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Background
1. The Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 (the Act) introduced new arrangements for policing, establishing a single national Police Service of Scotland (Police Scotland) and an independent Scottish Police Authority (SPA).
2. The Act sets out the governance arrangements for policing to ensure accountability, transparency and operational independence (Exhibit 1, page 11).
3. Both the SPA and Chief Constable have a duty to secure Best Value – that is demonstrating continuous improvement in carrying out their respective functions. Appendix 1 (page 39) has further information on Best Value.
The Act brought together the eight regional police forces, the Scottish Police Services Authority and the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency into the two new national bodies. The Act stipulates that the SPA must also provide forensic services to Police Scotland, the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner, Lord Advocate and Procurators Fiscal.
Reform was intended to drive a sustainable policing model which would:
- protect and improve local services despite financial cuts, by stopping duplication of support services and not cutting front line services
- create more equal access to specialist support and national capacity where and when they are needed
- strengthen the connection between services and communities, by creating a new formal relationship with every local authority, involving many more local councillors and better integrating with community planning partnerships.
Although not a stated objective, one of the main drivers of reform was to achieve budget savings of £1.1 billion by 2026.
The Act transferred around £1.1 billion of annual spending (£1.6 billion in real terms) and over 24,000 people, including around 17,500 police officers, into the new bodies. It also shifted responsibility for policing from local government to central government. The reform was complex and the most significant change in policing in 45 years.
Exhibit 1.
4. This audit is a joint Best Value audit of policing in Scotland prepared by Audit Scotland and HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS). Under the Act, both the Auditor General and HMICS may initiate examinations into the economy, efficiency and effectiveness of the SPA and Police Service and arrangements made by the SPA and Chief Constable to secure Best Value. The SPA external auditor has been consulted as part of the audit.
5. The audit focused on how policing performs as a whole. When we refer to policing, we mean the SPA, Forensic Services and Police Scotland (Exhibit 1).
6. The overall aim of this audit was to assess how effectively the Best Value arrangements in policing are demonstrating continuous improvement in delivering the current strategic outcomes, overall vision, and transformation of policing services. We have answered the following audit questions:
- Does policing have a clear strategic direction?
- How effectively are resources used to deliver policing?
- How effective is policing’s partnership working?
- How well is policing performing and demonstrating continuous improvement?
7. In assessing the Best Value arrangements across policing we covered the themes set out in the ministerial Best Value guidance, described in Appendix 1 (page 39).
8. The audit did not examine the role of the Scottish Government and local authorities (specifically in terms of Local Scrutiny Committees) nor the performance of local Community Planning Partnerships. We did not review the effectiveness or performance of local partnerships, nor local police plans. The audit also did not assess the effectiveness of police reform since the Act. We reflect on what Audit Scotland, HMICS and others have reported on the performance of policing and the delivery of reform objectives since 2012 (paragraphs 45–49).
9. The audit findings are based on a review of key documents including Best Value self-assessments (further detail in Appendix 2 (page 40)), data analysis and interviews with senior officers, staff, SPA board members and key policing stakeholders. While policing produces quarterly performance information, we have used annual or year-end statistics to allow for trend analysis. The report was finalised in December 2025 and does not consider the 2026/27 Scottish Budget published on 13 January 2026.
10. We expect policing to address our recommendations as part of their ongoing improvement activity. Audit Scotland will follow up recommendations as part of annual audit activity. HMICS will also track and report progress against recommendations on its website.