Chief Superintendent Gill Imery is the new territorial commander for A Division in Lothian and Borders Police and will be in charge of 1300 staff in Edinburgh.

The 44-year-old mother of two said: “I am immensely proud to be taking over as divisional commander in the city and the fact that no other woman has achieved the territorial command in the past makes that success all the more sweet.

“But I think it is a measure of how far the force has come and the police service in general.”

Concerns have been raised over females reaching high-level positions in Scotland, the so-called glass ceiling, and it was only two years ago when this country had its first female chief constable, Norma Graham at Fife Constabulary.

Ms Imery said: “I would like to see the time come where it isn’t an issue at all. If you are prepared to work and be passionate about what you do you can achieve anything and if my success inspires others then that is fantastic and I am really proud.”

Lothian and Borders Police also welcomed its new deputy chief constable, Steve Allen, a former commander of the City of Westminster, where he had responsibility for policing the heart of London, leading a team of over 2000 officers and staff.

The 46-year-old father of two rejected claims the Lothians force was too focused on political correctness. He said: “Crime is down by 6.5% – that is 3,500 people who have not become victims of crime. Detections for housebreaking is up by nearly 20% and the total value of drugs seized in one month at the end of last year was £750,000 compared to £180,000 the same time the previous year.

“The debate about political correctness is not a useful one, the (real) debate is about operational effectiveness.”