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: 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.

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Terms of Reference - Joint Research and Evidence Forum

Report Summary

Related Publications

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

Wick - June 2023 – Community Confidence Survey Key Findings