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.

Scottish Police Authority - Publication Scheme

Committee

Topic

FOI 2024/25-102 - Number of assaults against police officers and injury types - 2024

Published: 21 February 2025

Publication

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Your Safety Matters - 27 November 2024

Published: 04 February 2025

Publication People Committee

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Professional Boundaries - 31 May 2022

Published: 25 September 2024

Publication Complaints and Conduct Committee

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FOI 2023/24-075 - Cases of (alleged) sexual assault in pubs / nightclubs / bars in Renfrewshire

Published: 19 January 2024

Publication

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FOI 2023/24-044 - Police officers with convictions for assault / aggravated assault

Published: 06 November 2023

Publication

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Green icon representing 3 broken circles.

FOI 2023/24-029 - Sexual harassment and sexual assault reports in Inverness Central Ward 14 - Info not held by SPA

Published: 08 September 2023

Publication

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FOI 2023-007 - Officers accused of sexual assault/rape - Information not held by SPA

Published: 08 February 2023

Publication

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FOI 2022-075 - Reports of sexual assault - Information not held by SPA

Published: 21 October 2022

Publication

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FOI 2022-068 - Sexual assault incident statistics - South Glasgow University Hospital - Information not held by SPA

Published: 07 October 2022

Publication

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Health & Safety Lessons Learned (George Square) - 1 June 2022

Published: 07 September 2022

Publication People Committee

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Health & Safety Report - 1 June 2022

Published: 07 September 2022

Publication People Committee

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Health & Safety Report Q3 2021/22 - 28 February 2022

Published: 07 September 2022

Publication People Committee

View Publication

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Publication Library

FOI 2024/25-102 - Number of assaults against police officers and injury types - 2024

Your Safety Matters - 27 November 2024

Professional Boundaries - 31 May 2022

FOI 2023/24-075 - Cases of (alleged) sexual assault in pubs / nightclubs / bars in Renfrewshire

FOI 2023/24-044 - Police officers with convictions for assault / aggravated assault

FOI 2023/24-029 - Sexual harassment and sexual assault reports in Inverness Central Ward 14 - Info not held by SPA

FOI 2023-007 - Officers accused of sexual assault/rape - Information not held by SPA

FOI 2022-075 - Reports of sexual assault - Information not held by SPA

FOI 2022-068 - Sexual assault incident statistics - South Glasgow University Hospital - Information not held by SPA

Health & Safety Lessons Learned (George Square) - 1 June 2022

Health & Safety Report - 1 June 2022

Health & Safety Report Q3 2021/22 - 28 February 2022