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Tayside Police Primary Inspection 2002

3. People Management

Human Resources Management

3.1 The Director of Human Resources, a senior member of support staff, is responsible for Human Resource Services (HRS) within the force and is a member of the Force Executive. The Director is responsible for Human Resource Services, Equal Opportunities; Attendance Management; Recruitment, Staff Development and Training; and Occupational Health and Welfare. Support staff recruitment is located within HRS at force headquarters. Police Recruitment, Staff Development and Training are located within a separate site at Baluniefield. Whilst acknowledging that accommodation at force headquarters is limited, effective communication and the sharing of information within HRS is made more difficult by having the function accommodated at two discrete sites.

3.2 The force is in the process of developing a Human Resources Strategy and Action Plan setting out priorities over the next three years, 2002-2005. The Strategy is focused on assisting in the achievement of force objectives and will embrace the range of services delivered by HRS. Each of the individual areas, for example Equal Opportunities, Training, Recruitment, etc. will produce departmental strategies to sit beneath and support the overall HR Strategy. Action Plans setting out timescales for the achievement of identified elements of the strategy are also being developed. Targets have been set for the recruitment of minority ethnic staff and for attendance management.

3.3 The force is committed to the integration of police and support staff human resources functions and the HR strategy will cover both police and support staff. Wherever possible, policies are produced to cover all categories of staff. Regular formal and informal meetings take place with trade unions (Joint Consultative Committee for Support Staff) and police staff associations (Joint Negotiating and Consultative Committee) where issues of concern can be raised and new developments discussed and agreed. The force is currently negotiating local terms and conditions of employment with support staff unions. Once negotiations are complete the force will issue a revised support staff handbook.

3.4 In an effort to improve working practices between HRS and divisions and departments, specific HR Advisors have been allocated to each division and department. This ensures a steady flow of information and advice and allows for the development of understanding of specific issues and needs. This arrangement appears to be working well with positive comment received from both HR Advisers and staff at divisions.

3.5 No Best Value Review of HRS has been carried out to date, however, two areas will be subject of review in 2002, namely Career Development and Occupational Health.

3.6 The personnel and resourcing section within HRS is completely civilianised. External resources have been utilised to undertake specific tasks and projects, for example Diversity Training (Equilibra) and Selection for Promotion (Psyton Associates).

Selection for Promotion

3.7 Tayside Police has entered into a relationship with Psyton Associates to develop its approach to assessment selection. This is to ensure a fair and transparent system of assessment for promotion. Two processes have been conducted so far. The constable to sergeant process was conducted in mid 2001, whilst the chief inspector to superintendent process had recently been concluded at the time of inspection. HMIC has for some time now advocated greater movement of officers between forces, either laterally or on promotion, to enhance the development of individuals and police organisations in Scotland. Hitherto, this has not been a common feature of the Scottish service. HMIC is of the view that, as a minimum, Chief Inspector and Superintendent vacancies should be open to candidates nationally. HMIC is encouraged to note that Tayside Police advertised externally for recent superintendent vacancies. HMIC considers this to be good practice and notes that of the three successful candidates one came from another force.

3.8 A further selection for promotion process is to be conducted in the near future for Inspector to Chief Inspector. The process appears to be understood and accepted and discussions with staff associations and officers across the force were generally favourable as to the new arrangements, accepting that the process was fair and open. HMIC acknowledges the improvements the force has made. In setting criteria for eligibility for application to the assessment process the force is aware that there is still work to be done as regards development plans for individuals and, of course, managing the disappointment that can result from the assessment and selection process is a further issue for consideration. Feedback to candidates is provided by the force and Psyton Associates.

Staff Appraisal

3.9 Tayside Police adopts the nationally agreed performance appraisal process for police officers. A separate process is in place for support staff. For some time now, however, difficulties have been experienced in completing the appraisal process within set timescales and some concerns have been expressed over the value of the information produced. The current process for police is viewed as unnecessarily bureaucratic and at the time of inspection there were some 181 outstanding police officer appraisals (15.5%) and 128 overdue support staff appraisals (21%). The force has now removed the link between appraisal and promotion, intending the appraisal process to be focused on achievement of objectives and identifying development needs.

