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

Police Appeals Tribunals - Public Access Protocol

Published: 12 March 2025

Publication

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Legal Services Claims Handling - Quarterly Statistical Information Report - Trends & Analysis in litigation - 11 March 2025

Published: 06 March 2025

Publication Legal Committee

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HMICS Assurance Review of Forensic Toxicology Provision – Improvement Plan and timeline - 3 February 2025

Published: 29 January 2025

Publication Forensics Services Committee

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Terms of Reference - Audit Risk & Assurance Committee

Published: 09 December 2024

Publication Audit Risk and Assurance Committee

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Terms of Reference - Legal

Published: 09 December 2024

Publication Legal Committee

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FOI 2024/25-073 - Steps taken in relation to English Court of Appeal judgement Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police v Kelly [2021] EWCA Civ 1699

Published: 01 November 2024

Publication

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HMICS Assurance Review of Forensic Toxicology Provision – Improvement Plan and Timeline - 28 October 2024

Published: 24 October 2024

Publication Forensics Services Committee

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Legal Services Claim Handling - Quarterly Statistical Information Report - Trends and Analysis in litigation - 1 August 2023

Published: 26 September 2024

Publication Legal Committee

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Legal Services Claims Handling – Quarterly Statistical Information Report – Trends and Analysis in Litigation - 21 November 2023

Published: 23 September 2024

Publication Legal Committee

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HMICS Assurance Review of Forensic Toxicology Provision – Improvement Plan and timeline - 7 May 2024

Published: 19 September 2024

Publication Forensics Services Committee

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HMICS Assurance Review of Forensic Toxicology Provision – Improvement Plan and timeline - 5 February 2024

Published: 19 September 2024

Publication Forensics Services Committee

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Legal Services Claims Handling - Quarterly Statistical Information Report - Trends & Analysis in litigation - 14 May 2024

Published: 19 September 2024

Publication Legal Committee

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Publication Library

Police Appeals Tribunals - Public Access Protocol

Legal Services Claims Handling - Quarterly Statistical Information Report - Trends & Analysis in litigation - 11 March 2025

HMICS Assurance Review of Forensic Toxicology Provision – Improvement Plan and timeline - 3 February 2025

Terms of Reference - Audit Risk & Assurance Committee

Terms of Reference - Legal

FOI 2024/25-073 - Steps taken in relation to English Court of Appeal judgement Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police v Kelly [2021] EWCA Civ 1699

HMICS Assurance Review of Forensic Toxicology Provision – Improvement Plan and Timeline - 28 October 2024

Legal Services Claim Handling - Quarterly Statistical Information Report - Trends and Analysis in litigation - 1 August 2023

Legal Services Claims Handling – Quarterly Statistical Information Report – Trends and Analysis in Litigation - 21 November 2023

HMICS Assurance Review of Forensic Toxicology Provision – Improvement Plan and timeline - 7 May 2024

HMICS Assurance Review of Forensic Toxicology Provision – Improvement Plan and timeline - 5 February 2024

Legal Services Claims Handling - Quarterly Statistical Information Report - Trends & Analysis in litigation - 14 May 2024