Editing Police authority (section)

{{Law enforcement in the United Kingdom}}
A '''police authority''' in the [[United Kingdom]] was a public authority that is responsible for overseeing the operations of a [[police force]]. The nature and composition of police authorities has varied over time, and there are now just four dedicated "police authorities" in the United Kingdom, although the term can refer to various similar successor bodies.

Until 2012/13, individual police authorities were maintained for each of the 43 [[territorial police force]]s in [[England and Wales]], and for the 8 territorial police forces in [[Scotland]]. Police authorities in England and Wales were abolished in November 2012, and replaced with directly elected [[police and crime commissioner]]s, and those in Scotland were merged in April 2013 to form the [[Scottish Police Authority]] as part of the creation of [[Police Scotland]], the single police force for Scotland. The [[Police Service of Northern Ireland]] is overseen by the [[Northern Ireland Policing Board]], and two of the three UK-wide [[special police force]]s continue to be overseen by individual police authorities. The oversight of the two police forces serving London continues to be implemented via unique arrangements.