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)
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
D
One area of work the police are involved in is Community Policing.
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,