3.10 The Chief Constable has recently requested that a review of the appraisal process be conducted and HMIC understands that collaboration on this work is being explored with another force. An efficient and meaningful staff appraisal process is essential for the effective management and operation of a police force. It is essential, however, that the backlog of overdue appraisals in the current nationally agreed system be addressed by the force, regardless of any ongoing research into alternative systems. HMIC recommends that the force tackle the current backlog of staff appraisals and that in association with ACPOS consider whether the nationally agreed Staff Appraisal System is meeting the current and anticipated future needs of forces.

HR Database

3.11 HR data are currently held on computer and manual records. The force is presently developing an HR database which will link to other IT applications, namely FOCUS and CAPTOR. An outline system has been produced which is intended to allow for more effective monitoring of performance information such as attendance management, Working Time Regulations compliance, etc. There will be controlled levels of access for all staff and the options for reporting information on the system will likewise be increased. This will result in more information being input at divisions and departments. Currently all data are input at headquarters HRS.

3.12 Discussions with staff throughout the inspection were positive as regards the proposed HR database and the anticipated benefits it will bring. One full-time resource, a project manager, has now been allocated to the project from HRS. It is anticipated that this attachment will last one year. End users have been complimentary as to the response of IT in developing the system and meeting user requirements although development of the system has been ad hoc. The provision of a project manager at the outset with a clear initial specification for the project would have assisted development in this regard. The implications for force training with the implementation of the new database will be significant, particularly as a wide variety of staff across the force will be expected to input and retrieve data from the system. It is hoped that the database will be fully functional by mid 2002. HMIC will be interested to review progress in this area at the next inspection.

Equal Opportunities

3.13 An Equal Opportunities and Policy Adviser, a member of support staff, was appointed to the force in July 1999 and is responsible to the Director of Human Resources. The role embraces specialist adviser to the force and executive as well as a catalyst for change to drive equal opportunities forward.

3.14 The force has initiated a programme of Diversity Training for all staff. Equilibra provided a five-week course to train force trainers in addition to delivering courses for sergeants and above, including equivalent support staff grades. Constables and equivalent support staff are currently being trained by in-house trainers and the programme is around one-third completed. All officers will be trained by April next year. The course is now integrated into Probationer Training.

3.15 When the force identified this need for training, the National Equal Opportunities Training Strategy (NEOTS) for Scottish forces had not commenced. As a result, Equilibra were approached to provide diversity training within the force. However, the force is currently represented on the Scottish Police College working group for NEOTS and indeed Equilibra were involved in the training of SPC trainers. The current commitment of the force to the provision of this training is one sergeant and three constables full time with one constable and a member of support staff identified for reserve. During the course of the inspection, positive comment on the value and content of the training course was received from members of staff. HMIC commends the force on the steps taken to provide diversity training for staff.

3.16 In response to the HMIC Thematic report, 'Without Prejudice', the force has set targets for the recruitment of minority ethnic staff. The ACPOS Racial Diversity Guidance Manual suggests that such targets generally reflect the local minority ethnic population figures. Within the Tayside Police area, the minority ethnic population is estimated to be around 1.15%. As a result, the force has set a target based on 1% to be achieved over four years. This equates to 12 black or minority ethnic police officers and six support staff. Currently the figures are four and two, respectively (0.34%). These targets, and the progression of minority ethnic staff within the organisation are monitored by the Equal Opportunities Adviser.

3.17 The force has established a Lay Advisory Group drawn from members of the minority ethnic communities with the aim of ensuring that the policies and practices of the force are responsive to the needs, expectations and cultural diversity of the minority communities it serves (paragraph 4.12). HMIC considers the formation of a Lay Advisory Group to help develop relationships with local minority ethnic communities based on trust, openness and accountability to be good practice. The Group is chaired by the Deputy Chief Constable and meets quarterly. A schedule of meetings for the coming year include the following topics: Race Relations Legislation; Women's Issues; Multi-Agency Reporting; Recruitment; Consultation with difficult to reach groups; stop and search and police activity monitoring.

