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Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary Primary Inspection 2002

4. Partnership and Resources

Community Safety

Partnership Working

4.1 Members of Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary, and community safety partners who were interviewed during the inspection process, stressed that in the Dumfries and Galloway area a partnership approach has been in place informally for a number of years. A realisation of the social and economic benefit to local communities gained by agencies working together has added impetus to the process, just as it has in addressing emergency planning.

4.2 Relationships in the field of community safety were formalised in December 1999 when the Community Safety Partnership comprising Dumfries and Galloway Council, Police, Health Board, Fire Brigade, Scottish Ambulance Service and HM Coastguard was formed. The publication, in mid 2000, of the Dumfries and Galloway Community Safety Strategy represented a shift in focus from a police driven community safety agenda to one in which the local authority now has a major role. The Community Safety Partnership has produced a youth strategy and a multi-agency strategy for substance abuse and operates a Domestic Abuse Strategy Group. Whilst much of what is written in the multi-agency planning documentation focuses on processes rather than outcomes there is much evidence in Dumfries and Galloway of positive relationships being developed into positive outcomes for the community.

4.3 The principal aim of the Community Safety Partnership is:

"To create a safe, healthy and crime free environment in which people can conduct their daily activities and avail themselves of the social, educational, economic and other opportunities in Dumfries and Galloway".

4.4 The organisational structure of the Community Safety Partnership includes a Steering Group which examines and agrees the Community Safety Strategy, approves action plans, monitors progress and champions community safety and is supported by area based community action partnerships. The Local Authority Liaison Officer is based within the Chief Executive's office at Dumfries and Galloway Council, assisting in the development of community safety and the community planning process.

4.5 At the time of the inspection newly formed Local Rural Partnerships were becoming established as part of the implementation structure of the Dumfries and Galloway Community Plan. The aim of these groups is to provide effective links between strategic policy development and operational implementation and to rationalise existing local partnerships bringing statutory and voluntary agencies together to improve services. These local partnerships operate on a service delivery level with Area Inspectors, Co-ordinating Unit Sergeants and constables providing the police representation alongside elected representatives and community safety forum members as well as others.

4.6 There are four Local Rural Partnerships in Wigtown, Stewarty, Nithsdale and Annandale and Eskdale and in respect of the Stewarty partnership the local community constable has been elected chairperson. Community Officers were extremely positive about the concept of Local Rural Partnerships and described how one of the Partnerships had been used as a vehicle to address local concerns by providing the opportunity to brief the community following a serious crime in the area. Local Rural Partnerships have also been used as a vehicle to engage the voluntary sector in initiatives such as providing funding for householders who have been victims of a housebreaking but have been unable to afford to implement crime prevention recommendations.

4.7 Local Rural Partnerships provide a means of interaction with the seven council Area Committees which are made up of local councillors. The local Area Inspector attends and links into his or her local councillors through this means. Community Safety Forums operate in both divisions and have a remit which is similar to, but wider than, Crime Prevention Panels. Officers of Dumfries and Galloway also work in partnership with local community development projects such as the ECHO Project (Encouraging Community Health Options) which aims to bring agencies together to enable access to services. Local community police have a satellite office within the ECHO Project offices where residents can visit the police or contact them. The Project Manager spoke of the excellent two-way exchange which this provides.

4.8 HMIC interviewed a number of people who are directly involved in joint initiatives with the force or who represent community groups. All commented upon the willingness of officers to respond to community needs and it was apparent from the regular use of first names at all levels that relationships are comfortable and informal.

4.9 Partnership working with other public agencies and a wide range of formalised community groups is particularly strong in Dumfries and Galloway and working relationships with the coterminus unitary authority are effective. Representatives of local authority agencies interviewed found that the ability to directly e-mail officers of Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary greatly aided day to day contact. Examples were provided of joint training and resourcing such as in the development of detailed on screen mapping. HMIC interviewed local council members and officers and found evidence of regular day to day contact at all levels. Some departments however identified a need to formalise some arrangements and pointed out where liaison could be improved.

Police Community Safety Structure

4.10 Within the police, Community Safety Policy is co-ordinated and directed at a strategic level by the Policy Group through the senior management team. Accountability rests with Divisional Commanders for achievement of desired aims. Divisional Co-ordinating units supply monthly information to Corporate Services in relation to community safety and crime prevention for inclusion in the force action plan.

