SCRAPPING Scotland's six sheriffdoms in favour of one centralised system could save money and improve justice procedures, a leading police body has claimed.
The Association of Scottish Police Superintendents (Asps) has called for the Scottish Government to consider the move as the country heads towards a single police service.
The organisation claims multiple sheriffdoms place constraints on the police and make it more difficult for officers to obtain warrants, report offenders and bring them to court before a sheriff.
It believes this then results in additional costs which could be avoided by having just one sheriffdom for the whole country.
Chief superintendent David O'Connor, president of Asps, said: "The single Police Service of Scotland will be up and running in April.
"It is time to look at opportunities in the wider criminal justice system to save money and improve services from an open, frank and practical viewpoint.
"It is time to ask if Scotland now needs a single sheriffdom to help deliver a better criminal justice system as a whole for the public."
The country's six existing sheriffdoms are: Glasgow and Strathkelvin; Grampian, Highlands and Islands; Lothian and Borders; North Strathclyde; South Strathclyde, Dumfries and Galloway; and Tayside, Central and Fife.
They are each headed up by a sheriff principal who is responsible for all sheriffs and sheriff courts within the sheriffdom.
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said there were no current plans to reduce the number of sheriffdoms in Scotland, but added there was agreement across the justice system that wider reform was needed.
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