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Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary Primary Inspection 2002

2. Policy and Strategy

Strategic Planning Performance Review

2.1 The Force Strategic Planning Cycle is co-ordinated by the Superintendent Corporate Services assisted by an Inspector.

2.2 The overall formation of the force strategy, actions and targets is based on a broad consultative process as detailed below and is incorporated in a Charter and Strategy Document:

Local Level: -

Liaison with Community Councils - A community constable is assigned to every community council. The officer has a duty to brief community councils on ongoing issues and report back to local management any issues raised for action.

Liaison with Area Committees - Area Committees are attended by the Area Inspector within whose section the committee sits. This officer has a duty to update the committee with policing issues and action any issues raised by the committee requiring police attention. The Area Inspectors should ensure that relevant issues are later fed into the strategic planning process.

Liaison with elected members - The Divisional Commander and Area Inspectors are responsible for ensuring that elected members are personally updated on relevant issues and there is a correct level of liaison. The Divisional Commander will ensure that relevant issues are used to inform the strategic planning process.

Liaison with the Police Fire and Public Protection Committee which acts on behalf of the Police Authority (Dumfries and Galloway Council) - the Chief Constable updates the committee on the force's performance and advises them of any ongoing relevant matters and major changes in policy. He ensures that any issues raised for action by the committee are addressed.

Liaison with the public - On an annual basis, Area Inspectors hold a briefing to which members of the general public are invited. This provides opportunity for the general public to be updated and for them to raise any issues. The Area Inspectors are expected to ensure that relevant issues are used to inform the strategic planning process.

Public satisfaction surveys - These are carried out on a quarterly basis, with Corporate Services being responsible for their dispatch and collation.

Liaison with Police Staff, Support Staff and Special Constabulary - All managers are responsible for ensuring the views of their staff are taken into account in considering the formulation of the Strategy and Charter (now known as the Community Promise). In December 2001 the force conducted a staff survey of all police officers, support staff and special constables. The survey covered communication, training/career development, equal opportunities, continuous improvement and job satisfaction and was then used to inform the force strategy day in January 2002.

Liaison with partners/agencies - Each Head of Department is responsible for ensuring

that there is ongoing consultation with partner agencies in their respective domains so their views can be represented in the Strategy and Charter.

National Level :-

National Performance Indicators -The Force's performance against national performance indicators is reported on a monthly basis by Corporate Services in the Performance Information Briefing Schedule (PIBS). As part of the planning process, Corporate Services makes sure that all current performance indicators are available to Focus Groups in order that these are considered for inclusion in the Strategy and Charter.

National Strategies - Heads of Department who are aware of national strategies and who are involved with the focus groups have responsibility for ensuring these matters are considered in the formulation of the Strategy and Charter (Community Promise).

Focus Groups :-

Following on from the consultation phase, five Focus Groups under the chairmanship of the primary stakeholder for that area are assembled to consider community safety, crime, road safety, drugs and quality of service.

The groups create a set of strategic actions and targets for consideration of inclusion in the final Force Strategy and Charter (Community Promise). These are presented by Corporate Services to the Chief Constable / Policy Group for final ratification. The Chief Constable in turn presents these to the Police Fire and Public Protection Committee.

Review of Progress regarding Charter and Strategy: -

Progress regarding the Charter and Strategy is also updated monthly in the Performance Information Briefing Schedule (PIBS). Progress is intended to be assessed by the extent to which the targets are met and actions completed. On a quarterly basis action plans, in pursuit of the strategic aims, and results are collated by Corporate Services and placed on the Intranet for the information of all staff.

HMIC has viewed the Policing Plan 2000/2001, the Force Action Plans, including the Charter 2001/2002 and the Strategy 2001/2002, the Performance Information Briefing Schedule and force results for the first three-quarters of the year. While HMIC is satisfied that the force pays proper attention to consultation in the formation of strategy, there is some lack of clarity with regard to outcomes. It is therefore considered that the actions, targets and measurements within the policing plan 2001/2002 could be more sharply focused.

