Introduction

This Corporate Strategy sets out the role and responsibilities of the Scottish Police Authority (the Authority), the five outcomes we seek to achieve and the high-level activities designed to achieve them. It aligns to the Scottish Government’s Strategic Police Priorities, and should be read alongside the Strategic Police Plan and the Forensic Services Strategy, which relate to the delivery of the police and forensic services that the Authority is responsible for.

This Corporate Strategy is underpinned by a more detailed Implementation Plan for the period.

The Authority plays a key role in the policing system, together with Police Scotland, His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland and the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner. These bodies are part of the criminal justice system and wider public sector landscape, for example each local authority is empowered to specify the measures and priorities to be included in local plans and to approve, and oversee delivery of, the Local Police Plan for their area.

The Authority sets out strategy, scrutinises and reports on performance, supports continuous improvement activity, and listens to and takes into account what people are saying about policing in Scotland. The Chief Constable of Police Scotland is accountable to the Authority. The Authority is the legal employer of all civilian staff, and also plays a key negotiating role in relation to police officer pay, regulations and pension matters.

The Authority draws on a range of evidence and on independent, expert opinion from a number of organisations to support its oversight of policing.