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

Published: 09 December 2024

Approved Minute - 8 August 2024

Category: Minutes

Topic: Performance

Commitee: Legal Committee

MIN 20240808 APPROVED PUBLIC Legal Committee 8Th Aug 2024 V1.0 (pdf, .23MB )

Report Summary

This is the Approved Minute documented for the Legal Committee held on 8 August 2024. The Minute was approved at the meeting on 7 November 2024.

Meeting

The publication discussed was referenced in the meeting below

Legal Committee - 7 November 2024

Date : 07 November 2024

Location : Online

View Meeting

Related Publications

The documents below are related by Topic and are the most recently published

The Code of Ethics for Policing in Scotland - 4 September 2025

Published: 08 September 2025

Performance

View Publication

Complaints Handling Backlog (Operation Glade) - 4 September 2025

Published: 08 September 2025

Performance

View Publication

HMICS Assurance Review of Vetting – Progress Update - 4 September 2025

Published: 08 September 2025

Performance

View Publication

SPA Quarterly Report (Q1 – 25/26) - 4 September 2025

Published: 08 September 2025

Performance

View Publication

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Approved Minute - 8 August 2024

Report Summary

Meeting

Legal Committee - 7 November 2024

Related Publications

The Code of Ethics for Policing in Scotland - 4 September 2025

Complaints Handling Backlog (Operation Glade) - 4 September 2025

HMICS Assurance Review of Vetting – Progress Update - 4 September 2025

SPA Quarterly Report (Q1 – 25/26) - 4 September 2025