Strathclyde Police was the territorial police force responsible for the

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

council areas For local government purposes, Scotland is divided into 32 areas designated as "council areas" (), which are all governed by single-tier authorities designated as "councils". They have the option under the Local Government (Gaelic Names) (Sc ...

Argyll and Bute Argyll and Bute (; , ) is one of 32 unitary authority, unitary council areas of Scotland, council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The current lord-lieutenant for Argyll and Bute is Jane Margaret MacLeod ...

, Glasgow City,

East Ayrshire East Ayrshire (; ) is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland. It shares borders with Dumfries and Galloway, East Renfrewshire, North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire. The headquarters of the council are located on London Roa ...

East Dunbartonshire East Dunbartonshire (; , ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders Glasgow City Council Area to the south, North Lanarkshire to the east, Stirling (council area), Stirling to the north, and West Dunbartonshire to the west. East ...

East Renfrewshire East Renfrewshire (; ) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It was formed in 1996, as a successor to the Eastwood (district), Eastwood district of the Strathclyde region. The northeastern part of the council area is close to Glasgow and ma ...

Inverclyde Inverclyde (, , , "mouth of the Clyde") is one of 32 council areas used for local government in Scotland. Together with the East Renfrewshire and Renfrewshire council areas, Inverclyde forms part of the historic county of Renfrewshire, which ...

North Ayrshire North Ayrshire (, ) is one of 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas in Scotland. The council area borders Inverclyde to the north, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire to the northeast, and East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire to the east and s ...

North Lanarkshire North Lanarkshire (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the north-east of the Glasgow City council area and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs, commuter towns, and villages. It also borders East Dunbartonshire, Falkirk (co ...

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Renfrewshire is located in the west central Lowlands. It borders East Renfrewshire, Glasgow, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire and West Dunbartonshire, and lies on the southern ba ...

South Ayrshire South Ayrshire (; , ) is one of thirty-two council areas of Scotland, covering the southern part of Ayrshire. It borders onto Dumfries and Galloway, East Ayrshire and North Ayrshire. South Ayrshire had an estimated population in 2021 of 112,45 ...

South Lanarkshire South Lanarkshire (; ) is one of 32 unitary authorities of Scotland. It borders the south-east of the Glasgow City council area and contains some of Greater Glasgow's suburban towns, as well as many rural towns and villages. It also shares bor ...

and

West Dunbartonshire West Dunbartonshire (; , ) is one of the 32 Local government in Scotland, local government council areas of Scotland. The area lies to the north-west of the Glasgow City council area and contains many of Glasgow's commuter towns and villages. ...

(The former

Strathclyde Strathclyde ( in Welsh language, Welsh; in Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic, meaning 'strath

alley An alley or alleyway is a narrow lane, footpath, path, or passageway, often reserved for pedestrians, which usually runs between, behind, or within buildings in towns and cities. It is also a rear access or service road (back lane), or a path, w ...

of the River Clyde') was one of nine former Local government in Scotland, local government Regions and districts of Scotland, regions of Scotland cre ...

local government region) between 1975 and 2013. The Police Authority contained members from each of these authorities. Strathclyde Police had the largest numbers of staff and served the largest population and the second largest area of the eight former Scottish police forces, after the

Northern Constabulary The Northern Constabulary () was the territorial police force responsible for Northern Scotland, covering the Highland council area along with the Western Isles, the Orkney Islands and the Shetland Islands, which make up most of the Highlands a ...

. An

Act of the Scottish Parliament An act of the Scottish Parliament () 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 successful 1997 Scottish devolution ref ...

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

Police Scotland Police Scotland (), 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 services of the Scottis ...

—with effect from 1 April 2013. This act merged the eight regional police forces in Scotland (including Strathclyde Police), together with the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency, into a single service covering the whole of Scotland. The force was portrayed in the television series ''

Taggart ''Taggart'' is a Scottish detective fiction television programme created by Glenn Chandler, who wrote many of the episodes, and made by STV Studios for the ITV network. It originally ran as the miniseries ''Killer'' from 6 until 20 Septe ...

''.

History

The force was created on 16 May 1975 as part of the restructuring of local government in Scotland. The police area matched the boundaries of the new Strathclyde Regional Council, which was broken up on 1 April 1996. It was formed from, either in whole or in part: *

City of Glasgow Police The City of Glasgow Police or Glasgow City Police was the police organisation covering the city and royal burgh of Glasgow, from 1800 to 1893, and the county of city of Glasgow, from 1893 to 1975. In the 17th century, Scottish cities used to ...

