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Police forces have a range of "customers", from members of staff who are internal customers, to members of the public, businesses and other agencies in the community who are the major recipients of the service. Support for all customers is best achieved by a clear focus on the particular needs of these different customer groups.
3.1 Charter Mark
3.1.1 The government's Charter Mark award is "awarded for excellence" in public service provision. The initial award is for three years. The force first achieved this award in 1995 and since the last inspection has undergone re-accreditation. This confirmed not only that the standards assessed as part of the qualification process had been maintained, but that improvements had been made. The force was re-awarded Charter Mark status in 1998.
3.2 Community Consultation
3.2.1 The force policing plan involves consultation with the joint police board on which all three constituent local authorities are represented. As a means of delivering "joined up" service however, this mechanism was found to lack full effectiveness. The consultative machinery existing within local command areas was found to be stronger in terms of collaborative working. This would be further enhanced by greater attention to monitoring and evaluation of the target outcomes intended to result from such joint working.
3.2.2 The force conducted a postal survey in 1998/99 and intends to repeat this every three years in line with the survey structure recommended by Dr Nick Fyfe in the Scottish Office Central Research Unit publication, "Designing Police User Surveys" (1997). Otherwise a public satisfaction survey is conducted twice a year and the results included in the analysis pack referred to in paragraph 2.2.3.
3.2.3 More regular consultation takes place at local level. Area commanders attend local community group meetings as part of the consultative process for local action plans and local command unit officers, particularly community constables play an active role in local panels and groups, providing feedback to the force on local issues.
3.3 Staff Consultation
3.3.1 HMIC met with officials from the three force staff associations namely the Scottish Police Federation, the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents and UNISON. There are formal consultation procedures in place for all the associations that is the Joint Negotiating and Co-ordinating Committee (JNCC) for the police staff associations and the Staff Negotiating Board for support staff.
3.3.2 The JNCC meets quarterly when representatives of the two police associations meet with the chief constable and the deputy chief constable. There is no set programme for meetings and the date of the next meeting is agreed at the end of each meeting held. HMIC suggests that the force might wish to consider a schedule for such meetings with set dates throughout the year.
3.3.3 The Staff Negotiating Board also meets quarterly and comprises UNISON officials, representatives of support staff members who are not union members, the deputy chief constable, finance officer, head of human resources and senior personnel officer.
3.3.4 A joint negotiating board involving both police and support staff had been considered but not advanced. HMIC suggests this might be re-visited as it can enhance corporacy and improve communication.
3.3.5 About half of the force support staff are members of UNISON and this is increasing. There are only a few members of staff who belong to unions other than UNISON.
3.3.6 The union members are still associated to the Stirling Council branch of the union and it is intended that in due course the police support staff will form their own sub-branch to represent police support staff members only. It was noted that the lead shop steward who represents the force has no dedicated office accommodation for the purpose of private interviews with staff and the administrative facilities available to her are limited. Currently employed as a station assistant, more than half her working time now involves union business. Given the increasing membership the force may wish to assess the current situation in respect of access to accommodation and administrative support.
3.3.7 There has been no recent staff satisfaction survey or other attempt to measure staff morale within the force. HMIC is aware that morale is difficult to measure accurately but during the inspection, staff were asked for their perceptions about morale within the force. Responses varied, but there was a notable shared view, particularly among operational staff, that morale was not high. It was noted that the less positive views tended to be expressed where concerns about low staffing levels were also evident.
3.3.8 HMIC noted the reference to staff morale as an indicator within the human resources strategy, which has yet to be implemented, and acknowledges this as a positive and helpful inclusion.
3.3.9 Other consultation with staff has taken place in the form of training needs analysis, the last major analysis being in respect of the IT skills of all staff. Further internal consultation was planned to take place soon after the inspection.
3.4 Grievances
3.4.1 The force has a documented grievance policy, accessible by all members of staff through the force web browser.
3.4.2 There were four grievances dealt with by the force in 1999. These involved both police and support staff members. All were resolved at the first stage. None of the grievances involved allegations of harassment.
3.5 Staff Appraisal
3.5.1 Although there is a staff appraisal system in place within the force for support staff, HMIC noted that not all support staff had yet received an appraisal. In one case, the member of staff was holding a key post and would have benefited from this opportunity.
