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Tayside Police Primary Inspection 2002

5. Processes

Professional Standards

5.1 In Tayside Police, the Deputy Chief Constable has overall responsibility for managing the Complaints and Conduct portfolio. The Professional Standards Department, headed by a superintendent, deals with complaints against the police and misconduct allegations. There are three inspectors within the department who perform the 'investigating officer' roles and normally deal with complaints that disclose more serious and/or criminal conduct. An administrative assistant provides support to the Department. All complaints involving serious misconduct or alleging criminal conduct are reported to the Deputy Chief Constable.

5.2 Complaints that disclose minor or trivial misconduct are dealt with at division. Divisional Commanders are responsible for the management of enquiries into these complaints, determine a finding and disposal and then correspond appropriately with the complainer. The complaint is registered and recorded with the Professional Standards Department and upon completion of the enquiry is passed to the Department and signed off by the Deputy Chief Constable. This includes locally conciliated complaints. Conciliation, normally performed by inspectors, is encouraged in all minor misconduct complaints. During the inspection, HM Lay Inspector and a staff officer viewed records relating to a number of complaints both within the divisions and at force headquarters and were impressed with the consistency of approach throughout the force both as regards responses to complainers and action taken against officers. HMIC supports such centralised control over complaints aiming to provide a consistency of approach. The staffing structure of the department is shown at Figure 9 below.

Figure 9: Professional Standards Organisational Chart

5.3 All information in relation to complaints, misconduct cases and civil actions is maintained on the Centurion computer system located within the Department. This includes monitoring of the time taken to conduct investigations. Senior and middle management are provided with complaint information on a monthly basis. It is also published monthly in the 'Force Bulletin' (internal publication) which is available to all staff. An office manager has recently been appointed to the Department. Part of the role will be to develop meaningful analysis of complaints trends which will be fed back to divisions, departments and training staff. The force recognises that the management information previously supplied in respect of police complaints has been fairly limited in scope and nature.

5.4 The force is confident that the computer database utilised is capable of producing more worthwhile and helpful management information. Centurion is currently being upgraded in England and Wales following which a new Scottish upgraded version (used by a number of Scottish forces) will be made available. It is hoped this will assist plans to produce and distribute more meaningful management information and data analysis which will inform discussion with departmental and divisional management teams. The monitoring of trends and complaint pattern analysis has not taken place in any meaningful sense in the past. The force acknowledges this weakness and the development is currently regarded as a priority for the department. The force is also keen to disseminate learning outcomes from complaint investigations. HMIC will be interested to monitor the development and use of complaint management information at the next review inspection.

Thematic Update

5.5 As part of the Inspection, HMIC invited the force to respond to progress made towards implementing the recommendations made within the Thematic Inspection Report 'A Fair Cop?'. Whilst a number of recommendations are being progressed by ACPOS and remain pending, HM Lay Inspector was impressed with the progress the force has made towards meeting the recommendations. In particular, as well as the items detailed above, HM Inspectors noted the following:

• that leaflets explaining complaints procedures were available at a number of stations;
• that a clear guidance document about the force's policy regarding complaints was available on the force Intranet;
• that the police board acknowledged ease of access to complaint files;
• that final letters to complainers appeared objective, clear and comprehensible;
• that arrangements had been formalised for the investigation of complaints by external forces;
• that all communications to police forces which infer an allegation of criminal conduct or misconduct were recorded as complaints against the police;
• that the means by which the public can record a complaint against the police were being expanded together with the means by which civilian staff and officers can raise concerns over colleagues' conduct;
• that the force was maintaining records of costs incurred in individual complaints (albeit it was noted costs recorded excluded some overhead costs) and that the force had scheduled complaints investigation for early review under the Best Value programme;
• that the force was fully compliant with the requirements of equal opportunities in arrangements for the selection of personnel for complaints departments;
• that the force was taking steps to integrate procedures in relation to complaints against officer and civilian staff;
• that the force maintained records of letters of appreciation as an indicator of good service provision;
• that the force disseminated information about numbers of complaints together with information about letters of appreciation throughout force staff.

