One of my ancestors has this listed as his occupation. I have learned through another board that
"This occupation came about from the 19th century legislation, for example the "Burgh Police (Scotland) Act, 1892". This placed certain responsibilities on the Police Commisioners (or Police Board) in relation to matters which today would be dealt with by other agencies.
These responsibilities related to such issues as cleansing, sanitation, public health, etc., all of which would require the chief officer of police to employ what used to be called "civvies" - civilian employees. A former colleague informs me that this is now regarded as a derogatory term - the politically correct term is "support officers" ".
I thought I would put it here for the reference of others, but also to see if anyone can add anything to the information.
Nina
