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

Published: 27 June 2022

SPA Chair at Scottish International Policing Conference

Topic: Policy Research

SPA Chair, Martyn Evans will be participating in the Scottish International Policing Conference at the National Museum of Scotland on 23rd and 24th May 2022.

Organised by the Scottish Institute of Policing Research, the theme for the 2022 conference will be: ‘Contemporary Policing Demand: Enhancing Capacity, Capability, and Resilience’.

This will be the 10th SIPR conference and a celebration of the 15th anniversary of the establishment of SIPR. It will also be the 50th year of the James Smart Memorial Lectures.

Full details are available on the SIPR website.

Article initially published 11 May 2022

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SPA Chair at Scottish International Policing Conference