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: 25 July 2023

Scottish DNA Database 2020-21

Category: Reports

Topic: Forensic Services

Statistics 2020/21 (pdf, .61MB )

Report Summary

A month-by-month report detailing DNA samples retained on the Scottish DNA Database for the 2020-21 annual reporting period.

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Scottish DNA Database 2020-21

Report Summary

Related Publications

FOI 2025/26-004 - Personal data (third party)

Refresh of Forensic Services Strategy - 8 May 2025

Forensic Services Change Programme Update - 8 May 2025

Drug Driving Update - 8 May 2025