Home | Press | Publications | What We Do | Who We Are | Search | Site Map | Contacts | Links
HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland

< Previous | Contents | Next >

The investigation of complaints against the police in Scotland

9. How Much is it Worth?

Best Value in the investigation of complaints

9.1 There have been few attempts to estimate the costs of police complaints investigation. Whilst the cost of force complaints departments could be calculated it would be harder to cost the significant number of enquiries which are allocated to operational inspectors. A true costing would include the time spent by officers under investigation preparing statements or being interviewed. Typing and administrative costs would also need to be taken into account.

9.2 In reality only a minority of complaint investigation costs are direct costs. Most are opportunity costs in that the resources consumed are ones which would in any event be paid for by the organisation but would otherwise be used on operational duties. Viewed in this way the true cost of complaint investigation lies in the diversion of time, energy and skill away from front line policing.

9.3 During the inspection HMIC have nevertheless noted some attempts to calculate the total cost of investigations. In one force the cost of some complaints has been calculated on the basis of analysis of the time spent by officers and department staff in investigation, research and reporting, interviewing and preparation of the final case work. This has shown that the cost of a fairly minor complaint is rarely less than £1,000 and can often exceed £2,000.

9.4 In another force an attempt has been made to calculate the total cost of complaint investigation using a simple time based formula. Using this approach it was concluded that in a typical year the cost to the force would be around £1m or about 0.8% of the force revenue budget. This process did not take account of the fixed cost associated with running a department, nor the substantial burden imposed by outside force investigations.

9.5 All of these figures are however approximate and to some extent speculative. What is certain is that whatever the current costs forces have a clear duty to pursue maximum cost effectiveness within the statutory parameters of the current system. With this principle in mind HMIC took an interest in the staffing arrangements of force complaints departments. The staffing arrangements are illustrated in Table 2.

Table 2: Staffing Levels in Complaints Departments Within Scottish Forces

9.6 Throughout Scottish forces there are 37 police officers and 8 Force Support Staff (FSO) engaged full time within relevant force departments dealing with complaints and misconduct. Some forces are also assisted by seconded staff attached to the department whereas in one force with relatively low numbers of recorded complaints, the role is carried out by administrative staff with investigation allocated to available senior ranks.

9.7 Typically a department would be headed at either superintendent or chief inspector level. Investigative work would be undertaken by inspectors with typing and administrative support provided by force support staff. The rank of inspector is significant in that it is the minimum rank which can act as "investigating officer" under police regulations.

9.8 Two forces had arrangements which were different from this norm. In one, the investigating officers in the force complaints department are mainly Chief Inspectors, although this is currently under review. In another, 4 sergeants provide investigation support to appointed investigating officers. This approach is based on a belief which HMIC sees as well founded, that the requirement for an Inspector to be investigating officer does not require that officer to undertake every task in respect of an enquiry. It is appropriate for an Investigating Officer to retain full control and take personal responsibility for the enquiry. This normally involves interviewing the complainer, any significant witnesses, and the officers against whom the allegation has been made. The remaining enquiries normally involve a variety of routine investigative tasks which do not require the seniority of inspector rank.

9.9 In consideration of this issue HMIC has extended its thinking to ask whether the duties of investigative support require police powers at all or whether suitably skilled support staff could fulfil this role and allow a significant saving of cost. If this was possible it is likely that work of this nature would attract interest from retired police officers and others with an investigative background.

9.10 This is largely untested territory and HMIC would not wish to be unduly prescriptive with regard to the way forward. However, HM Inspectorate is firm in the view that the common assumption that all investigative work on police complaints can only be undertaken by senior and expensive police officers needs to be challenged. The amounts under consideration here are not small. The annual cost of a Chief Inspector is around £43,800. It seems highly probable that suitably skilled support staff could be attracted for substantially less than that amount. HMIC also considered the separate but related issue of the rank of the chairman and assessors who hear misconduct cases. In one force this is done by an assistant chief constable sitting alone. In others the same duty might be undertaken by a superintendent either individually or as part of a panel. Now that forces have gained experience in the process it may be appropriate to subject these different arrangements to review.

9.11 The vehicle to take this forward may be the police "Best Value" programme. "Best Value" is a government initiative which requires police and local government to undertake a rolling programme of service reviews under the "four Cs" principles of "challenge, compare, consult and compete". HMIC are not aware of any force which currently plans to submit complaint investigation to an early review under "Best Value". In view of the range of options available and the potential for saving HMIC recommends that forces schedule complaints investigation to an early review under the Best Value programme and in particular that they should seek savings in the area of investigation support.

< Previous | Contents | Next >

The information contained on this WWW site is Crown Copyright but may be reproduced without formal permission or charge for personal or in-house use. Privacy and Content Disclaimer.

For general enquiries about this web site email ceu@scotland.gov.uk or fill out our online questionnaire.

Making It Work Together