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PREAMBLE
Role of Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary ( HMIC)
HMIC has a statutory duty under section 33(3) of the Police (Scotland) Act 1967 to report to Scottish Ministers on the effectiveness and efficiency of the police service in Scotland. This duty is discharged through primary and review inspections of forces and common police services and also through conducting thematic inspections on areas of particular interest or concern.
The main objective of thematic inspections is to establish the state of current practice within the Scottish police service by consulting with the various stakeholders and then, taking account of developments and good practice in other police forces or organisations, provide comment and recommendations to move the service forward within that particular field of policing.
Context of the Thematic Inspection of Performance Management in Scotland
The current level of spending on policing in Scotland is £1 billion. Governance is provided by a tripartite arrangement of chief constables, police authorities and the Scottish Executive. HMIC and Audit Scotland, on behalf of the Accounts Commission, provide regular inspection and audit arrangements and, while differing in emphasis and chronology, act as a stimulus for maintaining or improving police performance at individual force and national levels. Forces also demonstrate accountability through public performance reporting against local and force policing plans and at a national level by reference to the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland ( ACPOS) Policing Priorities for Scotland 2003-2006.
However, while the current map of police performance management and accountability in Scotland can be shown to be well populated, there is an increased focus by the Scottish Executive on performance management within the public sector generally. The emergence of a centrally driven Police Performance and Assessment Framework ( PPAF) in England and Wales, linked to a National Policing Plan, and the challenge of measuring activity across partnership working, are further influences in the debate about how best to develop further a positive performance culture in Scotland.
The question as to how the Scottish police service can most effectively demonstrate performance over the full spectrum of police work is not a new one. Public satisfaction with the service provided must be considered an important indicator of success and, in Scotland, Accounts Commission figures demonstrate a level of satisfaction consistently between 75% and 90%. For many people, however, recorded crime remains the definitive measure of police performance. In this regard it is an extremely positive message that in the period up to April 2004, when the Scottish Crime Recording Standard ( SCRS) was introduced, the Scottish police service had experienced a period of sustained reduction in overall recorded crime, while witnessing a corresponding increase in detection rates.
Yet crime figures can be misleading or, at times, obscure the true picture, if merely reported without contextual background. Factors affecting crime and detection rates are diverse, from public under-reporting to the police use of special initiatives, from new technology to new legislation, as well as social and geographic variances, all of which bear explanation when publishing results. In his Annual Report for 2002-2003, Sir Roy Cameron, then Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary ( HMCIC), commented:
"We have previously registered a health warning on the validity of founding on recorded crime statistics for comparative purposes... With an increasing focus on performance indicators, we consider these reservations to remain relevant."
So, while crime and crime solvency rates can be useful indicators of performance if viewed as part of a wider suite of measures, they must also be recorded consistently and to a common standard. The SCRS has recently been introduced to address this issue and is itself the subject of a thematic inspection by HMIC.
The need for some form of overarching monitoring arrangement for Scotland was commented upon in the most recent Annual Report of HMCIC (2003-2004). Referring to ongoing work by ACPOS, the report, at Chapter 4, states:
"This year, work has begun on developing a framework to provide centralised co-ordination and oversight of force responses to the various national reporting requirements. These key performance indicators require a combined response from the Scottish police service and this ACPOS led initiative should significantly enhance the police service's ability collectively to collate, monitor, evaluate and report on performance. HMIC strongly supports this development and will assist where appropriate."
Against this background, HMIC is well placed to draw on the positive work already being undertaken in Scotland in relation to performance management, both at force and national level.
Aim
The aim of the thematic inspection is to undertake an examination of the current state of performance management within the Scottish police service.
Objectives
The objectives are to:
- consider the leadership, policy and strategy, people, partnership and resources and processes of performance management and accountability across Scotland
- examine the role of performance management in developing strategies and policies, business planning and accountability
- consider the attributes of successful performance systems and measures
- identify instances of good practice
- make recommendations designed to ensure continuous improvement of the service provided by the police in Scotland.
Methodology
Following an initial literature review and desktop research, HMIC visited 6 police forces in England, the Police Service of Northern Ireland ( PSNI), the Home Office, the Police Standards Unit and HMIC (England and Wales), together with non police organisations such as NHSScotland and the Fire Service in the public sector and the Royal Bank of Scotland in the private sector. HMIC sought academic opinion from the Universities of Aston, Edinburgh, Manchester, Newcastle and University College London.
Liaison was established with representatives of all relevant Scottish Executive departments, Audit Scotland, ACPOS, the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents ( ASPS), the Scottish Police Federation and UNISON.
In previous thematic inspections, value has been derived from seeking out good practice internationally. Consideration was specifically given to this during the research phase of the inspection but after careful scrutiny of performance management texts, policing databases and through consultation with practitioners, the team formed the view that there was little to be gained from fieldwork visits to policing organisations which had already been the subject of analysis and comment in contemporary literature and on the internet. As an example, since the development of 'Compstat' in various US cities since the late 1990s, elements have been adopted in UK policing and widely discussed by commentators.
The inspection of all 8 Scottish Forces and the 4 common police services, namely the Scottish Police College ( SPC), the Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency ( SDEA), the Scottish Criminal Record Office ( SCRO) and the Scottish Police Information Strategy ( SPIS), was conducted in April and May 2005, preceded by the completion of a comprehensive 32 question protocol.
The protocol was adapted from the standard HMIC inspection format, based on the familiar EFQM model, although subsequently the main headings of this report were amended to reflect more appropriately the scope of police performance management.
Analysis of the responses provided a wealth of detailed information, permitting the inspection team to focus on the most relevant issues during the fieldwork visits. Fieldwork consisted of examination of systems and reports and interviews with police and support staff across a range of levels and responsibilities. An important aspect of this work was the face to face interviews with chief constables and directors of common police services.
HMIC acknowledges the valuable assistance of the nominated liaison officers in collating the return of the protocols and in negotiating workable timetables in respect of the visits.
At various points the report highlights a range of activity in the Scottish police service and beyond, much of which can be considered to be good practice.
The inspection was carried out by HMIC staff under the direction of Kenny McInnes, Assistant Inspector of Constabulary.
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