4.11 The Policing Plan in respect of 2001/2002 and beyond includes the goal to "Help make our communities safer" and is supported by eight strategic actions. The Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary Community Safety Strategy was written in 1999 and covers the period to the end of 2001. At the time of the inspection the strategy in respect of the year 2002 and beyond was in draft form and included departmental plans and performance indicators.

4.12 Tactical delivery of community safety is co-ordinated through the Operational Development Group and the Safeguard Policy Group which meets quarterly and comprises Divisional Commanders, the Detective Chief Inspector and the Operational Services Inspector. The Chief Superintendent Operations ensures consistency through chairing these meetings and attending the Force Policy Group and Crime Strategy Meetings. Information is disseminated through Divisional Forums and Tasking and Co-ordinating Groups. Minutes in respect of the meetings of all of these groups demonstrate the high priority which is given to community safety and partnership working within Dumfries and Galloway.

Community Services Department

4.13 The Community Services Department based at Headquarters reports to Operational Services and is ultimately under the control of the Chief Superintendent Operations. The department comprises a part time sergeant and a full time constable. Three road safety officers and a full time sergeant and constable with responsibility for substance misuse also participate in the tactical implementation and co-ordination of community safety. A service review of HQ Community Services is due to commence in April 2002. A divisional community safety review is planned for August 2003.

4.14 Community officers in divisions are directed and controlled by Divisional Commanders. The number of community officers was increased by six as a result of the staffing review to a total of seventeen dedicated community officers in Galloway Division and twenty-three in Dumfries Division. Staffing distribution within the force was calculated by taking into account the number of community councils, pupil rolls etc in order to predict workloads and thus the appropriate deployment of community police officers.

4.15 Whilst shift and community officers interviewed in landward areas felt that they worked well as a team, a lack of understanding of the role of community officers was evident in some areas. Community officers and shift officers attend different briefings due to differing shift patterns and greater integration supported by short term attachments would assist in promoting appreciation of these different roles.

4.16 Community officers are a valuable resource to the division. One of the Community Safety Sergeants interviewed explained that, following a housebreaking, Crime Prevention Officers attend within three days and offer crime prevention advice in respect of the houses in the proximity of the home broken into. They also seek follow up information in respect of the number of recommendations implemented in order to evaluate the process and establish links between advice provided and acted upon and numbers of subsequent housebreakings. This is a worthwhile initiative. However it is clear that it is not being fully delivered due to abstractions.

Selection and Training

4.17 All of the community services staff including the community officers reported having been appointed to their posts as opposed to having applied for them. The force may wish to consider supporting the intention to move to a more open system of selection for specialist posts by operating a system of short-term attachments to community posts. This would not only enable potential applicants to understand the role but would also go some way to develop greater understanding between community and shift officers.

4.18 Community officers attend regular forums at Headquarters which comprise training inputs, discussion and peer support and community officers interviewed found these forums helpful. The Community Services Department is also preparing an induction package and training programme for community officers. All community officers received one day of training in Problem Oriented Policing in June 2000. HMIC interviewed several officers appointed to community duties since that date who have yet to receive training although the department intends to produce a booklet providing guidance on the completion of the problem oriented policing related documentation. Some officers have also received training in the Balanced Scorecard process (see paragraph 4.42).

4.19 Awareness training in general Community Safety issues for all staff has been agreed by the Executive and will be integrated into existing training courses. This will commence with an input on Problem Oriented Policing to the Supervisors Course culminating in all sergeants and inspectors receiving training during 2002/2003.

Mobile Police Offices

4.20 Mobile police offices are used to encourage contact with the public and deal with public concerns. They are used to access the more rural parts of the region and resulted from a force suggestion scheme entry. In Galloway Division the mobile police station is staffed daily by a dedicated team and has a set schedule of visits in order to allow the public to know when and where it will be. Community officers reported the facility as being well used by rural communities. Dumfries has a mobile police station which is used on a more ad hoc basis due to difficulties in allocating dedicated staff.

4.21 The number of houses involved in Neighbourhood Watch schemes has dropped in recent years but Dumfries and Galloway are aware of this and are attempting to reverse the trend. The Community Services Department has purchased a system named Voiceconnect Relay which transmits voice messages to Neighbourhood watch co-ordinators through automatic dialling of co-ordinators, at a time convenient to them. It will be launched in the near future and a re-marketing of the Neighbourhood Watch concept will form part of this.