Table 4: Complaints

5.6 The number of complaint cases recorded for the year is 348 which is an increase of 196 (129%) on the previous year. New nationally agreed recording procedures have now been introduced following HMIC's recommendation in 'A Fair Cop?' that all communications with police forces which infer an allegation of criminal behaviour or misconduct by police officers be recorded as complaints against the police for statistical purposes. This includes minor misconduct complaints which have been dealt with locally. All such complaints have been recorded as formal complaints from April 2001. HMIC will monitor this change of recording procedure across Scotland in future inspections.

5.7 In addition, 2000-2001 was the first year in which the Accounts Commission collected data in respect of number of complaints per 100 police officers. This indicator provides information on the number of complaints received from any person against on-duty police officers where there is inference that professional or criminal misconduct has occurred. Overall there were 1418 complaints made against police officers across Scotland during 2000-2001. This averages at 10 complaints per 100 police officers. In Tayside Police the figure is 13.14 complaints per 100 officers. For the year 2001-2002 the figure rises to 30.7 for Tayside Police.

5.8 On 1 April 2001, the responsibility for Data Protection issues within the force transferred from Strategic Management Services to the Professional Standards Department. The roles of Professional Standards, Data Protection, Information Security and the Audit Section are complementary and in essence all relate to ensuring that members of the organisation conduct themselves in accordance with the policies, procedures, guidelines and accepted practices.

5.9 The force recognises that the achievement of force goals and a continual improvement in performance standards requires routine auditing and monitoring of processes and procedures. It is recognised that this auditing role has to date not been achieved with any consistency or effectiveness. A principal role of the Department therefore, will be the auditing of information systems. Compliance with policy and procedures will fall to Internal Audit and Inspection. As such, the Department has been extended to include a Data Protection Officer (vacant), an Information Security Officer (vacant), a Disclosure Officer and three Audit Officers. The force has experienced difficulty in attracting a skilled Data Protection Officer and the intention is now to appoint a trainee officer and develop the necessary skills accordingly.

5.10 As a result of these vacancies, one of the inspectors is removed from investigating officer duties to perform a data protection and information security role. This obviously impacts on the complaints workload of the two remaining investigating officers with the potential for an increase in the number of complaints being passed to divisions for inquiry. On average, 85% of complaints are investigated by officers of the Professional Standards Department. The force will wish to pursue with vigour the recruitment of suitable individuals to the above-mentioned vacant posts.

5.11 Each of the full-time Investigating Officers within the Department has responsibility for liaising with the three territorial divisions. This is intended to provide the divisions with a designated point of contact for advice or information concerning complaints or the complaints process. In addition, the Head of Department has attended Divisional management meetings in the past and it is the intention to formalise this arrangement, a move which HMIC would support.

5.12 Internally, a Force Working Group on complaints is chaired by the Head of Professional Standards Department. Membership includes the Police Federation, Unions, Welfare Department and Human Resource Services. As regards external liaison, the Deputy Chief Constable and Head of Department meet with the Regional Procurator Fiscal on a regular basis to discuss matters of mutual concern. This includes a six-monthly meeting attended by the Deputy Chief Constables and Heads of Department from Fife and Central Scotland Police.

5.13 In addition, the Deputy Chief Constable and Head of Department meet on a quarterly basis with Tayside Joint Police Board Complaints Sub Committee. The Board's responsibilities in respect of complaints are largely discharged through this sub committee. The committee meets on a quarterly basis and local elected members are provided with a resumé of all closed complaints cases, including service delivery issues, since the last meeting and are invited to select files at random for examination, which they do at each meeting. Councillors are invited to discuss the level and nature of current complaints with the DCC and senior members of the Department. During the inspection, HMCIC and HM Lay Inspector met with members of the Joint Board and discussed police complaints. In general, members were impressed by the professional and thorough manner in which complaints against the police were investigated.

5.14 At the time of inspection, the Head of Department was drafting a strategy document for the Department outlining objectives for the forthcoming year 2002-2003. In addition, Action Plans for each section of the Department (Complaints and Conduct, Integrity and Information) are also being produced in support of the strategy. Once the Department Strategy Document and Strategic Action Plans are in place, a new Policy Document will also be introduced setting out force policy on complaints, conduct, and information. HMIC will be interested to assess progress at the next review inspection.

