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

Published: 10 August 2022

ICVS Annual Report 2021-22

Topic: Performance

The SPA's Independent Custody Visiting team have published their Annual Report detailing the work of their independent volunteers across Scotland during 2021-22.

SPA ICVS Annual Report 2021-22

This 2021-22 Annual Report highlights the activities, insights and independent assurance provided by the ICV scheme, which is delivered by 102 volunteers (Independent Custody Visitors – ICVs) who are supported by a small team of Authority Corporate staff.

Importantly, this report highlights that during 2021-22, ICVs did not identify any issues or breaches of those United Nations standards for upholding human rights.

Article initially published 12 August 2022

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ICVS Annual Report 2021-22