3.18 Minority ethnic recruitment was an issue considered by this Group at a previous meeting and will be considered again. The force also works closely with Tayside Racial Equality Council, Uniformed Services Committee to encourage minority ethnic recruitment and promote the force. It has organised and hosted a Recruitment Open Day on an annual basis for the past three years. During the inspection, HM Lay Inspector met with a representative of TREC where recruitment and other issues were discussed. TREC were found to be supportive and appreciative of the steps taken by the force to attract minority ethnic recruits. Recruitment efforts are only one part of a complex agenda for attracting and retaining minority ethnic staff. The force is developing a comprehensive service delivery action plan to address these and other racial diversity issues.

3.19 The Force Equal Opportunities and Policy Advisor compiles a monitoring report for the Force Diversity Development Group providing data on gender and ethnicity. The Group, which meets quarterly, was established in January 1999 and is chaired by the Deputy Chief Constable. The remit of the Group is to examine and review on an ongoing basis force policies, practices and procedures in employment and all aspects of service delivery in relation to diversity. However, the force is currently not in a position to monitor the progression of staff members with a disability. This need has been identified by the force, and a process is about to be undertaken to establish the necessary information. It will be recorded on the new HR database thus allowing for more robust monitoring to take place.

Gender

3.20 From the Annual Statistical Returns (2001-2002), women officers account for 7% of all promoted ranks in Tayside Police which is the same as the national average. The number of women police officers in Tayside Police has increased on the previous four-year average by 20.1%. Tayside Police has the highest percentage of women police officers of all Scottish forces at 20.4% whilst the national average is 17.8%. Of all women officers in the force 7.1% are in promoted posts compared with 8.8% across Scottish forces.

3.21 As regards promoted posts, 7.6% of sergeants in the force were female, against a national figure of 8%. Women officers in Tayside Police accounted for 3.7% of inspectors against a national average of 5.2%. For Chief Inspectors the figure is 11.8% compared to the national average of 6.7%, and for superintendents the figure is 8.3% with the national average being 4.9%. There are no promoted women above the rank of superintendent within Tayside Police.

3.22 The force has identified that few female police officers have applied for promotion or Central Service posts. This issue has been discussed by the Diversity Development Group however, no research as to any underlying reasons has yet been carried out. The force has recommended through ACPOS that the 'Gender Agenda' a programme introduced by the British Association of Women Police with the support of forces in England and Wales to tackle and eliminate gender bias, be adapted for the Scottish Police Service. The aim is to allow women to advance in the service, assisting them to achieve their full potential and thus make a full contribution to policing. It recognises that a number of processes and systems within forces are not female-friendly and forces must be alert to this.

3.23 The force has set out its policy commitment to equality of opportunity and during the inspection, HM Lay Inspector considered if this was manifest at a practical level within the force. It was noted, however, that some accommodation facilities for female staff were barely adequate, the form of name badges displayed by officers were not always comfortable for female officers and whilst minuted as problematic, no solution had been found to what the force has discerned as the 'maleness' of the grievance and disciplinary procedures. Whilst it is therefore acknowledged efforts have been made to recruit more female police officers it would appear that provision for meeting the practical needs of female staff have not progressed in keeping with policy initiatives. HMIC would encourage the force to continue its work in identifying and addressing these barriers to gender progress.

Harassment and Grievance

3.24 Tayside Police established a Contact Officer Scheme in 1994-95. Fresh impetus has recently been given to the scheme with new contact officers having been appointed. Training for the contact officers has been provided by Equilibra. Indeed, a sexual harassment exercise is included within the Diversity training being delivered to all staff. Contact officer scheme posters with officers' details and photographs have been issued to divisions and were clearly on display in offices. A new leaflet providing details of the scheme has been produced and will be distributed in the near future. A recent high profile sexual harassment case resulted in Misconduct Proceedings being instigated against an officer of the force. The case highlighted a number of learning points which the force has been quick to address. HMIC supports the efforts the force is making to facilitate the reporting of harassment in the workplace but acknowledges the difficulties that exist in encouraging people to come forward for appropriate remedial action to be taken.