5.15 The Department provides inputs to a number of training courses within force, including Induction Course, Probationer Training and Tutor Constables. Indeed, training issues form a standing item on the agenda of all quarterly Departmental meetings. Further training in the skills of first line management is currently being planned in force specifically for sergeants and inspectors. Current force policy and operational guidance in respect of complaints against the police are available to staff on the force Intranet. In addition, guidance materials for investigation procedures and misconduct hearings are also available.

5.16 Previously, the chair of Misconduct Hearings was restricted to Assistant Chief Constable and Chief Superintendents. However, in order to expose superintendents to the process, some have recently undertaken the chair's role. Training in this respect has been limited to misconduct hearing seminars at the Scottish Police College but the force is keen to participate in training sessions now being conducted in other forces such as Grampian and Strathclyde Police. Superintendents who have not had the opportunity to chair a misconduct hearing can participate as assessors and observers. A guidance document has been produced for the chair although no good practice guidelines are available. The force is keen to participate in the sharing of good practice currently being progressed through ACPOS Personnel and Training Standing Committee, Conduct and Discipline Sub Committee. In addition, decisions of misconduct hearings have not been circulated routinely to superintendents. Such information would be invaluable in providing guidance on how other presiding officers have disposed of similar cases. It is important for the credibility of the misconduct process that chairs and assessors at misconduct hearings are making their decisions against some consistent benchmarks. The force may wish to consider circulating to superintending ranks the decisions reached at misconduct hearings with reference to a short précis of the incident in each case to ensure consistency of outcomes in cases that proceed to misconduct hearings.

Care and Custody of Prisoners

Organisation

5.17 The four main custody handling facilities within the force are situated at Central Divisional Headquarters, Dundee, Western Divisional Headquarters, Perth, and in Eastern Division at Arbroath and at the Headquarters in Forfar. These provide 24-hour custody facilities that are augmented by a number of smaller stations throughout the force, which provide temporary detention facilities.

5.18 The staffing of custody facilities within the force varies between divisions and, to an extent, is dependent upon the numbers of prisoners processed.

5.19 A custody inspector at Dundee manages and oversees the custody staff at Central Divisional Headquarters. This is not an exclusive custody role as the post holder also undertakes operational duties. At Dundee also, there is a custody sergeant on each group to supervise prisoner care. The sergeant is supported by a station constable and support staff custody assistants for both male and female prisoners.

5.20 At Perth, there is a custody sergeant and station constable on each group and at Forfar and Arbroath there is a station constable responsible for custody reception and care with the operational group sergeant providing supervision. Divisional duty inspectors are responsible for overseeing custody of prisoners.

Observations from Inspection

5.21 During the course of the inspection, HM Lay Inspector and a staff officer examined the four main custody facilities and a number of cells at the smaller stations. A number of good practice areas were discerned. In particular all custody areas were clean, and all regular staff had received training and were clearly committed to custody welfare.

5.22 In addition, civilian staff are employed where this enables officers to be released to other duties. Also, appropriate equipment was available for officers and prisoners at the major stations including 'Ampel probes', ligature cutters, first aid kits, DNA test kits, body fluid test kits, suicide suits, blankets. Washing facilities were also available at the majority of custody areas with care having been taken to achieve a balance between safety and privacy for prisoners. It was also noted the magnetic discs that have previously been identified by HMIC as an example of good practice were in regular use to fix to cell doors as an aid in identifying vulnerable prisoners. Further, 'Livescan' was available at some stations, and regularly used.

5.23 HM Inspectors also observed that records showed that upon hourly and more frequent checks prisoners were roused and a verbal response recorded. In addition, it was found that the force sought to advise prisoners of availability of arrest referral schemes, albeit unfortunately demand for places could not easily be met.

5.24 However, the detention and care of prisoners is now a specialised process and it was noted that there were areas that require review. In particular:

Custody Care Guidance Policy and Practice

5.25 HMIC noted that a detailed Guidance Manual covering all aspects of force policy regarding custody care was available and regularly updated on the force Intranet. However, at the charge bars of custody areas visited there were hard copies of Guidance Manuals of various ages that did not contain up-to-date guidance.