Safeguard Initiative

4.22 A 1997 study by Strathclyde University named Dumfries as the best place to live in Britain. This was based on a number of criteria weighted in order of importance to the population as a whole and included levels of violent crime, healthcare provision, cost of living, educational opportunities, etc. There is no doubt that the community in Dumfries and Galloway enjoys a good quality of life and Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary has developed the Safeguard initiative, which is designed to make the community safer.

4.23 The force has been operating the Safeguard programme since 1997 with the aim of protecting the public from those who break the law and thus providing a safer environment. The essence of the initiative is safer communities achieved through a pro-active approach to problems of greatest community concern. Safeguard targets three main themes of safer travel, safer streets and a safer environment, all of which emerged as major concerns of local communities through consultation. Under each of the three Safeguard themes a number of broad strategic initiatives are supported by detailed action plans.

4.24 The remit of the Safeguard Group is to consider national and local demands and plan future forcewide initiatives. Local Tasking and Co-ordinating groups meet weekly and plan initiatives on a local basis. There are Community Safety representatives on the National Intelligence Model Implementation Team and the force is building crime reduction measures into their application of the model and linking the National Intelligence Model to Problem Oriented Policing (POP). Every POP response is conducted under the Safeguard banner and at the time of the inspection thirteen packages were live. The force entered two problem solving initiatives in respect of the 2001 Tilley Awards set up by the Home Office Policing and Reducing Crime Unit in 1999 to encourage and recognise good practice in the implementation of problem oriented policing. One of the force entries was in respect of Dumfries town centre which at paragraph 4.28, was short-listed for an award.

4.25 The force is committed to problem oriented policing and examination of Tasking and Co-ordinating Group minutes show that quality of life type complaints are given high priority in the allocation of resources. Each Safeguard Initiative is collated by the Community Services Department and although initiatives are individually named they are all marketed under the Safeguard banner and logo. Safeguard is well publicised through the local media and creates a brand which the public can relate to. This method of grouping initiatives under one reassurance building title has the potential to be effective in tackling fear of crime and engendering public support.

Private Sector Partnerships

4.26 Half of the force community safety budget of 26,400 is allocated to the special project fund for initiatives. The Chief Superintendent Operations makes decisions on where the project funding is allocated. Further work in terms of costing of initiatives and measuring of success would be beneficial in evaluating success. Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary have however been particularly effective in implementing initiatives with the private sector and obtaining private sector funding. Example initiatives include Operation Safety which is an experiential learning initiative for schoolchildren jointly funded by Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary, Railtrack, Community Health Action Partnerships, British Nuclear Fuels PLC and area committee funding. Safer travel leaflets were printed with sponsorship money secured from the ferry companies then based at Stranraer. The Road Safety Unit has secured the use of a sponsored vehicle and Road Safety Message Cards previously purchased from the force budget are now sponsored by BT Scotland.

4.27 Safely Home with Stagecoach is a joint venture with a bus company whereby vulnerable travellers can ask to alight at the point on a bus route nearest their home rather than at a bus stop. The Telephone Box Guardian Scheme is a joint venture involving Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary, local people and British Telecom.

Tradesafe Partnership

4.28 Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary are currently part of a number of active partnerships in respect of Dumfries town centre. These provide an excellent example of partnership with the private sector in order to tackle common problems and achieve sustainable crime reduction. Following identification of ongoing problems in Dumfries town centre, which included high instances of shoplifting and street disorder a partnership with the Loreburne Shopping Centre Manager and Town Centre Manager was established. The group is known as the Dumfries Tradesafe Partnership and they operate Radio Link which is a means of communicating between retail premises and the two town centre community officers. This was married to the existing CCTV resource.

4.29 Tradesafe operates a system of civil exclusion orders whereby the group collectively bar individuals from member premises. HMIC interviewed the manager of the Loreburne centre who is the chairperson of the group who explained that sixty persons are currently barred from entering Tradesafe Partnership premises. Following a meeting which included the Procurator Fiscal and local defence solicitors special conditions are now being applied if an offender is released on bail so as to prevent the entering of Radio Linked premises. The impact has been to reduce crime. For example, retail theft during the Christmas period 2000/2001 represented a 43% decrease whilst the detection rate increased by 5%. Radio Link was also installed in the three main public conveniences following an upsurge in drug related activity in those premises and effectively resolved the problem.

