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

News

The Scottish Police Authority communicates regularly about our role, activities and oversight of policing in Scotland.

You can find all our latest news articles listed in date order. You can also search these by topic or year.

Showing 1 to 8 of 8 results

National Conversation on use of Live Facial Recognition technology

Published: 16 May 2025

Technology

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Green icons showing 7 inter-connected circles.

Roll-out of digital evidence sharing

Published: 01 August 2024

Technology

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Biometrics in Criminal Justice Conference

Published: 21 June 2024

Policy Technology

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Artificial Intelligence in Policing

Published: 03 February 2023

Technology

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SPA at Justice Sub Committee on 15 March 2021

Published: 03 February 2023

Policy Technology

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Body Worn Video Consultation

Published: 02 February 2023

Technology

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SPA evidence to Justice Sub Committee on drones and body worn video

Published: 02 February 2023

Technology Evidence

View Article

Scots optimistic about new technologies despite concerns

Published: 18 April 2023

Technology

View Article

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News

National Conversation on use of Live Facial Recognition technology

Roll-out of digital evidence sharing

Biometrics in Criminal Justice Conference

Artificial Intelligence in Policing

SPA at Justice Sub Committee on 15 March 2021

Body Worn Video Consultation

SPA evidence to Justice Sub Committee on drones and body worn video

Scots optimistic about new technologies despite concerns