5.26 In addition, staff interviewed commented that it was proving increasingly difficult to implement the up to date force policies due to the increasing numbers of duties placed on them without commensurate increase in staffing numbers. For example policy required staff to fingerprint many prisoners via Livescan, take samples for DNA testing and conduct more frequent prisoner checks which, in turn, took additional time due to the necessity to obtain verbal responses.

5.27 Further, whilst force policy required that staff had received training and use of same sex staff for prisoner searches, not all custody areas had trained female custody care staff. Also, force policy stipulates that refresher training will be undertaken on an annual basis but at the time of inspection this had yet to be formalised and monitored within set timescales so that many members of staff had received only initial training.

Custody Records

5.28 Processing of prisoners is currently performed utilising a computerised custody recording system and by means of a paper-based system (Admin 51 form). Use of the computerised and paper systems leads to duplication especially where prisoners are transferred. However, even where prisoners remained within custody areas benefiting from a computerised recording system there was a degree of duplication with staff entering prisoner's details on the computer system and completing paper custody records with much of the same information. For example, it was explained to HMIC that paper records are required to record details of visits to prisoners contemporaneously with such visits and to provide a more robust method of recording the vulnerability assessment and care of persons in custody.

5.29 Noting such practices, having viewed the computer system and from discussion with relevant staff; HMIC discerned the view that the computerised custody recording system does not fully meet the needs of the force in the processing and recording of subsequent detention of prisoners.

5.30 HMIC also noted that prisoners assessed as 'vulnerable' or 'special risk' had their details recorded on paper using Special Risk Prisoner forms (Admin 19) that are highlighted in red and that while these forms were readily available at police offices, photocopies were being used at one station.

5.31 In addition, it was noted that the integrity of paper-based records were compromised. Paper records were not pre-printed with sequential custody record numbers.

5.32 HMIC understands that the responsibility for ensuring the accuracy and integrity of custody records will fall to the Professional Standards Department. However, at the time of the inspection it remained the case that audit of custody records had only taken place on an ad hoc basis and there was no formalised procedure in place for regular audits.

Reception, Access, and Interview Areas

5.33 A number of risks to health and safety were noted in these common areas during the inspection.

• Whilst proper safety equipment was generally available, it was not always consistently available or neatly stored behind the charge bar leading to difficulties locating it.
• There appeared to be risks for custody staff whilst working behind reception desks because they were largely unprotected by screens or desk design.
• There appeared to be a risk of injury to staff and prisoners because (cup) hooks used to hang paper custody records outside cells were sited at head height, fire extinguishers, that must be loose for safety, were poorly sited in movement corridors, and furniture and other equipment was not securely fixed within interview rooms.
• Although there were storage facilities within custody areas, prisoners' shoes and jackets were placed outside cells both presenting a potential health and safety risk and compromising the safekeeping of such property.
• In Dundee, the largest custody area, staff expressed concern about excessive heat and a lack of ventilation.
• Whilst the planned provision of radio panic alarms that may be attached to the belts of custody, and other staff in Dundee was noted, it was observed that generally provision of panic alarms for staff use was inconsistent. In some stations none existed whilst in others the alarm press was not easily identifiable.
• Only one observation cell was available, at Dundee. Officers elsewhere may therefore be obliged to watch prisoners unprotected through an open cell door.

5.34 HMIC also noted that in some stations, there was a lack of privacy between public counter areas and incoming custody areas. In addition, that the siting and design of the observation cell at Dundee meant that prisoner privacy was compromised. It was located directly opposite the staff room used by male and female staff, and the CCTV camera was sited to allow a clear view of the toilet to be transmitted. In other stations, clear escape routes were observed.

CCTV

5.35 The provision of video and audio coverage is a positive development as it provides protection to public and police alike as well as increasing confidence in custody arrangements at police stations. HMIC was therefore pleased to note that CCTV coverage had been improved within the force area since the date of the last inspection. However, it remained limited. Many areas (for example the full stairway at Dundee, many external entrances and cell corridors), remained without cover. Moreover, sound recording was not generally available.

5.36 The Inspectors also examined the security and storage of the CCTV tapes at each location. In all cases tapes were retained within unlocked cupboards within the bar area compromising the value and integrity of the CCTV systems.

Staff Uniforms

5.37 HMIC noted that in contrast to civilian and officer staff elsewhere in the force, the uniform worn by the custody assistants did not display any indication of status or role. This may lead to confusion of identification.

