballingry, Bingry, gd, Baile Iongrach) is a small town in Fife, Scotland. It is near the boundary with Perth and Kinross, north of Lochgelly. It has an estimated population (2016) of . The once separat ...

Burntisland Burntisland ( , sco, also Bruntisland) is a former royal burgh and parish in Fife, Scotland, on the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. According to the 2011 census, the town has a population of 6,269. It was previously known as Wester Kingho ...

Cardenden Cardenden () is a Scottish town located on the south bank of the River Ore in the parish of Auchterderran, Fife. It is approximately north-west of Kirkcaldy. Cardenden was named in 1848 by the Edinburgh and Northern Railway for its new railway ...

Cowdenbeath Cowdenbeath (; sco, Coudenbeith) is a town and burgh in west Fife, Scotland. It is north-east of Dunfermline and north of the capital, Edinburgh. The town grew up around the extensive coalfields of the area and became a police burgh in 18 ...

Dalgety Bay Dalgety Bay () is a coastal town and parish in Fife, Scotland. According to Fife Council, the town is home to , making this the eighth-largest place in Fife. The civil parish has a population of 10,777 (in 2011).Census of Scotland 2011, Table KS ...

Inverkeithing Inverkeithing ( ; gd, Inbhir Chèitinn) is a port town and parish, in Fife, Scotland, on the Firth of Forth. A town of ancient origin, Inverkeithing was given royal burgh status during the reign of Malcolm IV in the 12th century. It was an impo ...

Kelty Kelty (Scottish Gaelic: Cailtidh) is a former coal mining village located in Fife, Scotland. Lying in the heart of the old mining heartlands of Fife, it is situated on the Fife/Kinross-shire boundary and has a population of around 6,000 res ...

Kennoway Kennoway is a village in Fife, Scotland, near the larger population centres in the area of Leven and Methil. It had an estimated population of in . It is about three miles inland from the Firth of Forth, north of Leven. This position gave it i ...

, Kincardine,

Leven Leven may refer to: People * Leven (name), list of people with the name Nobility * Earl of Leven a title in the Peerage of Scotland Placenames * Leven, Fife Leven ( gd, Inbhir Lìobhann) is a seaside town in Fife, set in the east Central ...

Levenmouth Levenmouth is a conurbation comprising a network of settlements on the north side of the Firth of Forth, in Fife on the east coast of Scotland. It consists of three principal coastal towns; Leven, Buckhaven, and Methil, and a number of villages a ...

Lochgelly Lochgelly ( ; gd, Loch Gheallaidh, IPA: �ɫ̪ɔxˈʝaɫ̪ai is a town in Fife, Scotland. It is located between Loch Ore, Lochs Ore and Gelly to the north-west and south-east respectively. It is separated from Cowdenbeath by the village of ...

, Newmills, Fife Oakley,

Rosyth Rosyth ( gd, Ros Fhìobh, "headland of Fife") is a town on the Firth of Forth, south of the centre of Dunfermline. According to the census of 2011, the town has a population of 13,440. The new town was founded as a Garden city-style suburb ...

Tayport Tayport, also known as Ferry-Port on Craig, is a town and burgh, and parish, in the county of Fife, Scotland, acting as a commuter town for Dundee. The motto of the Burgh is ''Te oportet alte ferri'' ("It is incumbent on you to carry yourself ...

and

Wormit Wormit is a village on the south shore of the Firth of Tay in north-east Fife, Scotland. Its location at the southern end of the Tay Rail Bridge has led to it becoming a commuter suburb of Dundee. Together with Woodhaven and Newport-on-Tay, Wo ...

Chief Constables

*1949–1955 : Sir

John Inch Sir John Ritchie Inch CVO CBE QPM (14 May 1911 – 22 November 1993) was a police officer who was successively Chief Constable of three Scottish police forces. Inch was born in Lesmahagow, Lanarkshire, Scotland. At the age of eleven he wa ...

*1955–1966 : Andrew Meldrum *<1971–1984 : Robert Fraser Murison *?–1996 William MacDougal Moodie *1996–2000 : John Hamilton *2001–2008 : Peter Wilson *2008–2012 : Norma Graham *2012–2013 : Andrew Barker

Trivia

*Traffic Officers from the Force made an appearance on the UK motoring show ''

Top Gear Top Gear may refer to: * "Top gear", the highest gear available in a vehicle's manual transmission Television * ''Top Gear'' (1977 TV series), a British motoring magazine programme * ''Top Gear'' (2002 TV series), a relaunched version of the or ...

'', during the Caterham Challenge, pulling over the show's test driver,

The Stig The Stig is a character from the British motoring television show ''Top Gear''. Created by former ''Top Gear'' presenter Jeremy Clarkson and producer Andy Wilman, the character is a play on the anonymity of racing drivers' full-face helmets, wit ...

, and arresting him for speeding. Because of this, the presenters won the challenge.

References

External links

Fife Police
{{Authority control Fife Defunct police forces of Scotland 1949 establishments in Scotland Organizations established in 1949 Government agencies disestablished in 2013 2013 disestablishments in Scotland