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: 22 November 2022

SPA Chair's Report

Keywords : children custody public confidence local authority engagement mental health recruitment

REP B 20221114 ITEM 3 CHAIR Board Report November 2022 V1.0FINAL (pdf, .43MB )

Report Summary

This report provides members of the Scottish Police Authority with an overview of the SPA Chair's Report in November 2022.

Meeting

The publication discussed was referenced in the meeting below

Green icons showing 7 inter-connected circles.

Meeting of the Scottish Police Authority - 24 November 2022

Date : 24 November 2022

Location : COSLA, Edinburgh

View Meeting

Local engagement - Edinburgh City

On Tuesday 1 November 2022 I had the opportunity to visit Chief Superintendent Sean Scott, Divisional Commander of Edinburgh City at St Leonards Police Station. We discussed policing workloads and staffing levels and the pressures on the division.

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