Meals

5.38 In Arbroath officers had saved a meal from the local hotel for HMIC to view. The Inspectors were advised that such meals were consistently rejected and indeed thrown around cell areas leading to cleaning work, yet requests to vary the supply source had not been acted upon.

5.39 To address the issues contained in this section, HMIC recommends that the force review its arrangements for the custody and care of prisoners paying particular attention to matters of custody management, health and safety and staff training.

Improvements

5.40 At the last Primary Inspection of Tayside Police in 1999, a suggestion was made that the force should review the manner and quality of service delivery at the public counter at Central Division Headquarters, Dundee. HM Lay Inspector and staff officer were able to view plans for the upgrading of the public counter and noted that it incorporates improvements to the custody reception/charge bar area at Dundee and that the building work is to commence shortly. Plans for improvements to custody and public counter areas at Perth were also seen and it was noted that external partners praised the force for proposals to upgrade interview facilities. HMIC welcomes these proposals to improve accommodation as these changes will benefit staff and members of the public. However, practically, it appears the plans will not overcome the ventilation needs at Dundee that impact on the efficiency of custody areas and the health and safety of police officers, support staff and persons in custody.

Lay Visitor Scheme

5.41 HMIC has previously encouraged Scottish forces to adopt Lay Visitor Schemes the members of which report to Police Boards on the manner in which arrested and detained persons are received and treated in police custody. The force has recognised the value in having such an independent lay custody visitor scheme and the Chief Constable submitted a report to the Tayside Joint Police Board in January 2002 recommending the establishment of such a scheme within the force area. Approval has been given and steps will be taken to recruit and train scheme members in the near future. HMIC welcomes this development and will be interested to monitor progress of the scheme at the next review inspection.

Forfar High Court

5.42 An issue which arose during the inspection concerned the policing of Forfar High Court. HMIC has previously made comment about the extensive use of police officers for the escorting of prisoners and their use in courts. While HMIC recognises the importance of the security and dignity of courts for the effectiveness of the Criminal Justice System, the validity of the current arrangements necessitating abstracting police officers from their core duties of patrol remains a serious issue.

5.43 The policing of a particular trial at Forfar High Court was brought to the attention of HMIC highlighting the significant resourcing implications the trial necessitated. In March 2001 two males were arrested for a murder in Aberdeen. The trial was first called at Inverness High Court in July 2001 but was relocated to Stonehaven and Aberdeen before being moved to Forfar. The trial was first called at Forfar on 7 December 2001 and concluded with a unanimous verdict of guilty on 28 March 2002.

5.44 During the period of the trial at Forfar, one of the accused dismissed five senior counsel. The court sat at Forfar for 62 days, 39 of them with a jury. The two accused required to be separated at all times during the trial and many of the witnesses, who were reluctant to give evidence, had to be brought to the court from custody. This obviously added to the already significant resource demands placed upon Eastern Division of Tayside Police and the force is of the view that it undoubtedly impacted substantially on police service provision throughout Angus.

5.45 Six police officers were required within the court on a daily basis. In addition, there were significant demands for prisoner escort duties to transfer prisoners from Aberdeen, Perth and Cornton Vale prisons to the High Court at Forfar.

5.46 The resourcing implications to police this trial were substantial. For example, the divisional planning sergeant spent four hours per day attending to arrangements (248 hours). An average of six police officers were required for the 62 days (372 police officer days) with an average of 16 hours per day overtime worked (992 hours). Two police vans were used daily to transport the accused and previously mentioned witnesses averaging 180 miles per day (11,160 miles). The responsibility for transporting prisoners rests with the force accommodating the court. However, in these exceptional circumstances, Grampian Police assisted on many occasions transferring prisoners from Aberdeen.

5.47 Officers of the Special Constabulary were also utilised in support of regular officers during the trial. Their contribution was some 170 days duty between them, a commendable effort. HMIC recognises the very valuable service provided by officers of the Special Constabulary on this occasion, another example of the substantial support provided to the regular service by Special Constables throughout Scotland.