4.30 The Scottish Business Crime Centre has declared Dumfries town centre a Safer Trading Environment and has recommended Dumfries as a centre of excellence. The essence of the Dumfries Tradesafe Partnership is that it has drawn together and mobilised local authority, police and the private sector into an effective crime reduction partnership.

MOBS

4.31 HMIC met with the chairperson of the Make Our Bars Safer (MOBS) initiative which is a means of linking the Dumfries town centre day and night economies and involves almost 90% of the sixty three licensees in the town. Licensees meet together once a month with police and others and exchange information. The police not only provide information on crime in the area but have also produced a reference document, in conjunction with Dumfries and Galloway Council Trading Standards Department, which gives guidance on aspects of the licensing and trading laws as they relate to individuals employed in the licensed trade.

4.32 Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary have also produced, in conjunction with the Dumfries and District Crime and Safety Forum, the Licensing Board, the Department for Environmental Health and others, a guide for licensees entitled Drugs Aware. This document was used to support a Drugs Awareness Seminar, which was held at Police Headquarters in Dumfries which 106 members of the local licensing trade attended. The document explains the law relating to drug misuse and explains what to look for and what to do if a problem is detected. The scheme is administered within the Tradesafe arrangements and members submit incident forms which can lead to joint banning of patrons. Some fifty people are currently banned and violent crime in licensed premises has been reduced significantly. The MOBS initiative is a transferable one. HMIC considers the Make our Bars Safer (MOBS) initiative within the wider Tradesafe crime prevention partnership to be good practice.

CCTV

4.33 Community officers and external partners voiced concern regarding the condition of Closed Circuit Television which is installed in eight small towns as well as Dumfries and Stranraer. Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary was the last force in Scotland to retain the responsibility for maintenance of the CCTV system but responsibility for a repair and replacement programme now lies with the local authority. CCTV has played a major part in the success of town centre initiatives including a detection rate in respect of a Christmas street crime initiative of 86%. Force CCTV returns show impressive results but also consistently show a high level of faults reported per month. Problems with regard to replacement of outdated CCTV equipment are increasingly likely to occur across Scotland and reflect the difficulties which can arise when funding is provided for initiative start-ups but must be found locally in respect of maintenance and replacement.

4.34 The Local Authority Liaison officer, who is the force's CCTV officer, is aware of the problem and the options for upgrading the system and is working with the Local Authority to identify the best option. The Local Authority are now considering the use of leased equipment.

Youth

4.35 Dumfries and Galloway Community Safety Partnership has produced a Youth Strategy and established an inter-agency team to develop and deliver innovative services for young people involved in persistent serious offending. Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary is committed to a force-wide Restorative Justice Programme and is represented on the Youth Justice Group. It has agreed to second an officer for three years to the newly established Youth Justice Team which aims to divert those with a high risk of re-offending and by intervention prevent graduation into the adult justice process. The constable operates within a multi-disciplinary team and provides general liaison between the Youth Justice Team and the police.

4.36 The officer has attended multi-agency restorative justice training and will attend Youth Level of Service Training in order to be provided with the skills to do risk assessments. Training will also be provided in respect of methods of intervention. Benchmarking has taken place with officers seconded to English Youth Offending Teams and liaison is being undertaken with prisons etc.

4.37 HMIC interviewed both the seconded officer and the team leader and recognises the secondment as a partnership tool in crime prevention which will allow closer links between the diversionary and initiative work being done by police and external agencies.

4.38 However, HMIC found limited awareness of the secondment within the force and for benefit to be maximised it should be marketed throughout the force, perhaps by use of the intranet. HMIC welcomes the intended presentations which will be given to community officers, senior managers and elected members.

Race

4.39 Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary formed a Race Relations Consultative Group in October 1999 which comprises representatives from Dumfries and Galloway Council, Health, Education, Children's Panel, Procurator Fiscal, South West Chinese Association, Islamic Association, Turkish community and Bihat community. The West of Scotland Community Relations Council initially also attended. It is a forum at which representatives of ethnic minority groups and local authorities, voluntary and other public services consider local race issues in order to identify and pre-empt emerging problems, monitor national race issues and their implications for Dumfries and Galloway and bring forward and share good practice from within and outwith the region. The remit of the group is to agree and respond to a shared action plan to promote race equality.

