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

Public Briefings

This section tells you about Public Briefings from the Scottish Police Authority.

Public Briefings concern topical issues in policing including the technology used by Police Scotland, for example: mobile devices, body cameras, tasers, or drones; and other issues we think the public would be interested in hearing about.

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Public Briefings

Body Worn Video – Public Briefing (2nd edition)

Recorded Crime and Official Statistics Accreditation in the UK

Taser

Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems “Drones”

Naloxone - September 2024 Update

Stop and Search in Scotland

Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG)

Children and Young People’s Contact with the Police

Police Scrutiny in Scotland

Mental Health and Policing

Children in Custody

Mobile Working

Public Confidence Survey - July 2022

COP26 Public Attitudes Survey

Public Confidence Survey - October 2021