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: 22 November 2022

SPA Chair's Report

Keywords : children custody public confidence local authority engagement mental health recruitment

Report Summary

This report provides members of the Scottish Police Authority with an overview of the SPA Chair's Report in November 2022.

Mental Health in Policing

The Authority will be co-hosting with Police Scotland a conference looking at mental health demand and policing on Friday 9 December 2022 in Edinburgh. This is an important event that seeks to bring together partners to discuss the challenges faced by policing and by those experiencing mental health. It also builds on the important dialogue started at the Criminal Justice Committee’s roundtable on mental health in policing, held in May of this year.

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SPA Chair's Report

Report Summary

Mental Health in Policing