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: 24 March 2023

ICVS Annual Report 2021-22

Category: Corporate Document

Topic: Performance Evidence

Commitee: Policing Performance Committee Authority Meetings

Keywords : Welfare Human Rights National Preventive Mechanism NPM Optional Protocol to the Prevention Against Torture OPCAT

ICVS Annual Report 2021 22 FINAL (pdf, 3.18MB )

Report Summary

ICVS Scotland is a scheme made up of 140 volunteers who check on the welfare of detainees held in police custody across Scotland.

The Independent Custody Visiting Scheme Scotland (ICVS) Annual Report for 2021-22, details the activities, insights and assurance provided by the Scheme to the Authority.

Meeting

The publication discussed was referenced in the meeting below

Policing Performance Committee - 7 June 2022

Date : 07 June 2022

Location : online

View Meeting

Related Publications

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

Committee Effectiveness - 13 March 2005

Published: 11 March 2025

Performance Evidence

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Committee Effectiveness - 11 March 2025

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Performance Evidence

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HMICS Vetting Review Action Plan Progress Report - 14 November 2024

Published: 11 November 2024

Performance Evidence

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Claims Handling – Statistical Information - 7 November 2024

Published: 04 November 2024

Performance Evidence

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ICVS Annual Report 2021-22

Report Summary

Meeting

Policing Performance Committee - 7 June 2022

Related Publications

Committee Effectiveness - 13 March 2005

Committee Effectiveness - 11 March 2025

HMICS Vetting Review Action Plan Progress Report - 14 November 2024

Claims Handling – Statistical Information - 7 November 2024