This article represents the first serious attempt to compare Scottish policing with other British municipal police and improvement models between 1800 and 1835.
It is concerned with assessing whether the Scottish experience was distinct from other parts of the United Kingdom and the implications of this for British police historiography and typology. It argues that the Scottish model was much closer to English experience than has hitherto been contended, but which, nonetheless, had distinguishing characteristics tailored to meet specific indigenous needs, customs and practices. Any attempt to construct a British police typology must move beyond the institutional confines of accountability and organization and take account of legal, cultural and intellectual structures and influences. References (Published Abstract)