Who We Are

The Scottish Police Authority is independent of both the Scottish Government and policing. It is the primary governance body for policing in Scotland, and was established as a public body on 1 April 2013 by the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012. It was set up to hold the Chief Constable to account; promote, support and oversee improvement in policing. It is also responsible for the management and delivery of Forensic Services in Scotland and Independent Custody Visiting Scotland.

In this section, find out more about the Authority’s priorities, the Board and the Leadership team.

Who We Are

What We Do

The Scottish Police Authority is responsible for maintaining policing. It has four specific areas of responsibility:

promoting the policing principles

supporting continuous improvement

keeping policing under review

holding the Chief Constable to account.

This section tells you in outline what the Authority does.

What We Do

Complaints

Are you dissatisfied with the service you have received from policing in Scotland?

The Scottish Police Authority, Police Scotland and the Police Investigations and Reviews Commissioner (PIRC) all have a role to play in considering complaints about policing in Scotland.

In this section, find out who to direct your complaint to. We also welcome written communication in Gaelic (see our Gaelic Language Plan).

Complaints

News

The Scottish Police Authority communicates regularly about our role, activities and oversight of policing in Scotland.

You can find all our latest news articles listed in date order. You can also search these by topic or year.

Showing 1 to 12 of 17 results

Public Briefing: Supporting Victims

Published: 03 September 2025

Performance Policy

View Article

New Equality Outcomes set for policing

Published: 30 April 2025

Performance Workforce Policy

View Article

PEEL Practice Compendium – February 2025 Update

Published: 19 February 2025

Policy Performance Evidence

View Article

Authority backs vision and plan for policing

Published: 26 September 2024

Workforce Performance

View Article

Authority Praised for Progress

Published: 11 June 2024

Performance

View Article

Hate Crime Data Publication - 5 May 2024

Published: 07 May 2024

Performance

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Hate Crime Data Publication - 28 April 2024

Published: 01 May 2024

Performance

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Hate Crime Data Publication - 23 April 2024

Published: 24 April 2024

Performance

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Hate Crime Data Publication – 16 April 2024

Published: 23 April 2024

Performance

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Gold award for custody visiting

Published: 29 November 2023

Performance

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Joint Biometrics Assurance Reviews

Published: 18 April 2023

Performance

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Recorded Crime in Scotland

Published: 18 April 2023

Performance

View Article

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News

Public Briefing: Supporting Victims

New Equality Outcomes set for policing

PEEL Practice Compendium – February 2025 Update

Authority backs vision and plan for policing

Authority Praised for Progress

Hate Crime Data Publication - 5 May 2024

Hate Crime Data Publication - 28 April 2024

Hate Crime Data Publication - 23 April 2024

Hate Crime Data Publication – 16 April 2024

Gold award for custody visiting

Joint Biometrics Assurance Reviews

Recorded Crime in Scotland