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Strathclyde Police Primary Inspection 2004

1. Leadership

Background

1.1 Strathclyde Police is the largest force in Scotland and is responsible for policing 12 local authority areas. It covers a geographic spread of over 5,300 square miles and a population of around 2.2 million people. Its citizens are located across a wide range of environments, from the City of Glasgow to island communities on the West Coast of Scotland and come from a variety of social, economic and cultural backgrounds.

Structure of Force

1.2 The force currently has an annual budget of over 450 million. There are approximately 7,300 police officers and 2,200 force support staff working across nine territorial divisions and a variety of headquarters and support functions.

1.3 Territorial Divisions were previously known by a single letter, but in order to identify more clearly the area served, the force has renamed them to reflect the local community. The divisional structure with its former Divisional identifier and new title is illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Divisional Structure

Senior Management

1.4 Mr William Rae was appointed Chief Constable in July 2001. The Chief Constable is supported by the force executive which comprises the Deputy Chief Constable, four Assistant Chief Constables and Directors of IT, Legal Services, Finance and Resources and HR. At the time of the inspection, a number of changes had taken place among the Assistant Chief Constables. Following the departure of Deputy Chief Constable Colin McKerracher, on appointment as Chief Constable of Grampian Police, his post was filled by an acting rank as were the roles of the Assistant Chief Constables for Personnel and Crime. Mr John Corrigan was subsequently selected to take responsibility for the crime portfolio from 2 August 2004. The force executive structure is outlined in Figure 2.

Figure 2: Command Structure

1.5 Recent changes in organisational structure and senior appointments illustrate recognition of the value of recruiting professionally trained staff to take on specialist roles and provide proper support in an increasingly complex operating environment. HMIC welcomes the recent appointment of a Director of Human Resources, who will assume the responsibilities of the Assistant Chief Constable (Personnel). This appointment has provided the opportunity for a review of the functional portfolios currently shared amongst the Assistant Chief Constables. HMIC will examine the outcome during the review inspection.

1.6 The vacant post of Director of IT was being carried out by an acting Director. The selection process incurred a delay of fourteen months, until the new Director was appointed in May 2004. HMIC recognises the advances made by the force since the last primary inspection in the development and implementation of a sustainable IT infrastructure. However, during a period of major project planning and implementation, it is essential to maintain continuity of decision making at a strategic level and the appointment, ultimately, of the replacement IT Director is welcomed.

Change Management

1.7 The force has carried out a comprehensive strategic review of its management structure and processes relating to the control of major projects and the introduction and management of new projects. The review was carried out by a team from the Force Inspectorate and Corporate Planning and Development during 2003 and a number of recommendations were made and actioned. This provided the force with a framework in which to progress these complex projects. A strategic management review was undertaken by Glasgow Caledonian University and HMIC considers this collaborative approach to organisational improvement to be positive and open.

1.8 As a result of implementing some of the recommendations of the review, the structure now in place provides greater clarity in corporate decision making. There are now clear lines of accountability and recognition of the responsibilities of the force Programme Board and Strategy Groups and linkage to the force executive. Figure 3 illustrates the relationship between the force's strategy groups.

Figure 3: Force Strategy Groups

1.9 The Chief Constable and his executive team have initiated a challenging programme of change within the force, including centralised crime recording, call management, revised business planning mechanisms and a focus on major improvements in the IT infrastructure. The integration of the National Intelligence Model (NIM) and Problem Solving, and the imminent roll-out of the Airwave communication system creates a dynamic environment within the force. The Programme Board, chaired by the Deputy Chief Constable, has responsibility for control of projects and the impact they have on the organisation. HMIC recognises the benefits to the force and the communities it serves which could result from successful implementation of this ambitious change programme. The Deputy Chief Constable has a pivotal role in ensuring successful delivery of the programme and HMIC will be interested to examine progress in these major projects at the review inspection.

1.10 HMIC attended a number of focus groups during the field inspection and, whilst engaging in discussion over a broad range of issues, comment was made by police officers and support staff on the number of major changes the force is currently undergoing. Similarly, staff associations commented on the pace of change being experienced within the force and HMIC considers it important that the force executive maintains effective communication channels to ensure staff are advised of strategic decisions and developments or changes to major projects. An example of an information gap was evident during fieldwork discussions with supervisors who, whilst talking about the management of welfare issues, were unaware of the imminent change of policy to outsource staff welfare provision. HMIC believes that there is scope for the force to articulate change more effectively to its staff, thereby promoting the ownership of common objectives and ultimately improving the likelihood of success.

