A strategic review by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS), published on 11 June 2024, has praised the progress made by the Scottish Police Authority in providing oversight and scrutiny of policing in Scotland.

Martyn Evans, Chair of the Authority said:

“The Scottish Police Authority has a critical role to play maintaining, supporting, overseeing, and holding policing to account for the policing services delivered across the country. The insights and assurance offered by HMICS through its programme of review and inspection informs our work. I am pleased this latest review of the Authority recognises the significant achievement and substantial efforts to develop the Authority as a professional and strategic scrutiny body for policing in Scotland.

“I want to thank my fellow Board members and the Chief Executive for their vision, leadership and direction and recognise the efforts of the staff team who support the Board. Together they have delivered significant improvements over the last four years. The Authority has embraced continuous improvement in its own work and across policing delivery and I have no doubt that journey to drive improvement will continue in the years ahead.”

Lynn Brown, Chief Executive of the Authority added:

“The Scottish Police Authority embarked on a significant improvement journey in 2020 to strengthen its role and contribution across the policing system. I am very pleased that HMICS has recognised the progress that has been made to develop effective governance and scrutiny arrangements for policing. I want to pay tribute to my staff team who have delivered these improvements over the last 4-years. Of course, the drive toward even better performance remains our focus and HMICS highlights several areas for further development which will be taken forward through our programme of continuous improvement.”

The full HMICS review is available on the link below.