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 97 to 108 of 109 results

Latest factsheet on public confidence polling

Published: 18 April 2023

Evidence

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Drug driving demand exceeds forensic analysis capacity

Published: 18 April 2023

Forensic Services

View Article

Have you heard about Corporate Parenting?

Published: 18 April 2023

Policy

View Article

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Police Reform: Learnings in Scotland

Published: 18 April 2023

Policy

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Strategic review of policing in England and Wales

Published: 18 April 2023

Policy

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New ACCs sworn in at Police Scotland

Published: 18 April 2023

Workforce

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High public trust in Scottish policing

Published: 18 April 2023

Evidence

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Scots optimistic about new technologies despite concerns

Published: 18 April 2023

Technology

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Three new ACCs to join Police Scotland

Published: 18 April 2023

Workforce

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Independent Custody Visiting Scotland Covid 19 update

Published: 18 April 2023

Workforce Evidence

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SPA Chair at Scottish International Policing Conference

Published: 18 April 2023

Policy Research

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ICVS National Conference 2022

Published: 18 April 2023

Workforce

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News

Latest factsheet on public confidence polling

Drug driving demand exceeds forensic analysis capacity

Have you heard about Corporate Parenting?

Police Reform: Learnings in Scotland

Strategic review of policing in England and Wales

New ACCs sworn in at Police Scotland

High public trust in Scottish policing

Scots optimistic about new technologies despite concerns

Three new ACCs to join Police Scotland

Independent Custody Visiting Scotland Covid 19 update

SPA Chair at Scottish International Policing Conference

ICVS National Conference 2022