The suggestion of amalgamation of all Scottish forces is seen primarily as a cost saving exercise. It will mean reducing the number of high ranking officers on big wages, i.e. Chief Constables, Deputy Chief Constables and Assistant Chief Constables. A further knock-on effect already practised in Lothian & Borders, was to have one Chief Superintendent in charge of 3 county Divisions, this is currently the case with Midlothian & East Lothian, West Lothian and the Borders.
If, and it is a huge if, we see one Scottish force, there will be regional commanders, lots of them. It has already been suggested that because of this the cost saving exercise of making one force would be negated. There may well be a saving but would it be worth it? One area of real cost savings would be in shared services. For example specialised units like marine, diving, air support and so on. They are needed, but very seldom, therefore does every force require them or could they be centralised?
As far as unique departments go, like firearms enquiry departments, I would be very surprised if they were not left as is. Because of the nature of their job which as we know includes home visits and land suitability checks, and bare in mind they are a daily requirement, then unlike the aforementioned units, centralising them would be very difficult. Travelling costs alone would make that totally impracticable and massively time consuming.
And finally, you should all have a look at your certificates and see exactly who signed them. As already pointed out it will be a pp signature from an Inspector or a Chief Inspector on behalf of the Chief Constable.
I meant to add that the time scales in this venture would be huge, given the ensuing bun-fight as to who does what and goes where! Consider the budget forces get and how they are at the mercy of police boards that are made up with councillors sitting in specific regional wards. The organisational impact is mind blowing and not something that would happen overnight. It could be years before implemented, if at all.