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 73 to 84 of 124 results

Recorded Crime in Scotland

Published: 18 April 2023

Performance

View Article

2022 Pay deal agreed for police officers in Scotland

Published: 18 April 2023

Budget Workforce

View Article

SPA Custody Review 2020-21 Published

Published: 07 February 2023

Evidence

View Article

Support for Police Scotland’s policing approach to COP26

Published: 07 February 2023

Research

View Article

Published: 07 February 2023

Workforce

View Article

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News

Recorded Crime in Scotland

2022 Pay deal agreed for police officers in Scotland

SPA Custody Review 2020-21 Published

Support for Police Scotland’s policing approach to COP26

Statement: Vic Emery

Senior Officer Recruitment Campaign Launched

Changes to custody visitor arrangements in response to COVID situation

2021 Pay deal agreed for all police staff in Scotland

SPA publishes 2020-21 Accounts

Appointment extensions for Police Scotland senior leaders

2021 Pay deal agreed for police officers in Scotland

Police workforce have "high levels of commitment to public service"