3.25 The number of grievances raised by staff within the force is as follows:

Table 1: Grievances 1999-2002

3.26 The Force Grievance Procedure was last reviewed in May 2001 and the force is currently taking steps to cost a review of the policy by external consultants. HMIC considers this a very worthwhile step to ensure that the Force Grievance Procedure is sufficiently robust to address concerns in this area effectively.

3.27 In recent months, HMIC has received a number of complaints from serving police officers against their Chief Constable or force on employment-related issues. Section 40A of the Police (Scotland) Act 1967 provides that where a member of the public has made a complaint to the Chief Constable against a constable of that force, the Inspectors of Constabulary may, at the request of the member of the public, examine the manner in which the Chief Constable has dealt with the complaint. The position of HMIC is that it can decline to examine the manner in which a Chief Constable has dealt with a complaint, if the complainer is not to be regarded as a 'member of the public'. Generally it holds the view that a serving police officer will not be a member of the public in terms of the Act, where the complaint relates to an incident or course of conduct arising out of a person's status or duties as a police officer. While each case must be considered on its own merits, this principle is particularly relevant in situations where police officers or retired police officers, for example, attempt to involve HMIC in employment issues or matters which are capable of being dealt with by existing procedures, such as grievance or conduct.

3.28 However, HMIC will exercise its discretion to examine the manner in which the Chief Constable has dealt with a complaint in circumstances which merit it. This involves HMIC considering, among other things, the nature of the request, the facts of the case and the capacity of the complainer.

3.29 In dealing with complaints from police officers, HMIC will have regard to the adequacy of procedures in place to deal with grievance and conduct issues. Given the responsibilities and sensitivities in such matters, HMIC recommends that ACPOS critically examine procedures and practices currently in place to ensure that systems are sufficiently robust to address and manage grievances within the work place effectively. In continuance of the work already undertaken, the force will wish to contribute to this process.

3.30 Towards the end of last year the force formalised the process of conducting Exit Interviews for all staff leaving the organisation. The reports of these interviews should be beneficial to the Equal Opportunities Adviser in assessing policy implementation and practice. It is too early in the process for any meaningful management information to be available, nevertheless HMIC considers the introduction of Exit Interviews to be good practice.

Staff Development

3.31 The department is headed by the Staff Development Officer who reports to the Director of Human Resource Services. This Chief Inspector is responsible for staff development, force training and recruiting. The responsibilities of the department include the identification of career development opportunities for all members of the force, and the provision of advice to Departments/Divisions with regard to Fair Selection/Tenure of Post/Personnel Selection Policies. The department is to be the subject of a Best Value Review in the coming year. HMIC will be interested in the outcome at the next review inspection.

3.32 No separate strategy or objectives are currently in place for the Staff Development Department, although these are being considered within the Human Resources Strategy. A separate Training and Career Development Strategy will be developed in line with the main HR strategy.

3.33 The Staff Development Officer is responsible for the development of HR policies including tenure of, and selection for, constables' posts. The tenure of post policy ratified in December 2000 has recently been amended following a Best Value Review in August 2001. Recent changes to the policy include the incorporation of reactive detective duties and road policing within the definition of core policing, resulting in these posts no longer being subject to tenure. This change will obviously present a management challenge to the force in terms of officers who would have been due for transfer and officers who have been successful in the selection process and are currently in the pool awaiting appointment to departments. Other changes include the reduction of tenure of five years to four years for Family Protection Unit Staff. This change in policy appears to be understood and welcomed by staff and reflects the particular demands of the role.

