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

Published: 26 July 2023

Freedom of Information (FOI) - FAQs

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DOC 20210831 FOI Faqs (pdf, .31MB )

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Frequently asked questions regarding information held and published by the Authority.

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Freedom of Information (FOI) - FAQs

Report Summary

Related Publications

FOI 2024/25-006 - Microsoft Cloud Services and ICO correspondence

FOI 2024/25-018 - Missing people with fatal outcomes

CJC - Information re H&S and Covert Policing Oversight

CJC - Information re Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) Bill - Stage 1