Police staff records

Police staff records take several different forms. Early 19th century records are often quite rudimentary registers of appointments and discharges. Some staff records have titles that do not appear at first glance to be personnel records, such as ‘register and defaulter book’, which refers to the fact that disciplinary issues are recorded in the volume along with records of service and promotion. Many forces kept separate registers of complaints against constables and registers of pensions awarded or fines and disciplinary action. By the late 19th century most forces kept more detailed personnel registers, which sometimes go under the name of ‘personal record book’. These record details of the careers of policemen and, from around the time of the First World War, policewomen. Where these survive, they are an exceptionally good form of staff record on several counts. Firstly, it is rare to find staff registers for any public or private body dating back as far as some police registers. Secondly, from the mid-19th century they typically contain a great deal of personal information about each policeman, including the name; age at joining; former occupation; marital status and number of children; domestic address; place of birth (and sometimes date of birth); date of appointment and subsequent dates of promotions and demotions; and salary levels of individual police officers. Some forces kept detailed records of the personal appearance of officers in their register entry including details of height, hair colour, colour of complexion and eyes and any distinguishing marks. They may also contain brief details of conduct resulting in rewards or conduct resulting in fines, suspensions, etc. In the 1930s police forces began moving over to card or file systems and registers in book form began to be closed at this time. Police personnel records are subject to the provisions of the Data Protection Act 2018 and therefore you may find some registers that give personal data are closed to the public.

Personnel registers are the primary source of information on the careers of police personnel, and are therefore most used by police historians, genealogists (who know or suspect that their ancestors were in a Scottish police force) and those who have acquired the medal, badge, piece of equipment or some other artefact or a policeman or policewoman. However, police personnel registers have much greater potential than those investigating individual police officers. Because the policy of many forces was to recruit from outside the burgh or county served by the force the registers have also been used by social and economic historians, particularly as a source for the study of migration and emigration. In addition, many genealogists may not know that an ancestor was in the police service for a relatively short time, and, therefore where police personnel registers have been indexed, it can be worthwhile searching these indexes. Indexes to police registers are available at Glasgow City Archives for police forces which became part of Strathclyde Police, and at Stirling Council Archives for police forces which became part of Central Scotland Police.

Occasionally separate registers or lists survive for special constables, police reservists, policemen serving in the armed forces during wartime, and other categories of police personnel. Other forms of staff record include various types of lists or rolls of constables, pay books and pension records.