3.34 Currently, the force has no system in place to record centrally the training and development needs of staff which have been agreed via Personal Development Plans within the Staff Appraisal Process. However, the force is taking steps to address this issue and the proposed new HR database will record this information which will assist in the provision and development of training courses. In addition, the new database will be designed to record the training courses required for all posts within the force. Staff Development intend to use this information to succession plan more effectively with training being made available to officers before they move into post, wherever possible. The force may also wish to consider the capturing and management of knowledge within the workforce. This goes beyond merely recording which training courses staff have attended, and would include compiling an accurate record of an individual's subject specialisms, qualifications and expertise in any given area.

3.35 A new Selection for Posts Policy and Transfer of Police Officers Policy have been drafted and are now with HRS for consideration prior to extended consultation within the force. An Acting Sergeants Policy is also currently being drafted.

Attendance Management

3.36 Following a Best Value Review of sickness management in July 2001 the temporary post of Force Attendance Manager was created and a Chief Inspector appointed to examine the Attendance Management Policy and take forward work with Mercer HR Consultants and the recommendations of the review. A draft Attendance Management Policy and Standard Operating Procedures are being considered. Indeed, the appointment of an Attendance Manager, albeit on a temporary basis, has raised the profile of attendance management within the force.

3.37 It has identified a need for training, particularly of first line managers, in attendance management and Mercers will assist in this regard. The training will include return to work interviews, and raising awareness of psychiatric illness to identify early signs and allow for positive early intervention.

Table 2: Working Days Lost

3.38 Sickness was identified as an issue in Eastern Division and over the past year a monthly absence management meeting has been held involving the Divisional Commander, Chief Inspector Support, HR Adviser for the division, the welfare officer and administration officer. The recently appointed Force Attendance Manager has also attended these meeting providing guidance and support in terms of policy, particularly in respect of long-term sickness cases. This arrangement has been working well in the division and the sickness list has been reduced.

3.39 In 2000-2001, working days lost per police officer in Tayside was 14.1 (Scotland average 10.6). For support staff the figure was 13.4 working days lost (Scotland average 11.0). For 2001-2002, working days lost per police officer was 13.0, and for support staff 13.4 (the Scottish averages were 10.7 and 10.9 days respectively.) Although there has been a slight reduction in police working days lost, Tayside continues to show the highest rate of all Scottish forces. While there is a clear recognition of the importance of attendance management, much effort is required if the force is to achieve more acceptable levels of working days lost and HMIC will return to this issue at the next review inspection.

Work Life Balance

3.40 The force was successful in a bid for funding from the DTI to research a Work Life Balance Project, again utilising Mercer HR Consultants. Mercer analysed data held by the force and consulted staff through surveys and questionnaires. In all, 13 areas for improvement were identified in response to which the force established a steering group comprising representatives of the staff associations. Following consideration of the options produced by the consultants, three issues were taken to the force executive: emergency child care; innovative working practices and attendance management. The decision was taken to pursue attendance management and the Chief Constable is understood to be keen to progress the other two issues in-house. The Force Executive is concerned over sickness levels and indeed this issue was highlighted by rank-and-file officers as a priority for the force to tackle during the consultation phase of Mercer's work. The force is looking to achieve increased well-being in the work place which will hopefully reduce sickness levels. The force will also look to explore flexible working practices and improving access to health care. In addition, the Work Life Balance Project will encompass a complete review of occupational health provision within the force.

3.41 HMIC considers the bid for funding to provide for external scrutiny and evaluation of work life balance to be good practice.

Occupational Health and Welfare

3.42 The Director of Human Resources is responsible for occupational health and welfare within the force. The Force Medical Adviser, an accredited specialist physician in occupational medicine, is head of the department. There is provision within the department for one full- time and one part-time occupational health nurse, a medical secretary and two welfare officers (support staff). The two occupational health nurses resigned within recent months, and during the inspection of the force, the Force Medical Adviser also tendered his resignation.

