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

Insights

In this section, we will share insights from various individuals and organisations on some of the topical issues facing policing in Scotland or beyond.

Showing 13 to 24 of 36 results

Martyn Evans, Chair of the SPA sitting at a desk inside an office building.

Authority Responds to Hate Crime Statistics

Published: 05 February 2025

Performance

View Insight

Independent Custody Visiting – Rights Based Oversight

Published: 05 February 2025

Policy Evidence Performance

View Insight

Polling show "clear support for using technology to tackle crime"

Published: 18 March 2024

Technology

View Insight

Performance Summary 2022-23

Published: 06 March 2024

Performance

View Insight

New Year Message

Published: 05 February 2025

Performance

View Insight

Authority welcomes draft budget for policing 2024-25

Published: 05 February 2025

Budget

View Insight

SASO Annual Conference November 2023 – Blog

Published: 05 February 2025

Policy

View Insight

Head and shoulder image of Barry Sillers, Deputy Chief Executive of the Scottish Police Authority taken outside.

Scottish Police Authority advocacy work for the care experienced community

Published: 05 February 2025

Policy

View Insight

Achieving Quality Assurance for Custody Visiting in Scotland

Published: 07 December 2023

Evidence

View Insight

Image of Board Member Paul Edie sitting at a desk inside an office building.

Justice has no time limit

Published: 10 November 2023

Forensic Services

View Insight

Mark Diffley: Trust and confidence - what Scots think of the police

Published: 03 October 2023

Evidence Research

View Insight

Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) in the police estate

Published: 15 April 2025

Estate

View Insight

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Insights

Authority Responds to Hate Crime Statistics

Independent Custody Visiting – Rights Based Oversight

Polling show "clear support for using technology to tackle crime"

Performance Summary 2022-23

New Year Message

Authority welcomes draft budget for policing 2024-25

SASO Annual Conference November 2023 – Blog

Scottish Police Authority advocacy work for the care experienced community

Achieving Quality Assurance for Custody Visiting in Scotland

Justice has no time limit

Mark Diffley: Trust and confidence - what Scots think of the police

Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) in the police estate