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Recommendation 1 - HMIC recommends that the force review divisional management structures with a view to introducing suitably qualified civilian support and the release of senior police officers for operational command.
Two full-time posts have been advertised for Support staff, one at Dunfermline and one at Kirkcaldy. Both posts are sufficiently senior to afford appropriate support for Divisional Management and will release one Police Inspector from each of the two larger Divisions for operational command duties. As at 14.2.2000 applicants for these posts are under active consideration.
The position at Cupar is slightly different inasmuch as the senior support staff post has yet to be advertised and will in any event be a part-time position. The post will be at the same grade as the full-time posts but will be restricted to 50% of the hours to reflect the differing volumes between the Divisions. This position was advertised during the week commencing 14.2.2000 and will subsequently release one Police Sergeant for operational duties.
HMIC welcomes the progress made by the force in introducing greater civilian expertise into the financial and administrative management of local policing. The release of 2 police inspector posts for operational duty is encouraging. This recommendation is regarded as discharged.
Recommendation 2 - HMIC recommends that the force develop a process of random audit or inspection to ensure the accuracy and integrity of management information and the proper observance of security procedures.
A document has been produced which outlines the procedures adopted in force in respect of the above.
This recommendation has been taken forward in two ways.
Firstly the Data Audit Department are currently undertaking a process of Risk Assessment in respect of the data held on all computer systems. Once complete a timetable of audit will be prepared to take forward a systematic audit of systems. This will build on previous work undertaken, but instead of following a prescribed timetable of audit focusing on predominantly national systems, the timetable of audit will prioritise vulnerable systems.
The second approach is in respect of the random audit of internal systems in respect of usage by force personnel. A procedure document has been produced which outlines the process. In brief, because internal systems do not have data logging facilities it is not possible to base such an audit on historical data. There is therefore a requirement to do this in 'real-time'.
The approach taken, for security reasons, is to have a member of the Communications and IT Department identify to the Data Audit Officer, which operators are 'logged-into' the system and which applications they are using. The Data Audit Officer will then contact the individual by telephone to confirm they are in fact the person 'logged on'. A series of checks will thereafter be carried out by the Data Audit Officer. These check will be followed up by a documentary process endorsed by the operators supervisor. The attached documentation fully explains the procedure.
In addition to these 'real-time' checks, the Data Audit Officers will conduct live checks as they visit stations during their audit duties.
The above has been communicated to the force by way of Force Notices, in addition to which Divisional Commanders and Departmental Heads have received memoranda highlighting the proposals and emphasising the role of local supervisors in computer security matters.
The documentation referred to is available for perusal by HMIC.
HMIC welcomes the steps taken by the force and there is early evidence that these have already strengthened the integrity and security of IT systems. In making this recommendation HMIC also had in mind the fact that important measures of performance, such as crime figures, can be influenced by the process through which reported incidents translate into statistics. For example, it has been found to be useful elsewhere for forces to audit reports from the public which make reference to an apparent crime, and verify that these incoming calls have registered under the appropriate statistical category. By adopting this process forces are able to verify that their published statistics give an accurate reflection of the level of reported crime. HMIC encourages the force to expand its audit arrangements in a way which insures that reports of crime are subject to an effective audit trail. This will be re-visited at the next Review Inspection.
Recommendation 3 - HMIC recommends that the force continues to progress the development of financial delegation to the chief constable within an agreed budget, and that the agreed arrangements should be seen to operate not only in theory but in practice.
This recommendation is still under discussion.
A progress report to the Fife Council Public Protection and Regulation Committee was made on of 19 January 2000. Fife Council as the Police Authority for Fife Constabulary approves the budget for the Force. In accordance with Police Financial Regulations, Paragraph 2.16 refers, "once Fife Council as the Police Authority has approved the budget the expenditure and income proposals of the Chief Constable contained within the Revenue Budget shall be deemed to have approval and may be implemented by the Chief Constable subject to any other requirements contained within the Police Financial Regulations, any other regulations, requirements or controls approved by the Police Authority, or other legislative requirements being met". In addition it should be noted that the revised Police Financial Regulations, as approved, have been amended at Paragraph 1.4 to include the following statement " In the event of the Head of Finance reporting to Committee on matters of financial implications to the Police service, other than a strategic nature, he/she shall consult the Chief Constable as necessary". This will ensure the Police budget cannot be amended without prior consultation with the Chief Constable. This is a helpful step forward which in my opinion strengthens the budgetary position of the Chief Constable.
As part of the controls imposed by the Police Authority over the Chief Constable the Police Authority budget setting process does not provide the Chief Constable with total control over estimates contained within the Force budget, particularly in regard to central support charges and property repairs and maintenance. While service level agreements exist for the price and charging of these services the Chief Constable can only question the quality of service provision and not the cost of the service provided since the latter is deemed to be outwith the Chief Constables control. Clearly the inability to control central service charges and property repairs and maintenance inhibits open market competition in line with best value principles for provision of these services.
In the absence of a cash limited budget equal to the grant aided assessment consistent with the majority of other Forces within Scotland an understanding has been reached between the Chief Constable and Head of Finance, Fife Council. The position persists whereby the Chief Constable is not held accountable for overspends on pensions and commutations nor the additional cost of pay awards to those budgeted. As a consequence whilst these items are contained within the Chief Constable's estimates they are deemed to be uncontrollable cost and fall outwith his "true" delegated budget.
To obtain a "true delegated" budget the above items require to be brought within the Chief Constable's control managed by a cash limited budget equal to G.A.E and thereby maximising Police Specific Grant, regulated by the Police Financial Regulations.
