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

Published: 07 August 2024

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Pol 20240715 Privacy Notice For Contractors V2.0 (pdf, .15MB )

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The Scottish Police Authority (SPA) respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal data. This Privacy Notice will tell you how we use your personal data when you visit our website or contact us in any other way and will tell you about your privacy rights and how the law protects you.

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Joint Strategy for Policing 2023 - Policing for a safe, protected and resilient Scotland

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Privacy Notice for Contractors

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Related Publications

FOI 2024/25-059 - SPA Complaint Policy and Procedure

FOI 2024/25-057 - Percentage of calls police attend which are non criminal

FOI 2024/25-056 - Crime statistics

Joint Strategy for Policing 2023 - Policing for a safe, protected and resilient Scotland