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: 29 May 2024

British Transport Police Input - 23 May 2024

Category: Reports

Topic: Performance

Commitee: Board Meetings

Keywords : British Transport Police

ITEM 8 BTP Presentation Final (003) (pdf, 1.23MB )

Report Summary

This report provides members of the Scottish Police Authority with an overview of the work of the British Transport Police in Scotland.

To access the full document please open the PDF document above.

Meeting

The publication discussed was referenced in the meeting below

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Meeting of the Scottish Police Authority - 23 May 2024

Date : 23 May 2024

Location : The Grand Hall, Merchants House, 7 West George Street, Glasgow, G2 1BA

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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British Transport Police Input - 23 May 2024

Report Summary

Meeting

Meeting of the Scottish Police Authority - 23 May 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