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: 20 August 2025

Police Scotland & SPA Forensic Services Joint Biometrics Strategy - 7 August 2025

Category: Reports

Topic: Forensic Services Technology

Commitee: Forensics Services Committee

ITEM 7 Joint Biometrics Strategy (pdf, .66MB )

Report Summary

This report provides members of the Forensic Services Committee with an overview of Police Scotland & SPA Forensic Services Joint Biometrics Strategy.

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

To view as accessible content please use the sections below. (Note that tables and some appendixes are not available as accessible content).

Meeting

The publication discussed was referenced in the meeting below

Forensic Services Committee - 7 August 2025

Date : 07 August 2025

Location : Online

View Meeting

Related Publications

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

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Digital Forensics – Next Steps and Timeline for Progression - 5 February 2024

Published: 10 September 2024

Forensic Services Technology

View Publication

Digital Forensics Next Steps, Accreditation & Timeline for Progression - 4 May 2023

Published: 17 May 2023