Emergency Planning

2.3 Major incident planning and response have been well tested recently as a result of the following incidents: a RAF jet crash at Sheildhill, a railway accident at Glenluce, an emergency at BNFL Chapelcross, the snow emergency and the foot and mouth outbreak.

2.4 The response to major emergencies is facilitated by the Dumfries and Galloway Major Emergency Scheme which was fully developed in the wake of the Lockerbie air disaster. The scheme is a partnership of all those with a part to play in dealing with major emergencies in the area and addresses effective management by stating the aims, objectives, roles and responsibilities of all partners.

2.5 The scheme is structured in three layers headed at the strategic level by an Emergency Co-ordinating Group which meets on an annual basis, or as necessary in times of emergency, and comprises the chief officers of the principal organisations involved. The second tactical layer consists of the Emergency Planning and Response Team which meets quarterly, or as necessary in times of emergency. This group is led by the Council Chief Executive, and incorporates liaison officers including police and functional team leaders. Reporting to this group are a number of multi-agency functional teams who collectively constitute the third layer.

2.6 The scheme is supported by policy statements, and a Partners Document which addresses the roles and responsibilities of partners. The functional teams are all supported by team documents and briefing notes. Success is measured by formal and informal debriefs and an annual return is submitted by the local authority on behalf of the partners which details areas of activity including exercises, responses to live incidents and training. Discussions with police staff and other partners show high commitment to the principles of integrated emergency management.

2.7 The Dumfries and Galloway Police Emergency Planning Unit comprises one inspector supported by a clerical assistant and is situated within the Operational Services Group reporting to the Chief Superintendent Operations. This level of staffing is proportionately lower than any other force in Scotland. The work programme agreed by the Emergency Planning Officer and the Chief Superintendent Operations is prioritised within the resources available.

2.8 Direct liaison with Divisional Commanders is formalised through Operational Development Group meetings. Both managers and front line officers interviewed spoke of the quality of communication that occurred during the foot and mouth emergency when officers were regularly individually e-mailed with updated information and briefings of Area Inspectors took place each day by videolink.

2.9 The force has an emergency planning policy and the unit has a service delivery plan which identifies its remit and functions. The unit also works to an annual emergency planning intentions list which provides a structured approach to planning, testing and reviewing contingency plans and prioritises updates causing eleven plans to be revised in the last year. A new force emergency plan has been issued based on the ACPOS Emergency Procedures Manual which incorporates 14 local contingency plans. Subject to the sensitive nature of plans these are available to all staff on the intranet and HMIC notes as good practice the use of the intranet to communicate with staff and the resulting instant availability of emergency plans to staff.

2.10 Over the past few years the force has had to deal with a significant level of major incidents. However one of the biggest commitments for the force was the handling of the foot and mouth epidemic. Between February and May 2001 Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary were involved in 165 multi agency meetings, 15,147 site visits to farms,1879 hours work by police personnel at the regional command site, 900 hours worked in the force command room, 95 daily situation reports prepared for the National Police Co-ordinating Centre, 40 supervisors meetings, planning for 85 pyres, 398 confirmed cases of foot and mouth disease and 1409 culls in which 540,000 sheep, 72,000 cattle 300 goats and 70 pigs were destroyed.

2.11 The response to foot and mouth was a major incident response on a daily basis over a period of months and aspects of inter agency major incident planning and response were fully tested. The force has worked hard both during the emergency and in the aftermath to maintain good relations with the farming community and as a reflection of this, despite the massive commitment referred to above, only two complaints relating to police actions during the outbreak were made.

2.12 Not unnaturally, as a result of the foot and mouth outbreak, other emergency planning commitments were restricted but exercises were held throughout 2001, including a multiagency maritime exercise, Exercise Reddington 2 at BNFL Chapelcross with UKAEA Constabulary, an exercise at the gas pipeline compressor and Exercise Solway Surprise, a multiagency exercise at Defence Munitions Eastriggs. There is clear evidence in the minutes of the Operational Development Group of learning from exercises and incidents feeding back to operations.

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