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: 14 December 2023

Advisor Analysis: Vision for Justice in Scotland: Three Year Delivery Plan 2023/24 to 2025/26

DOC 20231115 Justice Monthly Digest December V0 (pdf, .23MB )

Report Summary

This item highlights the Three Year Delivery Plan and accompanying Measurement Framework to deliver the Vision for Justice in Scotland.

Previous Oversight by the Authority

In November 2022, the Authority and PS hosted a roundtable event to discuss how we can work together to reduce the number of children under 18 who are held in police custody cells as the only available place of safety.
In April 2023, the Authority convened a conference on mental health and trauma in policing.
At PPC September 2023, requests were made of Police Scotland by the Authority regarding enhanced reporting and insights around variation, prioritisation and resource allocation.

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Related Publications

The documents below are related by Topic and are the most recently published

Mental Health and Policing - A Public Briefing

Published: 19 September 2023

Policy Evidence

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Children in Custody - Public Briefing - April 2023

Published: 18 April 2023

Policy Evidence

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