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HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland

THEMATIC INSPECTION – YEAR 2000

Independent assessment of the Scottish police sector’s readiness for the Year 2000 was carried out by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland. In its report submitted on 1 October for the National Infrastructure Forum to be held on 21 October 1999, HMIC assessed the police sector as "BLUE", with the exception of Tayside Police which was assessed as "AMBER". In regard to Tayside Police, HMIC reported as follows:

" Business continuity plans have been developed by the force but completed versions have yet to be assessed. The force is currently in the process of implementing a new command and control system with a scheduled go-live date of 17 October 1999. This co-incides with the completion date for the force control room project which will also see the introduction of a new call handling process. Following the recruitment of new staff, training is currently underway and a number of other applications are due to go-live after October. A contingency plan involving the use of the force’s existing system has been developed as a fallback position in the event of non-delivery or failure of the new command and control system. While this has significantly reduced the risk associated with introducing the new system, residual risk remains through the amount of activity and change which the force’s IT strategy has produced during such a critical and demanding period.

Concerns regarding strategy are also reflected in the force’s overall approach to its millennium preparations which did not always display the same strength of project management which was evident in other organisations. As a result of these concerns, a further inspection visit will take place on 18 October 1999 to enable a further assessment to be made. Although the remaining risks are not considered to be severe, HMIC grades the force as "amber" until this final assessment."

On 18 and 19 October 1999 a formal inspection visit to Tayside Police was carried out by the Assistant Inspector of Constabulary for Scotland, Mr Graham Power, for a final assessment of the organisation’s colour coding.

In carrying out the assessment inspection, HMIC met with Assistant Chief Constable Ian Gordon and other senior staff responsible for ensuring the force’s overall Year 2000 readiness and the implementation of its new command and control system. Inspection visits were made to the new force control room at Dundee, as well as the divisional control rooms at Perth (Western Division) and Forfar (Eastern Division). Operational staff at these locations were interviewed and HMIC observed the new command and control system operating in a live environment.

HMIC found that the new command and control system (CAPTOR) has been successfully introduced into Tayside Police. Management and staff were committed and enthusiastic regarding the new system and in general there was an optimistic and positive tone across the force concerning the introduction of CAPTOR. There was evidence that the force had adapted well to the introduction of the new system and HMIC commends the force for utilising training staff in the workplace to ease the transition to CAPTOR. Operational officers outwith control rooms were also found to be broadly familiar with the new system’s introduction and dedicated to its successful implementation.

The introduction of the new command and control system coincided with an operationally demanding period for the force, with a local football derby and a high profile murder of an elderly woman occurring on the same day CAPTOR went live. There were no apparent difficulties in how the force coped with these and other incidents resulting from introducing the new command and control system.

The force originally planned to introduce a new call handling process, separating call taking from despatching. This separation has been delayed meantime until full familiarity with CAPTOR is achieved. HMIC considers this delay to be appropriate in the circumstances and of no impact upon the force’s Year 2000 assessment.

Tayside Police has progressed to low risk status, with only two residual issues remaining, neither of a major nature.

1. The force has confirmed its intention not to test CAPTOR for Year 2000 compliance within the force operational environment. Instead, it will rely on manufacturer’s assurances and compliance tests conducted elsewhere on similar systems. However, the slight risk that results from a failure to test for compliance is offset by the robust contingency plan developed by the force involving the force’s old command and control system (TRAILS). The continued ability to utilise TRAILS was successfully demonstrated to HMIC in the course of the inspection.
2. HMIC found that control room staff demonstrated a lack of familiarity with the paper fall-back contingency for the short term failure of CAPTOR. The force has given assurances that a structured paper based contingency exists and that steps will be taken to ensure staff familiarity with the system.

Business continuity plans are now well developed and there is evidence of good interagency work in this area.

FINAL ASSESSMENT

Tayside Police responded with energy to the challenge it faced to reduce risk to a minimum against a tight timescale. It has demonstrated commitment to ensuring service provision over the millennium period and taking all factors into consideration, HMIC now assesses Tayside Police as "BLUE".

G POWER
Assistant Inspector of Constabulary

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