Request

Your request for information dated 12 April 2026 is copied below.

I write to request information relating to the legal basis upon which policing legislation, and associated authority, came to apply in Shetland.

In particular, I request disclosure of any records held which evidence the extension or application of the Police (Scotland) Act 1857 to Orkney and Shetland, having regard to Section LXXVI of that Act, which provides that it shall not extend to those areas unless so directed by Order in Council.

Specifically, please provide:

1. Any Order in Council extending the Police (Scotland) Act 1857 to Orkney and/or Shetland.

2. Any application, petition, or submission made by:

1.the Lord Advocate,

2. the Sheriff Principal, or

3. the Commissioners of Supply of Orkney or Shetland seeking such an extension.

3. Any Scottish Office, Home Office, Privy Council, or other governmental records evidencing:

1. consideration of the extension of the Act to Orkney and Shetland, and/or

2. the legal mechanism by which the Act came to be treated as applying in those areas.

4. Any minutes, approvals, or formal decisions by the Secretary of State for Scotland (or predecessor office) relating to:

1. the adoption or application of policing legislation in Shetland, including any amalgamation scheme involving Zetland Constabulary derived trom 1t, 1s considered to apply in Shetland.

6. If no such Order in Council or equivalent instrument is held, any records explaining:

1. the basis upon which it is asserted that the Act neve1theless applied.

For the avoidance of doubt, this request is concerned with documentary evidence of the legal mechanism of application, rather than general historical description.

If any part of this request is considered to fall under the Environmental Infonnation (Scotland) Regulations 2004, I request that it be handled accordingly.

If the information is not held, please confirm that fact explicitly.