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

Publication Library

The Authority is committed to conducting its activity in an open and transparent manner, and in a way that builds trust and confidence in policing.

In this section we aim to make as much of our information as possible available, accessible and searchable. Our publication scheme summarises all of the information we publish. This aims to improve public access to the information we hold and encouraging public awareness of, and participation in, the decisions we make.

Where possible we provide a suitable HTML alternative and / or make documents accessible. Please contact us if you would like to request a corporate publication in an alternative format.

Scottish Police Authority - Publication Scheme

Committee

Topic

FOI 2025/26-020 - Number of uniformed deployable Police Officers in specific areas in 2012 and 2025

Published: 11 June 2025

Published: 13 March 2025

Publication

View Publication

FOI 2024/25-108R - Authority to operate in Shetland

Published: 11 March 2025

Publication

View Publication

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Publication Library

FOI 2025/26-020 - Number of uniformed deployable Police Officers in specific areas in 2012 and 2025

FOI 2025/26-018 - Police powers to Test Purchase alcohol using underage volunteers

FOI 2025/26-017 - Service and maintenance history for decommissioned police vehicle

FOI 2025/26-013 - Police Appeals Tribunals and number allowed and refused – 2020-25

FOI 2025/26-011 - Crime scene investigation report - Mary McLaughlin case

FOI 2025/26-006 - Training for police officers in dealing with neurodiverse individuals

FOI 2025/26-005 - Police officers exceeding speed limits under legal exemptions

FOI 2025/26-001 - Complaints received from police officers about the provision of single-sex, unisex, or gender neutral spaces

FOI 2024/25-118 - Officers leaving Police Scotland for jobs with police forces in Australia

FOI 2024/25-117 - Is Shetland part of Scotland / Authority to operate in Shetland

FOI 2024/25-109 - Arbitrators report regarding 2024-25 pay award decision for police officers

FOI 2024/25-108R - Authority to operate in Shetland