From the Archives: Get an insight into police activities of yesteryear from records of the Northern Constabulary at the Highland Archive Centre
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The fascinating records of the Northern Constabulary are housed at the Highland Archive Centre.
The centre looks after these historic records on behalf of the police and makes them available to researchers in a public search room.
The Rogue Money (Scotland) Act of 1839 empowered counties in Scotland to set up police forces and provided finance for the setting up of county police forces by the commissioners of supply.
Then, in 1857, the Police (Scotland) Act stated that all counties that had not already done so were required to establish and maintain a police force, and established the post of chief constable.
County police forces were administered by a police committee which was made up of commissioners of supply, the lord lieutenant and the sheriff of the county. The powers and duties of the police committees were transferred to standing joint committees (composed of county councillors, commissioners of supply and the sheriff-principal) when the Local Government (Scotland) Act came into force in 1889.
The first police force to be established in the Highlands was the Inverness-shire Constabulary in 1840, followed by Inverness Burgh Police in 1847. Inverness-shire Constabulary and Inverness Burgh Police were merged in 1968 to form Inverness Constabulary. The constabulary was divided into divisions which included Inverness, Lochaber, Badenoch, Strathspey, Skye and Harris.
The Northern Constabulary Collection held at the Highland Archive Centre covers the whole of the Highlands with records dating from 1832. The collection relates to: Ross and Cromarty Constabulary (1854-1974); Sutherland County Constabulary (1858-1976); Ross and Sutherland Constabulary (1963-1984); Inverness-shire Constabulary (1832-1977); Nairnshire Constabulary (1963-1976); as well as the Northern Constabulary (1971-1989).
These records include Chief Constable’s letter books, station logs and daily occurrence books, charge books, personnel records, police station maintenance files and many others.
Some of the most interesting items to read are the daily occurrence books, written by the Sergeant in charge of a particular station. Each entry is a summary of what happened during his shift, including where he went on his rounds, any visitors to the station, how many miles he travelled and how many hours he was on duty. They also contain detailed descriptions of any crimes committed and how they were handled.
Some extracts from the daily occurrence book of PS Ross stationed at Beauly read as follows:
• Sunday, February 14, 1926: Patrolled about the village generally till 5pm.
• Night Duty: Attended Divine Service; afterwards patrolled in the village generally till 1am.
• Monday, February 15, 1926: Proceeded to Belladrum with regard to complaint by Finlay McCuish against his stepson for the using of threatening language.
Please note there is a 75-year closure period on the records of the Northern Constabulary.
• Highland Archive Centre is open by appointment only. Bookings can be made for Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. To make a booking or to enquire about remote archive or family history research email archives@highlifehighland.com or call 01349 781130 or visit here.
