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

Budget Monitoring

This page tells you how the Scottish Police Authority monitors spend against the budget throughout the year.

Detailed scrutiny is led by the Authority's Resources Committee through quarterly reporting. The full Authority also receives quarterly summary reports.

More information is available in the 'Related Content' below.

SPA Budget 2023/2024

Published: 27 April 2023

View Page

SPA Annual Report and Accounts 2021-22

Published: 17 November 2022

View Page

Resources Committee

Published: 09 December 2024

View Page

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Budget Monitoring

Related Content

SPA Budget 2023/2024

SPA Annual Report and Accounts 2021-22

Resources Committee