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: 19 May 2025

Trauma-Informed Practice – Public Briefing

Category: Reports

Topic: Research Policy

Keywords : public briefing trauma-informed practice trama

DOC 20250519 Trauma Informed Practice V1.0 Final (pdf, .56MB )

Report Summary

A Public Briefing summarising Police Scotland's Trauma-Informed Practice. Published in May 2025.

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

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

Related Publications

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

Sgrùdadh earbsa a’ phobaill - COVID-19 - Duilleag Fiosrachaidh - Dàmhair 2021

Published: 01 March 2024

Research Policy

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SPA Analysis: "Human Rights Review of Children and Young People: Strip Searching in Police Custody" Northern Ireland Policing Board

Published: 10 August 2023

Research Policy

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Public Confidence Survey - Public Briefing - October 2021

Published: 18 April 2023

Research Policy

View Publication

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Trauma-Informed Practice – Public Briefing

Report Summary

Related Publications

Sgrùdadh earbsa a’ phobaill - COVID-19 - Duilleag Fiosrachaidh - Dàmhair 2021

SPA Analysis: "Human Rights Review of Children and Young People: Strip Searching in Police Custody" Northern Ireland Policing Board

Public Confidence Survey - Public Briefing - October 2021