Report Summary
This Corporate Strategy sets out the role and responsibilities of the Scottish Police Authority, the five outcomes we seek to achieve and the high-level activities designed to achieve them. It aligns to the Scottish Government’s Strategic Police Priorities, and should be read alongside the Strategic Police Plan and the Forensic Services Strategy, which relate to the delivery of the police and forensic services that the Authority is responsible for.
This Corporate Strategy is underpinned by a more detailed Implementation Plan for the period.
Meeting
The publication discussed was referenced in the meeting below
Meeting of the Scottish Police Authority - 23 March 2023
Date : 23 March 2023
Location : COSLA, Edinburgh
The Authority's Main Functions
Promoting the policing principles
The Authority keeps the policing principles at the forefront of its activities and decision-making, taking into account how they are applied in policing.
Maintaining the Police Service
The Authority is funded directly by the Scottish Government through Grant in Aid and the Authority allocates funding to maintain the police service. Additional money is available through a Reform fund allocated by the Scottish Government.
From within our available budget allocation we must provide the Chief Constable with financial resources to ensure that an appropriately resourced workforce is in place and paid to deliver policing services. We must also ensure that buildings, vehicles and technology systems are maintained. We also allocate funding to Forensic Services and support the Authority’s executive staff team and Board.
Promoting and supporting continuous improvement
The Authority places a high level of importance on continuous improvement, promoting and supporting self-assessment activity and benchmarking against other organisations to identify areas where policing could be improved.
Keeping policing under review
The Authority regularly assesses policing performance, listening to what the public and our partners are saying about policing, and works in partnership with Police Scotland to prepare a joint strategic police plan. The Authority also publishes an annual assessment of policing performance, which includes analysis and opinion from across the policing system, local authorities and other assurance bodies.
Holding the Chief Constable to account
The Chief Constable is accountable to the Authority for the policing of Scotland. The Authority holds the Chief Constable to account and seeks assurance, through our Board and Committee meetings, on how Scotland is being policed in line with its strategic priorities and organisational values. We also scrutinise proposed policing policy changes from the perspective of best value, human rights, ethics, equality and diversity.
