The Scottish Government

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2. SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

2.1 The 2003 primary inspection of the force produced a total of 22 recommendations: 15 were for the attention of the force and 7 were directed at ACPOS. Seventeen areas for future review were also identified. In response to the resulting report, Lothian and Borders Police introduced an action planning process that outlined the areas to be addressed and allocated responsibility to specific post-holders. The Corporate Development department managed this process centrally and established a framework for monitoring progress. At the first review inspection in 2004, we were able to discharge 12 recommendations - eight directed at the force and 4 at ACPOS - and to conclude our interest in 5 of the areas for future review. At the same time we highlighted a further nine areas concerning force and national developments to be revisited at the second review inspection.

2.2 During this second review inspection we were able to discharge seven of the remaining ten recommendations, six relating to the force and one to ACPOS. Of the 12 remaining original areas for review, sufficient progress had been achieved to conclude our interest in nine cases and leave just 3 outstanding. While of the 9 additional areas identified at the 2004 review inspection, we were sufficiently satisfied with the progress we found to conclude our interest in all but one.

2.3 At the time of this inspection it was clear that the force had made significant progress in many areas. We were particularly pleased to see a strong and effective focus on performance management to support operational policing. This has been complemented by developments in joint working with the force's partners, including an emphasis on using the National Intelligence Model ( NIM) to inform shared priorities and direct activity. NIM is very much the focus for strategic planning within Lothian and Borders Police, and the force's crime management is now fully aligned to NIM principles.

2.4 The force has also achieved a good deal in matters of diversity. We were particularly pleased to discharge the recommendation regarding diversity training for force staff. Though we remain concerned at the length of time it has taken to reach this stage, we acknowledge the quality of the training that has now been provided. The force has made progress too in providing Police Custody and Security Officers ( PCSOS) with adequate training and in keeping the deployment of police officers within custody areas under review.

2.5 Constructive developments in the division that covers the City of Edinburgh were also apparent. There is now a very clear vision of the way forward, with improvements in structure and performance to support this.

2.6 At the national level, we were able to conclude our interest in the recommendations to ACPOS dealing with police time at court and the recovery of fines. With the recovery of fines in particular, we are pleased to see an effective government response to an issue that has exerted considerable demand on police resources. We are unable, however, to discharge our interest in national promotion selection, as the new national Performance Development Review is still to be introduced fully and not all forces advertise superintendent vacancies nationally.

2.7 The inspection also revealed that despite improvements in performance the Force Communications Centre ( FCC) continues to experience difficulties. Too many calls are being abandoned, for example, and there is a perception within the force that the quality of the service remains too low. We are concerned that some measures may not have been sufficiently appraised prior to being implemented, and that the review being carried out by the force is not fundamental enough to deal with underlying problems.

2.8 In conjunction with Audit Scotland we also re-examined Best Value and costed policing activities. Despite some progress having been made, here too we were unable to conclude our interest.

2.9 Of the areas for review identified during our 2004 review inspection, sufficient progress has been made in eight cases to allow us to conclude our interest. The main body of the report elaborates on the nature of this progress, the amount of work that the force has undertaken and its commitment to matters of national interest.

2.10 As part of this review inspection, we asked the force for information on a number of topics that had come to prominence, nationally and/or locally, since the first review inspection in 2004. As a result, the inspection was extended to allow the force's responses to the following to be examined in greater detail:

• the Civil Contingencies Act 2004;
• the requirement to develop and publish a Gender Equality Scheme;
• age discrimination;
• developing processes and measures for business benefits and efficiency savings;
• responding to the outcomes of Her Majesty's Inspectorate for Education joint inspections on child protection;
• the review of marches and parades;
• tackling sectarianism;
• ict convergence;
• the development and use of electronic notebooks;
• the operation of the Scottish Police Services Authority;
• the recommendations of the Bichard Report;
• human trafficking;
• the Independent Custody Visitor Scheme;
• dealing with anti-social behaviour; and
• ensuring that its estate remains fit for purpose.

While a more detailed analysis can be found at Section 6, we found that Lothian and Borders Police is, for the most part, actively addressing each of these areas to positive effect.

2.11 Summary of Recommendations

2.12 Summary of Areas to be Reviewed

2.13 Summary of Issues Arising from Previous Review Inspection

2.14 To assess the extent to which forces comply with the Scottish Crime Recording Standard ( SCRS), a crime recording audit has formed part of each of our force primary and review inspections since 2005. Our methods are consistent with the principles outlined in our 2005 thematic on crime recording, Meeting the Standard, and the ACPOS publication Audit Methodology For Reviewing The Quality Of Crime Data Recorded By Scottish Police Forces that was published in September 2006.

2.15 Thus, during Lothian and Borders Police crime recording audit, the following 5 tests were applied:

Test 1: Incident inferring crime - disposals of incidents over a given period are checked to confirm whether crimes have been recorded properly and, if not, whether there is a satisfactory explanation for this. The force's compliance rate for the 1,565 records examined, was 97.3%. This exceeds the national standard of 95%.

Test 2: Disposal indicates crime report submitted - this test confirms that where an incident relates to a criminal act, a crime report is recorded on the crime management system. Out of 30 such incidents examined, all were found to be recorded on the crime management system.

Test 3: Crime is correctly classified - of the 30 reports examined, all were found to be correctly classified.

Test 4: Correct application of counting rules - of the 30 crime reports examined, in every case the relevant rules relating to crime counting had been adhered to.

Test 5: Correct application of "no criming" - examination of 30 crime reports that were "no crimed" led to two being referred back to the force Crime Registrar, one of which was subsequently re-"crimed". The circumstances leading to this misclassification have been examined and staff training issues identified.

2.16 On the basis of these results, we are satisfied that Lothian and Borders Police is adhering to the required standards. Further comment on the force's incident and crime recording procedures appears elsewhere in this report (see Area for Review 3). The findings will be the subject of detailed discussion with the force.

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