3.43 The Force Medical Adviser undertook occupational health duties for the force, however, he was also required to carry out police surgeon duties and had responsibility for the administration of the force's Police Surgeon Service. The Force Medical Adviser has for some time highlighted the need for a senior police surgeon to be appointed to relieve him of surgeon duties to allow him to concentrate fully on providing and developing the occupational health service for the force. The force has now recognised that the Occupational Health Physician and Senior Police Surgeon duties merit two full-time posts. Indeed, this was a recommendation of the Best Value Review of police casualty surgeon provision for the force previously undertaken in June 2001.

3.44 The long-standing situation in occupational health has not assisted the force in addressing its problem with sickness absence figures. The Force Medical Adviser provided police surgeon cover every weekday morning with the result that any appointments arranged for occupational health were subject to his availability. This resulted in officers and staff, on occasions travelling considerable distances, having their appointments cancelled at short notice. Referral times to see the occupational health physician were therefore fairly long, around 10 weeks on a number of occasions. Clearly this situation impacted negatively on the service provided to the force.

3.45 As regards police surgeon provision, the situation is complicated further in that a senior police surgeon resigned at the end of January 2002. The loss of this experience will be particularly felt in the area of Child Protection. The force recently advertised for a replacement for this post with the intention that the post-holder would also perform the portion of the Force Medical Adviser's casualty surgeon duties. The force has, to date, been unsuccessful in this regard. Urgent steps will require to be taken to ensure the adequate provision of a police surgeon service for the force.

3.46 The current situation with Occupational Health is clearly a matter of concern and HMIC recommends that the force continue to prioritise the review of the provision of Occupational Health and Police Surgeon Services within the force to identify sustainable, effective services which will meet current and anticipated future needs.

3.47 The Force Medical Adviser is the line manager for the two welfare officers who are located within Occupational Health at the force headquarters building in Dundee. From discussions with staff it was evident that there is concern over the location of the Occupational Health and Welfare Department within police headquarters. This does not lend itself to the 'independent' confidential service provided to officers and staff of the force. The location of the facility is seen as a disincentive for staff to attend and the force may wish to consider this issue as part of the review of Occupational Health Services.

3.48 The force welfare officers were interviewed as part of the inspection and HMIC was impressed with the commitment displayed to the service they provide to the force. A welfare advice booklet for the information of staff has been produced and the welfare officers also provide input to probationer training within the force to advise of the services available. There has been an increase in workloads for the welfare officers in recent years, particularly self referrals among younger in service officers resulting in a significant increase in time spent counselling for the two welfare officers. In an effort to improve accessibility, the welfare officers have offices at Eastern and Western Division where they are available to staff on a weekly basis. There is currently no administrative support for the welfare officers and staff take this opportunity to complete paperwork. However, they were satisfied with the number of officers availing themselves of the service locally.

3.49 In light of the review of the provision of occupational health services within the force, it is important that the remaining occupational health and welfare staff be kept apprised of developments.

Health and Safety

3.50 Responsibility for Health and Safety Policy lies with the Director of Corporate Services. The force has recently appointed a new Safety Adviser who will shortly take up post replacing the existing Safety Adviser who will become the Corporate Estates Manager. The Force Safety Adviser is a professionally qualified member of support staff who is tasked with promoting health and safety at all levels within the organisation. He works closely with the property department and is consulted on new projects thus ensuring that health and safety considerations are identified at an early stage of the process.

3.51 The Safety Adviser has carried out in-force training of staff including induction training to all new staff. All newly promoted line managers receive health and safety input covering law, accident management and risk assessment. Manual handling training has been cascaded to staff and specialist lifting equipment has been purchased. The number of manual handling incidents has fallen from 73 in 1999 to 13 in 2000 and 16 in 2001. The Safety Adviser also provides planned risk assessments for the force and is available to provide specialist advice as required.

3.52 The Tayside Police Health and Safety Committee meets quarterly and receives a report on the analysis of the accident database carried out by the Safety Adviser. Identified accident trends are thereafter addressed. In addition, each division holds quarterly meetings between divisional and Federation representatives. The Federation representatives carry out quarterly health and safety inspections within the divisions and headquarters and report on any shortcomings identified.

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