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: 24 March 2023

Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 - Annual Reporting

Keywords : public body duty

DOC 20220331 Islands Act SPA Annual Reporting Template 2022 V5 (pdf, .14MB )

Report Summary

This report describes how the Authority has had regard to island communities in carrying out its functions over the period December 2020 - March 2022.

Section 2

Please provide a list of policies, strategies or services for which your organisation has completed a Section 10 assessment Island Communities Impact Assessment.

None for this reporting period.

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Related Publications

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

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FOI 2025/26-063 - Complaints received by the Authority where Police Scotland is the responsible authority

Published: 15 September 2025

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FOI 2025/26-059 - Oversight of enforcement infrastructure, private session transparency and legal status of the Authority

Published: 15 September 2025

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FOI 2025/26-062 - Misconduct hearings chaired by named officer resulting in Police Appeals Tribunals

Published: 12 September 2025

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FOI 2025/26-050 - Donald Trump's visit to Scotland in July 2025

Published: 09 September 2025

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Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 - Annual Reporting

Report Summary

Section 2

Related Publications

FOI 2025/26-063 - Complaints received by the Authority where Police Scotland is the responsible authority

FOI 2025/26-059 - Oversight of enforcement infrastructure, private session transparency and legal status of the Authority

FOI 2025/26-062 - Misconduct hearings chaired by named officer resulting in Police Appeals Tribunals

FOI 2025/26-050 - Donald Trump's visit to Scotland in July 2025