4.40 The group held a multicultural seminar in September 2000 and at the time of the inspection were agreeing a strategy and action plan. HMIC spoke with a member of the Consultative Group who endorsed the value of the group in terms of dealing with issues affecting the ethnic minority communities, providing advice in areas such as recruitment and in developing relationships and confidence in the police. Specific illustrations were provided of instances in which consultative group members had been used to provide cultural advice in respect of, for example, a fatal road accident.

4.41 One of the tasks which the group is considering undertaking is a survey of racist incident complainers in order to establish perceptions of the service received. The force does not yet offer any facility for remote reporting of racist incidents and may wish to give consideration to this following the work done in respect of the remote reporting of professional standards issues. HMIC's thematic inspection of police race relations entitled "Without Prejudice?" encouraged remote reporting or third party referral projects in relation to racist incidents. This advice is consistent with that contained in The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry Report and the ACPOS Racial Diversity Strategy.

The Balanced Scorecard

4.42 Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary have made effective use of the Balanced Scorecard as a means of ensuring a robust and comprehensive approach to planning and performance measurement in respect of the Safeguard initiative. The Balanced Scorecard is a management tool championed by the Accounts Commission and explained in the June 1998 document "The Measures of Success". It provides an agreed set of measures that give managers a comprehensive view of organisational performance. It ensures that comprehensive actions are designed and implemented in respect of each goal and that suitable performance indicators are built in at the planning stage.

4.43 Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary acts as one of the pilot audited bodies using the Scorecard approach. It was initially used in respect of one specific anti vandalism initiative rather than the whole Safeguard strategy and the force was supported in this first use of the approach by a member of staff from the Accounts Commission.

4.44 The approach has now been used in a variety of situations within the force ranging from the policing of a major football match to the foot and mouth outbreak. Most managers were aware of the methodology and its use in the force and whilst few front line constables were familiar with the term or the process involved, they were aware of the results. Officers had seen briefing packs on initiatives, had received individual e-mails explaining methods of measurement and reasons for it, and had seen final reports via the intranet. In addition they did not feel that they had been unnecessarily burdened by its use. The force considers the use of the Balanced Scorecard a success and intends to develop it further and apply it to the overall force strategy. HMIC considers the application of the Balanced Scorecard to be good practice.

Finance and Resources

4.45 Dumfries and Galloway Council, as a Police Authority, formally recognises the police as a distinct service within its committee and decision making structure. Police matters are dealt with through the Police, Fire and Public Protection Committee. It is to this Committee that police financial matters are referred for consideration.

4.46 The Financial Services Section provides the finance function within the Force. This Section relates to the provision of six main services:

Finance
Property
Transport
Procurement
Catering
Stores/Mailroom/Reception

4.47 The Chief Constable is fully accountable for both revenue and capital expenditure under his control.

4.48 The finance function currently has 6 support staff, the Head of Financial Services, an accounting technician, a senior administrative assistant, a payroll officer and two clerical staff, all based in Force Headquarters, Dumfries. The Head of Financial Services reports directly to the Chief Constable on finance matters and is responsible for financial issues on a daily basis. Key decisions, however, require the involvement of the Force Policy Group.

4.49 The Head of Financial Services attends Senior Management Meetings within the force and reports to the Council's Police, Fire and Public Protection Committee. The finance function is therefore fully incorporated within the policy and decision making framework within Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary.

4.50 Summary revenue budget monitoring reports submitted to the Policy Group and to Council members detail expenditure and income for the year to date, period budget and projected outturn over main budget headings.

4.51 Members of the Force Policy Group receive monthly revenue and capital monitoring reports.

4.52 Members of the Police, Fire and Public Protection Committee receive bi-monthly revenue and capital monitoring reports.

4.53 Members of the Council's Finance Sub-Committee receive monthly reports on projected revenue outturn (this information is available from the monthly performance information briefing schedule).

4.54 The Council's Director for Finance and Corporate Services is kept informed of general progress in relation to the force's revenue and capital budgets.

Financial Management

Devolved Budgets

4.55 The force introduced devolved financial management on 1 April 2000. The largest single item of police expenditure is staffing costs, which represents some 90% of the total budget. The extent of devolved budgets is limited to police and support staff overtime and most non-pay items. Budgets for each Division/Department have been created and the bases of allocation include staff numbers, actual costs and number of vehicles.

