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

Published: 22 December 2022

Post Mortem Toxicology transfers to SPA

Topic: Workforce

Post Mortem Toxicology Services transferred from the University of Glasgow to SPA Forensic Services on 1 December 2022.

Fiona Douglas, Director of Forensic Services said:

“The transfer of the Post Mortem Toxicology Service marks an important milestone for SPA Forensic Services, delivered with a £6m investment in staff and new laboratory facilities by the Scottish Government.

“The Post Mortem Toxicology team are highly-trained skilled scientists and staff who will be a superb addition to SPA Forensic Services.

“This transfer was achieved thanks to extensive joint working between SPA Forensic Services, Police Scotland, COPFS, Scottish Government and the University of Glasgow and I want to thank everyone who helped in delivering this so successfully.”

Article initially published 1 December 2022.

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Post Mortem Toxicology transfers to SPA