3.5.2 The staff appraisal system for police officers is used to identify suitable officers for a development programme introduced in 1997 (see paragraph 1.6.3). The aim of the programme is to develop existing skills as well as provide new skills to benefit both the individual and the force. Officers identified as suitable through staff appraisal undergo developmental training. This can include a period of acting rank followed by the completion of accredited training modules. Those officers successfully completing the programme are then equipped with skills for either specialist or promoted posts in the future.
3.6 Victim Support
3.6.1 HMIC found that good relations existed between the force and Victim Support. There was evidence that the Chief Constable had given the force clear direction in terms of the involvement and support which was expected to be shown to this agency. In one area, (Falkirk), there was found to be regular contact between the co-ordinator and the area commander. The Victim Support Co-ordinator for this area had also participated in local training classes for probationary police officers.
3.6.2 HMIC is aware of concerns in many forces regarding the data protection implications of disclosing victims' details to Victim Support. No decision has been reached nationally however to agree how to proceed. Such an agreement is required, based on the provisions of current legislation, in order that police forces can either continue to promote the involvement of Victim Support in a pro-active manner or formalise new procedures to ensure provision of such support where it is required.
3.6.3 The force currently operates an "opt out" policy whereby victims of crime receive a Victim Support contact card from the officer dealing with the crime. A letter is then sent from the local crime management unit in which they are advised that Victim Support will be notified of the crime unless they wish this not to happen. It is the responsibility of the officer dealing with the crime to then notify Victim Support.
3.6.4 HMIC noted that the number of victims referred to Victim Support schemes is one of the performance indicators recorded at force and local command unit level.
3.7 Care and Custody of Prisoners
3.7.1 All main custody centres in the force were visited in the course of the inspection. HMIC found that there had been no significant beneficial change in this area since the last inspection.
3.7.2 The role of custody sergeant was the subject of specific comment in the last review inspection report on the force (Review Inspection 1998, Recommendation 6) when it was recommended that civilian turnkeys should be employed and that the sergeant's role should be limited to a supervisory one.
3.7.3 This has not taken place and the role of custody sergeant is unchanged at Stirling and Falkirk. In Alloa it remains the role of the "office clerk," a constable, to perform the role of custody officer.
3.7.4 HMIC has concern that the training provided for custody officers and the officers who carry out the custody officer role in their absence appears very limited. Officers spoken to had no custody handling training or recent first aid training. There is a policy document on the care of prisoners and a set of force custody procedures. Both are available to officers through the force web browser.
3.7.5 Cell areas across the force area were found to be clean and tidy. Notices of prisoners' rights were prominently displayed on cell corridor walls. HMIC noted however that these notices advise people in custody that, during their time in custody, food may be provided for them by friends. This privilege has been discontinued in many forces due to the discovery of drugs and other material concealed within foodstuffs. HMIC suggests that because of the potential risks this approach is reconsidered.
3.7.6 There were no guidelines for officers dealing with the provision of special diets or other religious needs of people in custody. HMIC suggests that this is something which the force might wish to consider.
3.7.7 The use of CCTV in custody areas has been mentioned in chapter 7 of this report. Although there is good coverage of cell blocks and passages in the main stations, HMIC suggests that consideration be given to the replacement of current video recording equipment with tamper-proof machines. This enables any allegations of tampering with the equipment to be refuted and ensures that prisoners and officers are protected at all times.
3.7.8 While recognising that there are resource implications HMIC repeats the recommendation that early attention should be given to the introduction of turnkeys and the re-deployment of police officers to appropriate functions. *
Recommendation 1
HMIC recommends that early attention should be given to the introduction
of turnkeys and thus enable the re-deployment of police officers to appropriate
functions.
3.7.9 There were no documented evacuation plans for any of the three main custody areas in the force in the event of fire or other emergency. HMIC suggests that the force should consider the documentation of such a plan relevant to each of the three main custody areas at Alloa, Falkirk and Stirling.
* Post script
Since this inspection, the Scottish Executive has announced additional funding
for the Scottish Police Service. Central Scotland Police has notified HMIC that,
in light of the additional funding, ten turnkeys are to be recruited, enabling
the release of ten police officers for operational duties.
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