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

Published: 20 November 2025

Publication

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FOI 2025/26-086 - Costs associated with policing protests or public order operations relating to migrant accommodation

Published: 11 November 2025

Publication

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FOI 2025/26-078 - Copper Lounge Scottish Police College Tulliallan – policing incidents

Published: 24 October 2025

Publication

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Publication Library

Police Scotland Quarterly Policing Performance Report Quarter 2 2025/26 - 9 December 2025

2024-25 Annual Report and Accounts

2024-25 Annual Report and Accounts - Summary

Strategic Policing Plan for Scotland 2026-2029 - Consultation Draft

2024-25 Policing Performance Summary

Bi-Annual Policing Together Report - 4 December 2025

Terms of Reference - Policing Performance Committee

Terms of Reference - Legal

Strategic Policing Plan for Scotland 2026 – Consultation Draft - 27 November 2025

FOI 2025/26-083 - Settlement of Public Liability Claim report to Legal Committee October 2025

FOI 2025/26-086 - Costs associated with policing protests or public order operations relating to migrant accommodation

FOI 2025/26-078 - Copper Lounge Scottish Police College Tulliallan – policing incidents