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Future policing in Scotland
12/11/2007
A range of measures to deliver a more visible police presence on Scotland's streets and an additional 1,000 police officers in communities was set out today by the Scottish Government.
The commitment will be met through the recruitment of additional new officers, improved retention of skilled and experienced officers, and efficiency gains reinvested to redeploy officers to strengthen operational policing in Scotland's communities.
Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said that the Scottish Government will invest an additional £54 million over the spending review period to build police capacity and to support as a first step the recruitment of 500 new officers. At least 150 more officers will be recruited in the current financial year, with the balance to follow across the lifetime of this Parliament.
This funding will be in addition to increases in overall police expenditure which will be announced on Wednesday as part of the Budget.
The Justice Secretary also announced that he has asked ACPOS to review the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of centralising recruitment across the eight police forces.
With 2,300 officers reaching 30 years' service and eligible to retire over the next four years, Mr MacAskill has launched a review of the 30+ scheme to ensure the retention of more skilled and experienced officers rather than seeing them leave the service when they still have much to offer.
Wednesday's Budget will also set an annual efficiency target for Scotland's police forces, along with the rest of the public sector. The major savings expected to be released through this will be available for Police Boards to reinvest in delivering improved operational policing, drive out inefficiency, cut needless bureaucracy and free up officer time for redeployment to front line duties.
As part of their responsibilities to deliver Best Value, Joint Police Boards should agree with Chief Constables the levels of visible and accessible policing that local communities have a right to expect.
Delivering this ambitious plan is a top priority for this Government, working in partnership with the Scottish Police staff associations, ACPOS, HMIC, and the convenors of Joint Police Boards.
Meeting community police officers in Alloa, Kenny MacAskill, said:
"Police officers are highly trained and highly skilled. It's vital that their focus is on building safer and stronger communities. What matters to the public is the ability of the police to respond to local problems and the key to the police service's ability to respond is not its overall size, but its capacity - the right people with the right skills in the right place at the right time.
"That is why this Government's approach is based on building the capacity of the police service in Scotland to respond
"At the heart of our approach is the determination to help more individual police officers become part of the fabric of the communities they serve, building local knowledge and forging strong relationships with families and businesses in the local area.
"We have made a clear commitment to deliver a more visible policing presence on Scotland's streets. An additional 1,000 officers available in our communities.
"We shall do that through increased recruitment of new officers; improved retention of skilled and experienced officers; and redeployment of officers to front line tasks.
"The first step of this work will be the recruitment of 500 new officers. At least 150 more officers will be recruited in the current financial year, with the balance to follow across the lifetime of this Parliament.
"The overall levels of police funding that will be announced in Wednesday's budget will provide sufficient funding to allow police boards to maintain core numbers at least at current levels. This #54m investment in additional recruitment and building capacity is on top of that funding and represents a very significant investment in policing at a time when we have received the tightest financial settlement since devolution began.
"To ensure that we use the money wisely, I have asked ACPOS to review the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of centralising recruitment across our eight police forces.
"2,300 officers will reach 30 years' service and be eligible to retire over the next four years - that represents a potentially huge loss of skills, experience and expertise. That is why I am launching a review of the 30+ scheme to ensure it properly meets the needs of the Scottish police service. We shall work in partnership with police staff associations, ACPOS and Police Boards to improve retention and ensure that we continue to benefit from the services of the most skilled and able of these officers, particularly in community policing.
"In common with the rest of the public sector, the police service is to be set an annual efficiency target. I expect police authorities to use the savings gained to redouble their efforts to tackle bureaucracy, drive out inefficiency, exploit the opportunities of new technology and free up officer time to be redeployed into strengthening operational policing in our communities.
"Government, Chief Constables and Conveners of Police Boards all have key roles in delivering deliver this commitment. Our aim is to ensure that communities across Scotland have a clear understanding of the levels of visible identifiable and accessible policing they have a right to expect; how those levels are being met; and how communities' views will be taken into account in the determination of police priorities."
Colin McKerracher, chief constable of Grampian Police and president of the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland, said:
"ACPOS welcomes the announcement by the Cabinet Secretary for Justice of a package of measures to make 1,000 additional officers available in our communities - including investment to recruit 500 additional police officers across Scotland during the lifetime of this Parliament.
"We are also keen to work with the Scottish Government, Police Boards and other stakeholders in relation to enhancing community based policing whilst at the same time ensuring that the wide range of other policing responsibilities are delivered."
With policing partners, this Government will identify, evaluate and build on initiatives and improvements across the police service, which have the potential to be rolled out more widely to achieve greater efficiencies.
This will include:
- Rolling out the use of electronic police notebooks as replacement for pen and paper by March 2009; -increasing the use of electronic links between police and courts to improve the accuracy of scheduling and information, reducing the chances of officer time being wasted in court waiting rooms; -examining legislative and non-legislative means of streamlining the firearms licensing system, enabling officers to spend less time administering and more time enforcing it; -developing a 'skills bank' of retired officers who can be called upon quickly to respond to specific local circumstances - again freeing up permanent uniformed officers -tapping into the experience of the six Scottish forces looking into using 'civilians' rather than uniformed officers for certain traditional duties, freeing up officers' time
- And ending the need for police officers to chaperone administrators carrying out vehicle checks in Scotland
The Local Government in Scotland Act 2003 imposed a duty on local authorities including police authorities to make arrangements which secure Best Value. Police circular 11/2003 provided police forces and police authorities with additional guidance for the implementation of Best Value in the Scottish police service. Key components include openness, accountability and responsiveness to local communities; performance measurement; and the effective management of resources.
The Scottish Policing Performance Framework was launched in April 2007 as a partnership between the Scottish Government, ACPOS, HMIC, Police Boards and Audit Scotland. It provides a consistent framework for measuring and reporting on performance at the national and local level.
The 30+ scheme is designed to assist police forces in the retention of exceptional officers with valuable skills and experience who would otherwise retire with maximum police pension benefits. The scheme allows continuation of service as an attested officer with early access to a lump sum. However, its primary purpose is not to benefit an individual officer but to assist forces in keeping effective officers whom the force considers vital to retain.