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

Access to Information

This page tells you about the Scottish Police Authority’s duties regarding information and data.

The Authority has a range of duties related to information. It must comply to the requirements of three pieces of legislation:

Data Protection Act 2018
Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002
Public Records (Scotland) Act 2011.

Data Protection

Data Protection legislation allows you to request a copy of your own personal data.

Find out more about Data Protection

Freedom of Information

The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 gives everyone the right to access information held by Scottish public authorities.

Find out more about Freedom of Information

Public records

The Public Records (Scotland) Act 2011 requires the Authority to produce, implement and review a records management plan.

Find out more about Public Records

Tell us whether you accept cookies

Access to Information

Data Protection

Freedom of Information

Public records