With regards to devolved property repairs and maintenance this item remains unresolved in the context highlighted by H.M. Chief Inspector Of Constabulary. The Chief Constable continues to progress this matter and shall, as a stakeholder, be making representation in the context of the Best Value Strategic Review of Property Repair Maintenance and Improvement to be undertaken by consultants commissioned by Fife Council.
The documentation referred to is available for perusal by HMIC.
HMIC supports the steps taken by the Chief Constable to clarify lines of responsibility in the important area of financial management. Progress has not been rapid and it remains the case that the Chief Constable of Fife has less freedom to manage within a delegated budget than HMIC has found elsewhere. In the forthcoming inspection of "Best Value" HMIC will be seeking evidence that services provided externally to the force are to be subject to vigorous assessment. This recommendation will be re-visited at the next Review Inspection.
Recommendation 4 - HMIC recommends that Fife Constabulary undertake a review of the recruitment, training, support and deployment of its special constabulary.
Fife Constabulary has conducted an in-depth review of its special constabulary and the way in which these officers are both trained and utilised. As a result significant energies have been directed towards a recruitment campaign which has seen numbers of active special constables increase to 98 with 17 potential recruits currently being processed.
Training, support and deployment have all been similarly revised. Training will now be task oriented and linked directly to the role and deployment of special constables, to this extent a generic job description has been agreed. All special constables will be equipped to the same standard as regular officers and facilities will be made available for meetings between special constables and Divisional management and the Force Executive.
The review inspection revealed a number of significant concerns regarding the training and deployment of special constables. The force appears to have responded quickly and comprehensively to the issues raised and the measures now in place should enable Fife to make substantially greater use of a valuable asset. The operation of the new arrangements in practice will be subject to further inspection at a future date. This recommendation is discharged.
Recommendation 5 - HMIC recommends that the chief constable seeks to confirm arrangements whereby Fife Police Authority:
Extensive discussions have occurred on this subject between Fife Constabulary and representatives of the Police Authority. The following principles are an extract of those that were verbally agreed:
Fife Constabulary wrote to Fife Council (as the Police Authority) to confirm these agreements in December 1999. A written response from the Police Authority is awaited.
The documentation referred to is available for perusal by HMIC.
This continues to be a difficult area in which successive inspections have revealed tensions and some sharp differences of view concerning the direction and control of police staff who are not police officers, (known as "police support staff"). HMIC is encouraged by the measures taken by the chief constable but the absence so far of a positive response is disappointing. Whilst recognising the overall locus of the police authority in respect of the personnel budget, and general conditions of service, the issue of freedom to manage which has already been discussed with regard to financial matters also remains an issue in the area of civilian personnel. HMIC will continue to take an interest in progress in this area. This recommendation will be re-visited at the next Review Inspection.
Recommendation 6 - HMIC recommends that the force Race Relations strategy should be supported by a robust action plan the performance of which is capable of being effectively evaluated.
An action plan was drawn up in consultation with Fife Race Equality Council (REC) and was approved by Chief Officer Group on 24th September 1999. The document was endorsed by the Senior Management Group on 17th November 1999, and promulgated to the force.
Progress against the action plan is monitored by the Force Race Equality Group chaired by the Assistant Chief Constable on which Fife REC is represented. (Copy of Minutes of the Force Race Equality Group are available).
The first major piece of work emanating from the action plan is the race relations training programme which was approved by Chief Officers Group on 24th November 1999. A suitably qualified officer has been seconded to the Force Training Unit to co-ordinate the training programme which will commence early in the forthcoming financial year.
The documentation referred to is available for perusal by HMIC.
The force has moved quickly to address the issues raised in the inspection and plans are now in place which are capable of delivering an effective response to the challenges of policing a diverse society. HMIC will examine the practical impact of the new measures at a future date. This recommendation is discharged.
Recommendation 7 - HMIC recommends that the force undertake an immediate review of the guidelines and facilities for prisoner custody in Fife.
In responding to Recommendation 7 - a comprehensive study was carried out in relation to guidelines and facilities for prisoner custody in Fife. This study took cognisance of the recommendations of the HMIC Review Report in relation to Care of Prisoners, referred to from 6.14 to 6.18 inclusive, in the Review Report.
Lay Visitors are now in place since 18/01/2000 and currently visiting all relevant Police Stations throughout Fife, with a view to ensuring proper care and administration of Prisoners, including areas which are likely to be covered by ECHR, and in particular Article 3.
The current Prisoners Manual is version 2.2 and also responds positively to the issues raised in 6.15; 6.16; 6.17 and 6.18.
The Prisoners Manual has been widely circulated throughout the Force and is also covered within the Manual of Guidance accessible to all officers and support staff.
The documentation referred to is available for perusal by HMIC.
The new prisoner handling manual provides clear guidance to police officers and presents an effective balance between the need to provide secure custody and the individual rights of the persons detained. The new Fife lay visitor scheme, under which independent members of the public are able to pay random visits to custody suites, is an important additional safeguard. Taken with the extensive use of CCTV in cell areas, Fife can rightly claim to be one of the forces at the forefront of demonstrating transparency and integrity in the custody process. The review inspection also expressed concerns regarding the lack of training of custody staff and it is hoped that the force are now in a position to take this issue forward. Additionally, HMIC had recorded concerns regarding the poor standard of some prisoner accommodation in matters such as washing facilities. A future inspection will examine how effectively the force has made progress in these areas. This will take place at the next Review Inspection.
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