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

Chris Creegan

Chris Creegan was appointed to the SPA Board in June 2024. He was Vice Chair of Police Scotland Independent Review Group on Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Human Rights from 2021 to 2024.

Chris has previously been Chief Executive of the Scottish Commission for Learning Disability from 2013 to 2019 and Chair of the Scottish Association for Mental Health from 2015 to 2022.

He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Manufacturing and Commerce FRSA and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development CIPD.

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Chris Creegan