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

Publication Library

The Authority is committed to conducting its activity in an open and transparent manner, and in a way that builds trust and confidence in policing.

In this section we aim to make as much of our information as possible available, accessible and searchable. Our publication scheme summarises all of the information we publish. This aims to improve public access to the information we hold and encouraging public awareness of, and participation in, the decisions we make.

Where possible we provide a suitable HTML alternative and / or make documents accessible. Please contact us if you would like to request a corporate publication in an alternative format.

Published: 29 May 2025

Publication Policing Performance Committee

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Scottish Police Authority Corporate Competency and Values Framework

Published: 08 April 2025

Publication

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Committee Effectiveness - 11 March 2025

Published: 06 March 2025

Publication Legal Committee

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Publication Library

Terms of Reference - Exceptional Circumstances Committee

Terms of Reference - Audit Risk & Assurance Committee

Terms of Reference - Policing Performance Committee

Terms of Reference - Forensic Services Committee

Terms of Reference - Complaints and Conduct Committee

Terms of Reference - People Committee

Terms of Reference - Resources Committee

Terms of Reference - Legal

SPA Corporate Governance Framework

Policing in Scotland - February 2025

Scottish Police Authority Corporate Competency and Values Framework

Committee Effectiveness - 11 March 2025