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: 07 October 2022

FOI 2022-007 - Approval and monitoring of overseas projects and training

Category: FOI

Topic: Policy

Keywords : international deployment oversight

LET 20220211 FOI Response 2021 007 For Web (pdf, .39MB )

Report Summary

This FOI response outlines the SPA's role in the approval and monitoring of non-operational international development activity undertaken by Police Scotland.

Related Publications

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

SPA and Forensic Services Best Value Update - 6 February 2025

Published: 05 February 2025

Policy

View Publication

Police Scotland Best Value Update - 6 February 2025

Published: 05 February 2025

Policy

View Publication

Police Scotland Corporate Parenting Plan 2024-2027 - 10 December 2024

Published: 16 December 2024

Policy

View Publication

SPA Annual Governance Review - 28 November 2024

Published: 27 November 2024

Policy

View Publication

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FOI 2022-007 - Approval and monitoring of overseas projects and training

Report Summary

Related Publications

SPA and Forensic Services Best Value Update - 6 February 2025

Police Scotland Best Value Update - 6 February 2025

Police Scotland Corporate Parenting Plan 2024-2027 - 10 December 2024

SPA Annual Governance Review - 28 November 2024