* Paisley Burgh Police * Lanarkshire Constabulary * Renfrew & Bute Constabulary * Dunbartonshire Constabulary * Argyll County Police * Ayrshire Constabulary * small portion of Stirling and Clackmannan Police

Organisation

The Force was commanded by a Chief Constable, who as of 2012 was supported by a Deputy Chief Constable (DCC) and 3 Assistant Chief Constables (ACC). From 23 October 2007 until abolition, the Force was organised into 8 Territorial Divisions (designated A,B,G,K,L,N,Q & U Divisions), a Headquarters Division (H), a Support Services Division (V) and a Road Policing Division (T). The Territorial Divisions were commanded by a Chief Superintendent supported by 2 Superintendents who held various portfolios. These Divisions were further sub-divided into a number of Sub Divisions, which may have been further split into areas commanded by an Area Commander (A.C.) of Chief Inspector rank. There were 33 Area Commands within the Force.

Territorial Divisions

*A Division – Glasgow Central and

West West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...

**Glasgow Central **Glasgow West **Drumchapel *B Division – Glasgow North East and

**Baird Street **London Road **Maryhill and Saracen **Shettleston, Easterhouse and Baillieston *G Division – Glasgow South and

**Cathcart **East Renfrewshire **Govan **New Gorbals **Pollok *K Division –

and

**Inverclyde **Johnstone and Renfrew **Paisley *L Division – Argyll, Bute and

**Argyll and Bute **Clydebank, Dumbarton and Helensburgh *N Division –

**Bellshill **Cumbernauld and Kilsyth **Monklands **Motherwell and Wishaw *Q Division –

**Clydesdale **East Kilbride and Strathaven **Hamilton **Rutherglen and Cambuslang *U Division –

Ayrshire Ayrshire (, ) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county, in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. The lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Ayrshire and Arran covers the entirety ...

**East Ayrshire **North Ayrshire **South Ayrshire In 2005, Strathclyde Police established its groundbreaking Violence Reduction Unit (VRU).Action on Violence:About Us http://www.actiononviolence.co.uk/aov/48.81.39.html The unit was set up to bring together communities and agencies to tackle the root causes of violence. The work of the VRU has now been extended throughout the whole of Scotland.

Uniform and Equipment

From the formation of Strathclyde Police in 1975, uniform was similar to the uniform previously used by the antecedent

, albeit with white shirts instead of blue shirts. This was an open-necked tunic and trousers, white shirt and black tie. The tunic was phased out by 1995 in favour of a blue woollen NATO-style pullover and utility belt which was introduced a few years earlier. Headgear consisted of a

peaked cap A peaked cap, peaked hat, service cap, barracks cover, or combination cap is a form of headgear worn by the armed forces of many nations, as well as many uniformed civilian organisations such as law enforcement agencies and fire departments. It d ...

for males or a round reinforced bowler style for females. Both types of hat featured

Sillitoe tartan Sillitoe tartan is a distinctive chequered pattern, usually black-and-white or blue-and-white, which was originally associated with the Police Scotland, police in Scotland. It later gained widespread use in the rest of the United Kingdom and ov ...

design and the standard Scottish Police cap badge in metal for Constables and Sergeants or embroidered for Inspectors and above. The caps of the Roads Policing Unit also had a white cover. Footwear was not prescribed except for those in a few specialist roles such as Public Order. Stab vests were introduced in the early 2000s and the NATO jumpers were changed to black around the same time. A trial uniform was trialed in K division in February 2002; a light blue shirt worn with or without a tie with body armour worn on top. Cargo trousers and fleeces were introduced at this time. This uniform proved unpopular and was changed again in 2003, replacing shirts and ties altogether with a black short sleeved

Under Armour Under Armour, Inc. is an American sportswear company that manufactures footwear and clothing, apparel headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. History 20th century Under Armour was founded on September 25, 1996, by Kevin Plank, a ...

-style 'wicking' T-shirt with 'POLICE' (or 'STRATHCLYDE POLICE' on early shirts) displayed in white on both sleeves. Headgear and epaulettes showing Divisional identifier number and rank insignia were unchanged from previous uniforms. Cargo trousers continued to be issued until 2008, after which trousers came without cargo pockets due to the introduction of new body armour with pockets. A stab vest was worn over the T-shirt top on all operational duties. The stab vests that were issued until 2008 looked like a sleeveless NATO jumper and were supplied by Highmark. New stab vests were issued from 2000 that featured blue and white chequered reflective bands across the front and back, force insignia sewn on the left breast, and a blue and white reflective (or occasionally black and white embroidered) 'POLICE' patch sewn onto the back. There were several attachments for handcuffs and other equipment. A black fleece with the Strathclyde Police logo was worn over body armour before November 2009, when they were replaced by microfleeces. There is also a fluorescent 'bomber style' jacket with similar reflective markings to the stab vests, which they were normally worn over. Also issued were black waterproof trousers and black (Constables and Sergeants) or brown (Inspectors and above) leather gloves. Personal equipment consisted of a

