The Role of the Police Revision

The work of the police in Scotland, involves a variety of roles and duties Describe, in detail, the work of the police in Scotland (6 marks) (6 marks)

In pairs see if you can come up with a definition of what it is the police do? Maintain law and order. Protect members of the public and their property. Prevent, detect and investigate crime.

In order to do this the Police carry out a variety of different duties Can you think about the different type of duties a police officer would be involved in?

Police Officers can  Provide a high profile presence to the community they work.  Provide the initial response to incidents.  Search person(s), premises and vehicles.  Attend calls;  Interview suspects, victims and witnesses;  Take statements;  Preparing reports for the Procurator Fiscal;  Make enquiries into crimes and offences;  Gather and use intelligence;  Make arrests;  Preserve crime scenes  Present evidence in court.

Prevent, detect, protect  Give two ways in which the police can:  Prevent + Protect  Detect crime

Prevent, detect, protect  Prevent + protect  Visit schools and give talks on drugs, knives etc  Presence on the streets, roads  Help in setting up neighbourhood watch schemes  Stop and searches  Detect  Carry out investigations to gather evidence  Interview witnesses  Gathering intelligence on terrorists. Football hooligans etc

The police can be split in to 4 general areas  Uniformed  CID  Traffic  Specialist Departments

Criminal Investigation Dept. (CID)  They are responsible for investigating serious crimes like  Murders and attempted murder  Serious assaults  Rape  The CID have many departments within it, like Child Protection, Domestic Violence and Gangs Unit.

Traffic Department (Road Policing)  Speeding.  Attend serious/fatal road crashes.  Assist CID in dealing with Serious and Organised Crime Groups.  Vehicle pursuits.  Vehicle examinations (Road safety)  Drunk drivers & Drugs  Dangerous drivers  Escort duties (Wide loads).  Traffic Management/Education.

Specialist Departments  Support Services – this department have responsibility for  Public Order Officers  Dog Branch  Underwater Units  Tactical Firearms Unit.  Specialist Search Advisors/Teams  Helicopter  Armed Response Unit  Mounted Branch

P One area of work the police are involved in is Community Policing. D This is officers who work regularly in an area patrolling it either on foot patrol or mobile, this means that they get to know all the members of the community and can help to reassure them. E For example a community police officer could patrol regular crime hotspots to provide a greater police presence and so deter criminal activity.

Another area of work the police are involved in is in Road Traffic Policing. This involves officers who are responsible for ensuring that motorists comply with road traffic law as well as attending and investigating serious road crashes. They also provide traffic control. For example,