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: 31 August 2022

Evidence to Justice Sub Committee on drones and body worn video

Topic: Technology Evidence

The SPA joined Police Scotland to give evidence to the Justice Sub Committee today (18 January) as the committee considered Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS - more commonly known as drones) and body worn video (BWV).

You can watch a recording of the session on Parliament TV.

Barry Sillers, Deputy Chief Executive (Strategy and Performance) of the SPA and Assistant Chief Constable Mark Williams, Operational Support, and Chief Superintendent Mathew Richards, Digitally Enabled Policing Project of Police Scotland answered questions from the committee covering issues related to the human rights and privacy implications of RPAS and BWV as well as issues as governance, oversight, procurement and financing of new and emerging technologies.

You can read the SPA's submission to the committee and all other submissions on the Parliament website.

Article initially published 18 January 2021.

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Evidence to Justice Sub Committee on drones and body worn video