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: 10 January 2024

Terms of Reference - Joint Research and Evidence Forum

Category: Corporate Document

Topic: Evidence Research

Keywords : public confidence

TOR 20221102 Joint Research And Evidence Forum V2.0 (docx, .28MB )

Report Summary

This document outlines the terms of reference, purpose and scope of the Authority and Police Scotland's Joint Research and Evidence Forum.

Related Publications

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

Wick - December 2024 - Community Confidence Action Research Final Report

Published: 10 December 2024

Evidence Research

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Irvine Fullarton - February 2024 - Community Confidence Action Research Final Report

Published: 10 April 2024

Evidence Research

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Irvine Fullarton - December 2023 - Community Confidence Evaluation Findings

Published: 08 February 2024

Evidence Research

View Publication

Levenmouth - February 2024 - Community Confidence Evaluation Findings

Published: 02 February 2024

Evidence Research

View Publication

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Terms of Reference - Joint Research and Evidence Forum

Report Summary

Related Publications

Wick - December 2024 - Community Confidence Action Research Final Report

Irvine Fullarton - February 2024 - Community Confidence Action Research Final Report

Irvine Fullarton - December 2023 - Community Confidence Evaluation Findings

Levenmouth - February 2024 - Community Confidence Evaluation Findings