The Act - Overview
3.The purpose of the Act is to create a single police service and a single fire and rescue service. The Act sets out the governance arrangements and framework for the new services. In addition, it provides:
	a modern purpose for the police service and updated oath for constables. For fire, the Scottish Government intends that a new purpose will be included in a new fire and rescue framework;
	a statutory framework for the delivery of police and fire and rescue services and appropriate scrutiny and oversight arrangements; and
	arrangements for the transfer of existing officers and staff to both services.
4.The Act also places the arrangements for independent custody visiting in Scotland on a statutory footing. It ensures that independent custody visiting in Scotland complies with the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture.
5.To facilitate the establishment of single services the Act abolishes the existing unitary police and fire authorities (Fife and Dumfries and Galloway) and the 6 joint police and joint fire and rescue boards which are established by amalgamation schemes made under the provisions of the Police (Scotland) Act 1967 and the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 by bringing together a number of local authorities (who are individual police and fire and rescue authorities under the enabling legislation) to form joint boards.
6.The Act is in 3 parts. Part 1 deals with police, and has 17 Chapters and 100 sections. Part 2 deals with fire and rescue, and has 23 sections and Part 3 deals with general provisions with 7 sections. The Act also includes 8 schedules setting out the detailed arrangements in relation to a number of areas covered by the Act.