As we near the 1st of April 2013, the date is set for all eight Scottish police forces to amalgamate into the Police Service of Scotland, Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary have planned a number of events with which to celebrate 65 years of policing across the region. Starting on Sunday 3rd March, with what has now become an annual event, the Police Sunday church service will be held at St Michaels Church in Dumfries at 11 am. This year a commemorative plaque will be unveiled at the church during the service. The service will be followed by a lunch at The Cairndale Hotel in Dumfries where those attending will be able to mark the forthcoming end of the force with a formal lunch. This is an open service and anyone wishing to attend the lunch afterwards should contact Jane Buckley at the Force Executive Office on 0845 600 5701. The annual Special Constabulary Weekend at the Scottish Police College at Tuliallan in Fife will take place over the weekend 8 – 10th March. This event brings together special constables in the force for a training weekend at the college. This year will be the final year that they will meet as members of Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary and will be marked with a formal dinner on the Saturday evening at which Mr Shearer the Chief Constable will attend. Two formal dinner dances have been arranged to mark the change. The first will be held on Saturday 16th March, at the North West Castle Hotel in Stranraer. The event will be attended by officers and staff, past and present, and tickets are still available for anyone who might want to attend. A similar dinner dance will be held in Dumfries, on Saturday 23rd March, at the Easterbrook Hall in Dumfries. Again, tickets are still available. Further details of both balls and how to obtain tickets can be had by phoning Jane Buckley in the Force Executive Office on 0845 600 5701. The Run Doonhame is a sponsored charity run by five Dumfries and Galloway Police officers which will start in Inverness on 26 March, travelling throughout Scotland and visiting all eight current police force HQs, ending at Police Headquarters in Dumfries on 29 March 2013. The event has its own Facebook page called The Run Doonhame where people can keep up to date with the challenge and has links for anyone who may wish to donate to the four charities, Care of Police Survivors (COPS), The Northern Police Convalescent and Treatments centre, Cash for Kids and Children in Need. A commemorative book has been commissioned and written by a number of retired members of the force and is currently at the printers. The book charts the history of the force over its 65 years since starting in 1948. Further details on this will be come available when the book is printed. Chief Constable Shearer said that, “as opposed to talking about the end of the force we wanted to celebrate 65 years of committed and dedicated service by all the officers and staff of Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary over the years. These are changing times and indeed this is the biggest change which the policing of our area will have faced in 65 years of existence.” “There is much to celebrate and indeed much to look forward to as we move into a new era of policing across Scotland in general and Dumfries and Galloway in particular.”
Kemii 