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

Policing Budget

This page tells you about the budget allocated to policing in Scotland.

The Scottish Government has provided a financial allocation of £1.6 billion to the Scottish Police Authority for policing in 2025-26.

2025-26 Budget

The total budget for policing in 2025-26 is £1.6 billion. This is made up of:

£1,480.6 million revenue funding, including national insurance and additional reform/ modernisation funding
£20.3m reform funding
£70m capital funding

Find out more about 2025/26 Policing Budget

Budget Monitoring

Once a budget is set for policing, the Authority's Resources Committee and Board monitor spend against its quarterly reporting from Police Scotland throughout the year. This allows the Authority to identify and mitigate any over or underspend, and ensure effective and efficient use of the budget.

Find out more about Budget Monitoring

Annual Report and Accounts

The Authority is responsible for establishing effective arrangements for governance that enables the successful delivery of policing objectives. Our accounts are independently audited annually to ensure the proper financial stewardship of the policing budget.

Find out more about Annual Report and Accounts

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Policing Budget

2025-26 Budget

Budget Monitoring

Annual Report and Accounts