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: 18 December 2024

Recorded Crime and Official Statistics Accreditation in the UK – Public Briefing

Category: Corporate Document

Topic: Evidence Performance

Commitee: Policing Performance Committee

DOC 20241213 Recorded Crime And Accredited Statistics Public Briefing V2.0 (pdf, .24MB )

Report Summary

A public briefing on Recorded Crime and Official Statistics Accreditation in the UK, published November 2024.

Note: This public briefing was updated in December 2024 following a meeting with OSR to reflect their latest accreditations and add additional detail relating to Northern Ireland.

Summary

This briefing outlines what is meant by official statistics in the UK. It provides details of the different levels available and how this relates to crime figures in Scotland, England and Wales, and Northern Ireland.

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Quarterly Policing Performance Report – Quarter 1 2024-25 - 18 September 2024

Published: 02 October 2024

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Recorded Crime and Official Statistics Accreditation in the UK – Public Briefing

Report Summary

Summary

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Quarterly Policing Performance Report – Quarter 1 2024-25 - 18 September 2024