THE Princess Royal yesterday laid the first wreath at a memorial for about 200 police officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty in Scotland.
The princess unveiled the memorial and laid a floral tribute in the garden at the Scottish Police College at Tulliallan.
Representatives of the Association of Chief Police Officers Scotland, the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents, the Police Federation and the Scottish Police College also laid wreaths.
The officers' memorial is inscribed with the words: ''We owe them a debt we can never repay. We will ensure they are never forgotten.''
During the ceremony the names of the 191 officers who have been killed at work since 1770 - which are engraved on the slabs - were read aloud.
Details of the circumstances surrounding each of the deaths will be kept in a memorial book housed near the monument in Tulliallan Castle.
In a short address, the princess paid tribute to those who had lost their lives.
She said: ''Today is significant for the police service in Scotland and for the members of their families, and sees the culmination of the efforts of the founding members of the memorial trust to build a Scottish national memorial to those officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty.
''Tulliallan Castle is an ideal backdrop for the memorial. The inscription on the memorial is a fitting one.''
Cathy Jamieson, justice minister, said that the memorial, towards which the Scottish Executive contributed (pounds) 15,000, should also be regarded as a tribute to the families of those who had died, and who ''continue to pay the price in terms of loss''.
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