Police duty belt A police duty belt (sometimes referred to as a gun belt, "duty rig" and/or kit belt) is a Belt (clothing), belt, typically constructed of nylon or leather used by Police officer, police, Prison Officer , prison and Security guard, security offi ...

holding handcuffs ( Hiatts Speedcuffs or TCH-840 Rigid Handcuffs), a 21" Autolock baton with a Hindi cap (Mounted Unit officers were supplied with the longer 26" Autolock batons) and CS Spray. Also carried were a small first aid kit, torch, leg restraints, keys, utility pouch etc. Motorola MTH800 radio handsets, connected to the UK's Airwave TETRA radio network, were issued to officers when on duty. This style of uniform was later adopted by all police forces in Scotland, with slight insignia variations, and subsequently by

. The Strathclyde Police Air Support Unit operated Scotland's only

police helicopter Police aviation is the use of aircraft in police operations. Police services commonly use aircraft for traffic control, ground support, search and rescue, high-speed car pursuits, observation, air patrol and control of large-scale public events ...

; a Eurocopter EC 135T2+ (G-SPAO) based at the Glasgow City Heliport. This helicopter was painted in PSDB highly conspicuous colours of dark blue and yellow. The aircraft was supplied on a contract basis by Bond Air Services.

Headquarters

The Strathclyde Police Headquarters were located at Pitt Street in Blythswood Hill,

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

. The building was originally erected in 1934 as Glasgow and West of Scotland Commercial College, later the Scottish College of Commerce. In 1964 the Scottish College of Commerce combined with the Royal College of Science and Technology to form the

University of Strathclyde The University of Strathclyde () is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal charter in 1964 as the first techn ...

. There were plans in place before dissolution to relocate the HQ to Dalmarnock on the outskirts of Glasgow. The Pitt Street headquarters of Strathclyde Police were demolished in early 2019.

Chief Constables

* 1975–1977 : Sir David McNee (knighted in 1978 New Year Honours) * 1977–1985 : Sir Patrick Hamill * 1985–1991 : (Sir) Andrew Kirkpatrick Sloan (knighted 1991 New Year Honours) * 1991–1995 : (Sir) Leslie Sharpe (knighted 1996 New Year Honours) * 1996–2001 : (Sir) John Orr * 2001–2007 : (Sir) William Rae * 2007–2012 : (Sir) Stephen House * 2012–2013 : Campbell Corrigan

Achievements

Between 2009 and 2010, Strathclyde Police focussed their resources on certain strategic areas: ;Violence, Disorder and Antisocial Behaviour (including

Domestic abuse Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. In a broader sense, abuse including nonphysical abuse in such settings is called domestic abuse. The term "domestic violence" is often use ...

) Murder reduced by 26%, attempted murder reduced by 15% and 45,000 fixed penalty notices for disorder were issued. ;Serious and Organised Crime 134 members of serious organised crime groups were arrested, 82 firearms were recovered and £294,955 was seized from organised crime groups. ;Drugs 15,000 drug seizures of Class A and B drugs took place and 2,500 kg worth of drugs including amphetamines, cocaine and heroin were seized and destroyed. ;Terrorism The UK as a whole remains at a heightened state of alert with regards to terrorism following continuing threats from terrorist groups

Al-Qaida , image = Flag of Jihad.svg , caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions , founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden , leaders = {{Plainlist, * Osama bin Lad ...

, dissident IRA groups and domestic extremist groups. Strathclyde Police dealt with a terrorist incident in 2007 at Glasgow Airport which resulted in five members of the public being injured and the perpetrator himself dying later at hospital.

Strathclyde Police Pipe Band

Through replacing the City of Glasgow Police, Strathclyde Police inherited a competitive pipe band. This band drew on pipers and drummers from 5 other adjoining forces with existing pipe bands, and under the direction of Pipe Major Ian MacLellan BEM, became the most successful competing pipe band in history, having won 12

World Pipe Band Championships The World Pipe Band Championships is a pipe band competition held in Glasgow, Scotland. Overview The World Pipe Band Championships have been staged since 1947, although the Grade 1 Pipe Band Competition winners at the annual Cowal Highland Gat ...

in the premier grade. The band was notable for having senior leadership directly employed by the police force, with former pipe sergeant John Wilson having commanded a division of Strathcylde's police force not long after retiring from pipe band competition. Although Strathclyde Police was disbanded in 2013, the band still competed as the Glasgow Police Pipe Band until 2021.

References

{{UK home nations police forces Organisations based in Glasgow Defunct police forces of Scotland Strathclyde 1975 establishments in Scotland Government agencies established in 1975 2013 disestablishments in Scotland Government agencies disestablished in 2013