About us
When was Lothian and Borders Police established?
Lothian and Borders Police was formed on May 16th 1975 by an
amalgamation of Berwick, Roxburgh and Selkirk Constabulary,
Edinburgh City Police and The Lothian's and Peebles Constabulary.
Local government structures in Scotland changed again in 1996 but
the overall area policed by Lothian and Borders Police remained the
same.
Local government structures in Scotland changed again in 1996 but
police forces retained their 1975 areas. Lothian and Borders Police
serves the local authority areas of the City of Edinburgh Council,
East Lothian Council, Midlothian Council, West Lothian Council and
the Scottish Borders Council. Councillors from all five authorities
are represented on the Lothian and Borders Police Board.
Which areas does the force cover?
The Lothian and Borders Police area stretches from Blackridge in
the West to Newcastleton in the South and covers the City of
Edinburgh, East Lothian, West Lothian, Midlothian and the Scottish
Borders.
The force covers an area of 2,500 square miles and serves a
population of approximately 939,000 people. It has a staff of
around 4,110 made up of over 3000 police officers and
1,110 police staff.
There are four territorial divisions, each headed by a divisional
commander who has the responsibility for all day to day policing
functions in that area. In addition to divisional resources, the
force has a number of units providing specialist services across
the force area.
Each of the four divisions is split into policing areas. Officers
from each division respond to calls from the public in their area
although they can be called to attend in other areas if necessary.
As well as investigating crime, officers from each division work
closely with local communities and partner agencies to prevent
crime and build safer communities.
More information about Lothian and Borders Police can be found on
our publication
scheme or by making a Freedom of Information
request.
Legislative framework and powers
Police forces in Scotland are the subject of many pieces of
legislation however the principal Act governing the establishment
and maintenance of a police force is the Police (Scotland) Act
1967. In terms of the Act, governance of the force is provided on a
tri-partite basis involving the Chief Constable, the Police Board
and the Scottish Government.
The conditions of service and duties of police officers are
principally contained in the Police (Scotland) Regulations 2004.
Police officers are subject to statutory procedures relating to
allegations of misconduct contained in the Police (Conduct)
(Scotland) Regulations 1996 and the Police (Conduct) (Senior
Officer) (Scotland) Regulations 1996.
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