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HM Inspectorate of Constabulary for Scotland
08/12/2008
Two reports out today show that the police service in Scotland is doing a good job and highlight what is being done well. They also highlight what more needs to be done to continue improving the service the police provide.
The first annual report on the Scottish Policing Performance Framework, published alongside the Annual Report of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary for Scotland, provides common measures of performance across all eight forces.
The Performance Framework report provides force level data to help monitor, manage and continuously improve policing. Measures reported on include:
- 999 calls answered within 10 seconds
- Number of incidents of missing persons
- Levels of crimes including crimes of violence and indecency
- Seizures of Class A drugs
- Operating costs
Commenting on both his annual report and the first report on the Scottish Policing Performance Framework, Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary for Scotland, Mr Paddy Tomkins said:
"This year has been a significant one for both HMICS and for the police service in Scotland. There has been an inquiry into policing by the Parliament's Justice Committee, the first year of operation of the Scottish Police Services Authority and the significant challenges of responding to two separate terrorist incidents.
"I maintain the view that in most areas the police service in Scotland is the best it has ever been but there is always room for improvement - achieving excellence in any profession is a continuing endeavour not a winning line to be crossed.
"The first report on the Performance Framework gives all forces and their authorities a valuable opportunity to identify what they do well and where they need to focus on improvement. This is about monitoring and assessing performance and tracking improvements over time.
"However it is important to recognise that there are different factors at play for different forces and, therefore, stark force to force comparisons are unlikely to give a true picture or any meaningful reflection on how forces perform.
"Overall, the first year has been a good start and shows that there are benefits to the systematic collection of this information. However, it is also clear that further work must be done to improve the way data is gathered by forces and making sure it accurately reflects the Policing Performance Framework - which has been agreed by all partners."
The Scottish Policing Performance Framework (SPPF) was first launched across Scotland in April 2007. It is the product of significant collaborative working between the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS), the eight Scottish Police Forces, the Scottish Government, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary for Scotland (HMICS), Audit Scotland, the Scottish Police Services Authority and the Scottish Police Authorities Conveners' Forum. Following the publication of the 2007/08 version of the framework, a more comprehensive version of the framework is now in place for 2008/09.
Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary for Scotland (commonly known as the Police Inspectorate or HMICS) is responsible for inspecting the eight Scottish police forces and five police services. HMICS operates independently of the police forces, police authorities and the Scottish Government and exists to monitor and improve the police services in Scotland.
Scotland Performs provides information about performance against Scottish Government objectives, including the Safer & Stronger objective to which policing is a major contribution.