4.56 Training for devolved budgets has been provided in-house. A manual on devolved budgeting and general financial management has been prepared and ongoing support is available from the central finance team.

4.57 Business Objects reporting software is structured to facilitate the extraction of management information based on functional and managerial responsibilities. Reports are produced on a monthly basis and on an ad-hoc enquiry basis as required. Some budget heads do not have specific sums allocated to them but expenditure may be charged against them. The reason this has been done is to provide information under the general budget headings but to avoid dissecting each sub-category when in real terms budget monitoring relates to the budget heading and providing that has not been exceeded, some discretion is allowed under the sub-headings.

4.58 The system of devolved budgeting includes the opportunity for virement to allow managers a degree of flexibility in their use of resources. Virement of 20% is permitted between budget heads. Transfers above this limit are subject to approval by the Policy Group.

Financial Systems

4.59 Since local government reorganisation, the force has used the financial systems of Dumfries and Galloway Council.

4.60 The main system is the Powersolve financial information system which is a modular system providing the financial ledger, creditors ledger and debtors' ledger. Business Objects software is used as the reporting tool. These systems were introduced in 1997.

4.61 The payroll system (Midland Delphi) is Unix based and was introduced in 1994. The system is interfaced to Powersolve via a Klaus server.

4.62 All direct finance staff in Force Headquarters carries out processing to the general ledger, creditors ledger, debtors' ledger and payroll. Maintenance of the systems is provided by the Council's Corporate Information Services. Technical support and security is co-ordinated through the Council's Department of Finance.

Financial Services

4.63 Dumfries and Galloway Council provide a number of specialised services to the force. In addition to the services referred to above this includes the treasury management function, pensions administration and internal audit.

Internal Audit

4.64 Since local government reorganisation in 1996, Dumfries and Galloway Council has provided the internal audit service. Formal reporting of audit matters relating to the force is to the Council's Finance Sub-Committee.

Financial Performance 2000/01

4.65 Total Grant Aided Expenditure (GAE) allocation for Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary for 2000/01 was 21.3 million, which was some 506,000 or 2.43% in excess of the allocation for 1999/2000. The allocation incorporated efficiency savings of 1.7%.
A further allocation of 283,000 was made in July 2000 to provide for additional officers and increase sampling for DNA.

4.66 The outturn monitoring report submitted to the Police, Fire and Public Protection Committee for the full financial year reported an underspend of 1,000 against a revenue budget of 11.6 million. Included in the figures are additional costs of 311,708 incurred in policing the Foot and Mouth outbreak to 31 March 2001. This sum has been carried forward within income as costs recoverable from the Scottish Executive.

4.67 The outturn monitoring report submitted to the Police, Fire and Public Protection Committee in respect of police capital expenditure for 2000/01 reported an underspend of 12,000 against available s.94 consent which has been carried forward to offset expenditure in 2001/02.

Budget 2001/02

4.68 The Scottish Executive issued GAE figures for the three years commencing 2001/02 in September 2000 as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review. The allocation for 2001/02 is 22.650 million. In addition, the Scottish Executive have continued to fund at 100% level, additional expenditure on police officers, support staff and DNA testing which commenced in 2000/01.

4.69 To address the requirements of Best Value and to assist the achievement of budgetary targets, the Chief Constable has required service departments within the force to promote the need for efficiency savings within existing budgets and to provide a contingency sum to address new demands on the service. A sum of 117, 000 has been identified as a result of this exercise which has been reallocated by the Force's Policy Group to address new demands on the service. A virement report was submitted to and agreed by the PFPPC which allocated this underspend to address overspendings elsewhere.

4.70 At the point of inspection, an underspend against budget of 167,000 is indicated which arises from recoveries from the Scottish Executive for officers seconded to police the Lockerbie Trial.

Budget 2002/03 - 2004/05

4.71 A report was submitted by the Head of Financial Services in September 2001 to the PFPPC and the Finance Sub-Committee of the Council which detailed the provisional revenue budgets for Police for 2002/03 to 2004/05. The budgets were compiled based on maintaining current levels of service with inflation factors of 3% and 2.5% applied in respect of staff costs and other costs respectively.

