Surrey Police Authority (SPA) was established in 1995 to make sure that Surrey Police are accountable to the people living and working in Surrey, and that the public can have their say in how the county is policed.
The Authority:
• Sets policing priorities and monitors the performance of Surrey Police
• Appoints the Chief Constable and the Chief Officer team
• Monitors the handling of complaints against the police
• Consults with the people of Surrey to identify their policing priorities and makes sure that their council tax money is spent effectively
• Sets the budget and council tax contributions to policing
To view the SPA Business Plan please click here
To view the SPA Code of Corporate Governance, please click here
To view the SPA Annual Governance Statement, please click here
To view the SPA Standing Orders, please click here
How we work
• The Police Authority has 17 members who meet regularly on Panels & Committees to call Surrey Police to account on key areas of police work such as: performance, HR, complaints and finance.
• Following these meetings, the Members meet with the Chief Officer team at our public meetings approximately 7 times a year to make key decisions on police business and take questions from the public.
• There are 9 Councillor Members appointed by Surrey County Council. Our eight Independent Members are local people appointed following a recruitment process. One member is also a serving magistrate.
There is much more information throughout the site about our work and how you can be a part of it, and we invite you to take a few minutes to find out about how you can have your say on how you are policed.
If you have any questions or would like to get involved, please contact us and we will be glad to help.
A brief history of Police Authorities
Since the earliest days of policing in the England and Wales, there have been governance arrangements in place to oversee the work of the police and make sure that they act fairly and in line with the needs & expectations of local people. Traditionally, this role was fulfilled by Justices of the Peace (JP) and later by powerful Watch Committees comprising elected members and JPs.
These Watch Committees were replaced by police authorities in the wake of the Police Act (1964), which implemented the recommendations of a 1960 Royal Commission set up in the wake of a series of high profile scandals that threatened public confidence in the police. This landmark law saw the total reorganisation of police into the structures we know today, and gave police authorities certain powers and responsibilities (along with Chief Constables and the Home Office) as part of a ‘tripartite’ system of monitoring the police and holding them to account.
The Police Authority model has undergone some significant changes since then. Following the Scarman report into inner-city disturbances in the 1980s, the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (1984) required police authorities to consult the public on policing priorities. The Police and Magistrates Court Act 1994 saw independent members added to police authorities alongside elected and JP members, made the publication of a Local Policing Plan mandatory and allowed Authorities to charge a separate policing precept. This Act also led to the foundation of Surrey Police Authority in its current form, detaching its function from Surrey County Council and establishing it as a standalone body.
At present, there are 45 police authorities in England and Wales, one for each regional force, plus one for the British Transport Police and another for the Civil Nuclear Constabulary. They are represented nationally by the Association of Police Authorities (APA).
