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: 07 August 2024

Privacy Notice - GDPR (PSOS only)

Category: Corporate Document

Topic: Workforce

POL 20240716 Privacy Notice GDPR (Psos Only) V3.0 (pdf, .17MB )

Report Summary

This is the Privacy Notice of the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) in respect of the personal data of Police Officers/Retired Police Officers that we process, in carrying out our functions and tasks.

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Privacy Notice - GDPR (PSOS only)

Report Summary

Related Publications

Police Scotland Vetting Annual Report - 4 September 2025

FOI 2025/26-047 - Staff permitted to work outside UK

Driver Training Programme Update - 28 August 2025

HMICS Strategic Workforce Plan Assurance Report - 28 August 2025