4.72 A shortfall of 248,815 is estimated in 2003/04. The Head of Financial Services advised members that the GAE figure for 2003/04 might be adjusted to compensate for the shortfall. If no adjustment is made to GAE, however, savings will require to be achieved to reduce the projected budget to GAE level. Members were advised that this could only be achieved by a reduction in police staff numbers. Members were also advised that owing to the uncertainty relating to GAE allocations for 2003/04 and beyond, the Force Executive are reviewing the recruitment profile for police officers in an attempt to balance staff numbers with available finance in the long term.

Financial Issues arising from the Joint Inspection

Policies and Procedures

4.73 Financial Regulations specific to the force have not yet been developed. The Regulations in use are largely based on the core Financial Regulations for Dumfries and Galloway Council, supplemented in areas to reflect the specific circumstances of the force.

4.74 The documented scheme of 'Devolved Budgeting' provides information on the different budgets which have been devolved. The handbook, however, provides no information on the procedures to be followed by budgetholders with regard to reviewing and taking action on the revenue budget monitoring reports. The force will wish to be sure that staff have up to date financial guidance and procedures to hand. Procedural guidance should be available on site for all key processes to assist changeover of staff.

Scheme of Devolved Budgeting

4.75 A monitoring register is maintained which details the types of reports sent to budget holders. Queries on budget variances are raised by Force Finance at the time of issue of the reports. Budgetary control reports produced by Force Finance detail price variances (both Period and Year to date) down to Cost centre and Account Code level. No form of Exception Reporting is in operation. Budgetary control reports, therefore, list all price variances regardless of level of materiality.

4.76 The joint inspection team identified that although budget holders can request specific information and further reports on an ad-hoc basis, users' views of the system, its reports and documentation have not been formally sought. The force will wish to be sure that the views of budget holders are sought as to the value of the information provided and that the information is understood.

4.77 The main budget that has not been devolved is staffing costs. There is no intention at this time to extend the scheme for devolved budgeting to police and support staff pay. However HMIC considers the force needs to review formally its position taking account of the principle of devolved resource management as described in "Credit to the Force" (Joint HMIC/Accounts Commission report 1998).

Service Level Agreements

4.78 Support services are generally provided in-house by Dumfries and Galloway Council. Support services are not covered by service level agreements and the charge to the force matches the budgeted cost. Support services providers must be responsive to the needs of the force and provide services that the force requires to deliver its own services. It is appropriate then that agreements exist between the force and service providers which quantify the services to be provided. An essential feature of these agreements is a statement of the parties to the agreement, the price of the service to be provided, the arrangements for monitoring of performance and the mechanisms for redress in the event of service failure.

Internal Audit

4.79 Direct internal audit activity within the force is not specified within Internal Audit Monitoring Reports for 2000/01. It is recognised, however, that as part of a unitary authority, the force is more prone to use corporate systems which are subject to audit scrutiny. Direct audit of the force does not therefore represent a full picture of the internal audit activity relating to the force. Internal Audit, however, has not undertaken any corporate systems review work in the current financial year (nor is any planned for the remainder of the year). The level of internal audit activity should be targeted at those areas of risk that merit investigation and/or validation, based on the overall audit strategy within Dumfries and Galloway Council. A Strategic Audit Plan therefore requires to be developed which will result in audit work within the force being based on an overall risk assessment undertaken within the Council.

4.80 The Internal Audit section within the Council is embarking on a programme of major change and there is no formally approved strategic plan in operation for internal audit in the current year. (An Internal Audit Strategy for 2001/02 was approved by the Council in May 2001 however this document outlines only that work is underway on developing a new internal audit philosophy.)

Three-year budgeting and costed service plans

4.81 A three-year budget for the force for the period 2001/02 to 2003/04 was submitted to the Council in December 2000. The budgets were compiled based on maintaining current levels of service with an adjustment for inflation. No attempt has been made to link multi-year budgeting with Policing Plans by costing key activities to ensure resources are available to finance objectives and priorities included in plans. The Best Value agenda advocates costed service plans linked with multi-year budgeting. The force will wish to develop an action plan to progress this matter.

4.82 The Head of Financial Services has prepared a three-year Financial Services Strategy. While this provides an overall statement of the purpose of each service within the Section, it does not provide an overall framework within which service provision and improvement sit for the finance function. In addition, there is no clear statement of objectives, performance measures and improvement targets.

4.83 Overall the inspection identified that the force ensures proper financial management of its expenditure. Timely reporting of financial performance takes place at all levels and action is taken to investigate and act upon any under/overspends. The service also has effective financial monitoring and control over devolved budgets.

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