THE policing crisis in Grampian and the public dog-fight which ensued has resulted in the creation of a new policy forum.
Scottish police chiefs will meet Ministers, senior civil servants, and local government leaders to hammer out common ground. The object will be to avoid any repeat of the events.
The move came as Henry McLeish, Home Affairs Minister, met the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland at their annual conference.
The forum will be held six monthly and will shape the future of policing, running in parallel with the Scottish Parliament while not usurping its final say.
In the immediate aftermath of the Grampian affair, Mr McLeish and Mr Donald Dewar, the Scottish Secretary, questioned whether the current eight forces was the optimum number for efficient policing and value for money.
There was also a feeling that the three-way agreement between local government, central government, and the chief constables, upon which consensual policing is currently built, had got out of kilter.
q The next Chief Inspector of Constabulary for Scotland is to be Mr William Taylor, 51, a Perthshire Scot whose police career has been in England.
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