Dumfries and Galloway lieutenancy purposes, the historic counties are largely maintained with its three lieutenancy areas being Dumfries, Wigtown and the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright. To the north, Dumfries and Galloway borders East Ayrshire, South Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire; in the east the Borders; and to the south the county of Cumbria in England and the Solway Firth. To the west lies the Irish Sea. The Dumfries and Galloway Council region is composed of counties and their sub-areas. From east to west: The term 'Dumfries and Galloway' has been used since at latest the 19th century – by 1911 the three counties had a
Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary who took over from Robert Ovens QPM on 1 January 2006. Dumfries and Galloway is one of the safest areas in the UK because of its high rate of crime detection and convictions. The force's headquarters were located in Dumfries. An Act of the Scottish Parliament, the "Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012", created a single Police Service of Scotland - known as Police Scotland - on 1 April 2013. This merged the eight regional police forces in Scotland, together with the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency, into a single service covering the whole of Scotland. Police Scotland's