1.11 Throughout the inspection, there was evidence of strong leadership demonstrated by the Chief Constable, with a clear focus on priorities which cascaded down through members of the Executive, a state of affairs regularly reflected in conversations with divisional and departmental staff. Senior management commented very positively on the inclusive style of leadership practised by the Chief Constable, including the introduction of a Divisional Commanders' representative who attends meetings of the force executive. At the same time, the performance of the force in terms of crime reduction and solvency is impressive, with a decrease in recorded crime over the past 2 years and a corresponding increase in detections, now standing at 47.3%.

1.12 It is clear that the strategic direction is set by the Chief Constable and the force executive, although divisional commanders can and do operate with a high degree of autonomy. This is generally positive but, during inspection fieldwork, it became clear that in one Division there was divergence from the force's agreed and established model of resource deployment. In another, the Scottish Crime Recording Standard was introduced months in advance of force-wide implementation. In the case of resource deployment, some officers were working an unpopular 'cover shift' while their neighbouring colleagues, policing in a similar context, were not. In relation to crime recording, the effect of using different criteria in one area undermines comparison of statistics across the force. HMIC recognises that it is essential to provide flexibility to respond to local needs, but unilateral action in one Division can have repercussions beyond its boundary and the corporacy of the force could be undermined.

1.13 During HMIC's primary inspection of 2000, the 'Spotlight Initiative', which aimed to reduce violent crime, disorder and the fear of crime dramatically, was in its fifth year. HMIC commented favourably on how the initiative had played a significant role in raising the visibility and performance of the force. Although no longer marketed under the 'Spotlight' banner, the principles of analysis, public responsiveness, visibility and focused action are now firmly embedded and are apparent throughout force activity.

1.14 HMIC noted that the overall visibility of the force executive was strong and that a series of visits had been carried out within the nine divisions over the past 10 months, with another series planned to commence during August 2004. The 'Starburst' style of visits are carried out over a full day and commence with each member of the force executive visiting a separate sub-division or department. At the conclusion of their visits, the force executive regroups and discusses its findings with senior members of the divisional management team. The members of the force executive speak favourably of the 'Starburst' visits and topics of discussion during these visits are noted and later included as an agenda item for force executive meetings. HMIC understands the reception given to this approach by divisions is more cautious and it may be that the initiative may only gain the confidence of all those involved over a period of time. However, HMIC recognises the value of this initiative and is supportive of the force's approach in relation to it.

1.15 HMIC examined the use by members of the force executive of video messaging on the force intranet. As the force covers a large geographical area, HMIC is aware that opportunities for direct communication from senior management can be particularly welcome. Allowing staff the facility to see and hear comments directly from the executive is an effective development.

1.16 The Chief Constable is seeking to introduce the concept of risk management at all levels. Currently in draft form, the Risk Management Strategy and related policy, seeks to enhance the ability of the force to deal with risk by building it into policy making, programme management, operational management and general decision making at all levels. It will include the creation of a Force Risk Register that will identify the top ten risks facing the force and how they will be managed. The concept looks to broaden out responsibility so that the handling of risk becomes a core part of all actions taken by staff in the force. This is considered to be an interesting development which offers significant potential and HMIC will examine the progress and implementation of the Risk Management Strategy during the review inspection.

Strathclyde Joint Police Board

1.17 Strathclyde Joint Police Board consists of an elected membership of 34 councillors drawn from the 12 councils within the Strathclyde Police area.

1.18 As part of the field work, the inspection team attended a meeting of the Joint Police Board, seeking the members' views. The members present were fully supportive of the Chief Constable and the direction the force was taking.

1.19 Complaints against the police are dealt with by way of a formal process within each Scottish force and the Deputy Chief Constable is responsible for ensuring compliance at all stages. If, at the end of the complaints process, complainers are not satisfied with the way in which the complaint has been handled, then they may refer the complaint to HMIC. HM Lay Inspector will then carry out an independent evaluation of the way the force has dealt with the complaint. Within its Code of Corporate Governance, Strathclyde Joint Police Board recognises the need for effective monitoring arrangements within the complaints process and HMIC acknowledges that a Police Complaints Working Group has been established. It is proposed to introduce a system to allow members to examine complaints files and look at complex cases. HMIC welcomes the Board's intent to increase its involvement in scrutiny of this complex work and recommends that it formalises these arrangements by establishing a permanent Police Complaints Sub-Committee.

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