Grampian Police

Grampian Police

Logo of the Grampian Police
Motto Semper Vigilo
Agency overview
Formed 1975 (merger)
Dissolved 2013
Superseding agency Police Service of Scotland
Legal personality Governmental: Government agency
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdiction* Area of Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Moray, UK
Map of Grampian Police's jurisdiction.
Size 8,737 km2
Population 525,936 (2001 census)
General nature
Operational structure
Headquarters Aberdeen
Sworn members

As of 2008/2009:

  • 1,543 Police Officers
  • 181 Special Constables
  • 851 Support Staff[1]
  • 18 Cadets[2]
Agency executive Colin McKerracher CBE QPM, Chief Constable
Divisions
Facilities
Stations 46
Website
www.grampian.police.uk
Footnotes
* Divisional agency: Division of the country, over which the agency has usual operational jurisdiction.

Grampian Police was, between 1975 and 2013 (replaced by Police Scotland), the territorial police force of the northeast region of Scotland, covering the council areas of Aberdeenshire, the City of Aberdeen, and Moray (the former Grampian region). The Force area also covered some of the North Sea, giving Grampian Police the responsibility of policing the oil and gas platforms of the North East. The force was headquartered on Queen Street in Aberdeen.

The Police Authority had six representatives from Aberdeen City, six from Aberdeenshire, and four from Moray.

Grampian Police was formed on 16 May 1975, when Grampian Region was created, a merger of the previously formed Scottish North Eastern Counties Constabulary and the Aberdeen City Police. The North Eastern force had been formed on 16 May 1949, by the merger of Aberdeenshire Constabulary, Banffshire Constabulary, Kincardineshire Constabulary, and Moray and Nairn Constabulary.[3]

The force produced a magazine called The Informer for its staff, which came out every season, and, in 2009, launched a YouTube channel.

An Act of the Scottish Parliament, the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012, created a single Police Service of Scotland - known as Police Scotland - with effect from 1 April 2013.[4] This merged the eight regional police forces in Scotland (including Grampian Police), together with the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency, into a single service covering the whole of Scotland.[5] Police Scotland has its headquarters at the Scottish Police College at Tulliallan in Fife.

Areas covered

Grampian Police covered the local authority areas of Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Moray. In addition to this, Grampian have a lead role in incidents on offshore installations in Scottish areas of the North Sea, irrespective of which police area the installation is situated. This arrangement exists due to Grampian's extensive experience in dealing with the offshore industry.

The railway stations and lines in the area are the responsibility of the British Transport Police, and a number of Ministry of Defence installations in the region are policed by the Ministry of Defence Police. However, as with all territorial police forces, the chief officer of Grampian Police is ultimately responsible in statute for all law and order in Grampian police area, irrespective as to whether a special police force is present.

Departments and units

Grampian Police Headquarters at Queen Street in Aberdeen

Grampian Police had a number of specialist departments and units, with officers joining them and undertaking this as their primary role. Amongst others, these included:

Pipe band

The Grampian Police Pipe Band, established in 1907, often played at events and competitions throughout Scotland. The group rehearses on a weekly basis in Aberdeen and comprises both police staff and civilians. The band launched its own design of tartan in 2007 and performed for Queen Elizabeth at Balmoral Castle to celebrate its unveiling.[6]

Grampian Racist Incident Partnership

Grampian Racist Incident Partnership (GRIP) is a coalition of race equality groups led by Grampian Police officers. It was formed in May 2008 in response to a series of highly publicised racist assaults against Pakistani migrants and English travellers in Aberdeen.

In 2008 Grampian Police took part in the first GRIP campaign, designed to increase awareness in the bars and pubs of Aberdeen with an eye towards to protecting patrons from racist assaults.[7] In 2010 it launched a campaign in conjunction with GRIP called 'RACISM – Report it Now!' The campaign involved putting up posters and stickers in shops, bars, restaurants, and post offices throughout the region urging people to report racist incidents.[8]

GRIP had mixed results in its first two years. While the number of racist assaults against Pakistanis has been declining, there was a dramatic spike in 2009 in the number of assaults against people classified as "Other White" and "White British". Lewis Macdonald, the Labour member for Aberdeen Central, said the spike shows that "police are getting much better at recording a racial incident." Robert Brown, the Liberal Democrat member for Glasgow, said the spike was "truly shocking."[9]

Significant events and incidents

Grampian Police were involved in many high-profile cases throughout Scotland, either as the investigating force, reviewing investigations on behalf of other forces, or providing specialist support.

Chief Constables

References

  1. ↑ HMICS Statistics – Total number of staff employed by Scottish police forces, Scottish Government. Retrieved 2010-03-08.
  2. ↑ HMICS Statistics – Total number of support staff employed by Scottish police forces, Scottish Government. Retrieved 2010-03-08.
  3. ↑ "SNECC [Scottish North Eastern Counties Constabularies]". Grampian Police. Retrieved 4 April 2011.
  4. ↑ STV News, 30 October 2012
  5. ↑ "Police and fire service merger 'would save £1.7bn'". stv.tv. 17 January 2012. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
  6. ↑ "Grampian Police Pipe Band". STV. 19 January 2009. Retrieved 4 April 2011.
  7. ↑ "Force Quarterly Performance Report, Quarter 1 – 2008/2009" (PDF). Grampian Joint Police Board. Retrieved 2010-05-06.
  8. ↑ "RACISM – Report it Now! poster & sticker campaign". GREC Graphics. Retrieved 2010-05-06.
  9. ↑ Leask, David (2010-04-28). "Aberdeen 'is worst city for racism'". The Scotsman. p. 15. Retrieved 2010-05-06.
  10. ↑ "Beach head police find body parts". BBC News. 5 April 2008. Retrieved 4 April 2011.
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