Cookies
Use of Cookies
Cookies are used on this website to improve user experience and for essential functionality; they are not used for identification purposes.
A 'Cookie' is a small file that websites use to assist the web visitor (you) to navigate the site and access its various features. They also provide high level statistics to assist in improving the website experience.
The cookies used on this site do not store or access any information that could be used to identify you personally but are necessary to use the site to its full potential.
How do cookies work?
When you visit a website, cookies are placed on your user device. The cookies store information and send them back to the site you have visited. The cookies can be used to provide a profile of the places you visit on a website such as, what pages you visit and how long you spend on them. A website may use this information to tailor the pages that you see when you visit the site in future.
How to refuse the use of cookies
You may refuse the use of cookies by selecting the appropriate settings on your browser, however please note that if you do this you may not be able to use the full functionality of the website. By using this website, you consent to the processing of data about you in the manner and for the purposes set out above.
For further information on what cookies are and how to refuse them, you can visit the following website www.allaboutcookies.org
Do websites need permission to use cookies?
Yes. The regulations which set our the rules on cookies changed on 26 May 2011. From that date, websites must now get your consent to use cookies. This means that cookies are not permitted unless you agree to them.
Why does Police Scotland use cookies?
Police Scotland want to provide you with the best possible website experience. We use analytics to gather information about how visitors use our website to help us improve its performance and to ensure that the pages you use are delivered quickly by remembering the areas you like to visit. We also need to use cookies to enable the use of third-party providers such as YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.
What cookies does the Police Scotland website use?
The cookies used on this site are detailed below.
Police Scotland Cookies
These are cookies that we specifically set. This cookie has no personal identifiable content.
Third Party Cookies
This website also makes use of services provided by third parties. Below is a brief overview of these parties and links to further reading on how each uses cookies.
Google Analytics
We use Google Analytics to collect information on how visitors use our site. This allows us to improve our site for your benefit.
Information collected by Google Analytics could be sent outwith the EU to the US for storage and processing. Find out more about data transfer here.
No personal data is sent on behalf of Police Scotland. IP addresses are removed from the data set. Find out more about IP addresses here.
If you are a Google customer (for example, have a Gmail or YouTube account), Google Analytics can collect demographic information you supply to Google (age and gender).
Demographic information allows Police Scotland to improve our content by understanding the audience. Police Scotland cannot access your individual details - all data is merged and anonymised.
You can get further information on the cookies used by Google Analytics from their Data Collection page.
To disable analytics cookies visit our cookie setting page.
We display content from our various Twitter accounts on our site. If you are not logged into Twitter a guest cookie will be set. If you are logged into Twitter our site will recognise you. These are the standard Twitter cookies set by Twitter.
You can get further information on the cookies used by Twitter from their "Twitter Privacy Policy" page.
Video
We embed YouTube and Vimeo video on this site, please see the YouTube privacy information and Vimeo privacy information for more details.
