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

How We Work

Forensic Services deliver world-leading, high-quality and value-for-money forensic services to meet the needs of our criminal justice partners.

Quality

The majority of the work of Forensic Services has been accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) for more than 20 years.

Forensic Services is committed to: delivering an impartial forensic service in keeping with good professional practice; continually developing the range, quality and cost-effectiveness of these services to meet customer requirements

Find out more about UKAS Accreditation

Biometrics Code of Practice

All scientists and staff at Forensic Services are required to comply with the Scottish Biometrics Commissioner’s Code of Practice on the acquisition, retention, use and destruction of biometric data for criminal justice and police purposes.

Find out more about Scottish Biometrics Commissioner

Defence Access Policy

The Forensic Services Defence Access policy has been developed to ensure that defence agents and independent forensic science experts have consistent, fair and transparent access to productions and specific information held by the organisation.

Find out more about Defence Access Policy

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How We Work

Quality

Biometrics Code of Practice

Defence Access Policy