5.48 HMIC has long argued that the routine use of police officers escorting prisoners and performing court duties is not core business for police forces. In response to earlier concerns, the Scottish Executive established a working group comprising representatives of the Executive, the Crown, the Scottish Police Service and the Scottish Prison Service. In January 2002, the Deputy First Minister announced that a number of proposals were being progressed in this area to relieve police officers of prisoner escort and custody duties with proposals for limited extension of support staff powers.

5.49 HMIC welcomes the progress that has been made in this regard.

Call Management

5.50 In 1999 the completion of the Force Control Room Project resulted in a refurbished Force Control Room with new technology, including the Command and Control application, CAPTOR, GIS mapping and CCTV. From that time, issues impacting upon call management arrangements, including changes in management structure, have required the force to centralise switchboard facilities, rationalise staff, facilitate the separation of dispatch from call handling by employing a 'temporary' pool of call takers, and locate Eastern Division control within the Force Control Room. HMIC notes these developments and welcomes the decision of the Chief Constable to rationalise its management structure. A salient feature of these changes has been the overarching priority for the force to define its call handling strategy. This is addressed in the development of a Virtual Contact Centre (paragraph 5.21).

5.51 A single management structure now exists for control room functions currently located at Perth, for Western Division and at Dundee, covering Central and Eastern Division. The Head of Department for the 'Force Control Room' is a Chief Inspector, who is accountable for performance in call management and reports directly to the Assistant Chief Constable. Staffing arrangements are shown at Figure 10. It was noted that in the given structure supervisory responsibility is solely retained by police officers. Outwith controllers and handlers, a support staff room co-ordinator provides for continuity of contact with support staff in the Dundee control room and other departmental administrative duties. The force may wish to consider if further developmental opportunities exist within the control room environment for support staff, which may release police officers for operational duties.

Figure 10: Force Control Room Organisational Chart

5.52 The Force Control Room exists to:

• provide a Command and Control facility for Tayside Police;
• provide a Force-wide Switchboard facility for all incoming telephone calls;
• provide a 24-hour point of contact for citizens wishing to contact the police.

5.53 Urgent telephone calls, including all '999' calls are dealt with by radio despatch operators and within Dundee call handlers deal with non-urgent calls. HMIC noted that there is no protocol for taking a crime report over the phone with force-wide policy directing police unit attendance to all crimes. A graded response strategy is in place and is shown at Figure 11.

Figure 11: Call Prioritisation

5.54 The Alarm Policy at present requires immediate response to alarm calls but is presently under review and awaits revised ACPOS guidance understood to be due for implementation in June 2002. HMIC would reiterate its concern over the high level of false alarms in Scotland which results in inappropriate use of police resources.

5.55 Contingency Plans for major incidents are held on the command and control system and an Incident Room is available within the Force Control Room Suite. It is understood that plans are tested in conjunction with Force Planning Officer and are available to all staff through the command and control system and the force Intranet. During the inspection HMIC took the opportunity to view the CAPTOR contingency arrangements and access to contingency plans, generic and specific, and were generally impressed by the logical manner in which the system assisted the Duty Officer to respond to such events. Training exercises have previously been undertaken, however no formal programme of routine 'exercise' or discernable familiarisation training for operators was in place. This is considered an omission, which should be addressed.

5.56 HMIC noted that CAPTOR provides the facility of an 'occurrence' button, which can be used to bring to the attention of an operator information pertinent to a call received, particularly useful in the event of repeat calls to a particular address. As part of the desktop provision of IT systems, CAPTOR can also be utilised with other Force IT applications, such as Intelligence and Firearms Licensing. HMIC consider this to be an area of opportunity for proactively informing attending officers of previous call history, such as in domestic abuse cases, action taken or any risk factors that may prevail. It was understood that control room staff have access to the INTEGRITY System which holds criminal intelligence and firearms licensing though operators have only recently been trained in the system. HMIC would encourage a full and proactive use of the information provided by the force corporate database. The work in progress to develop a working practices guide for call handlers and operators may usefully facilitate greater emphasis being given to this area.

5.57 A Self-Assessment exercise was carried out in the department in 2002. As alluded to above, training was a key issue as were a number of detailed departmental procedural matters. HMIC was pleased to note that the results from this exercise were being progressed by means of an Action Plan.

5.58 CAPTOR can be interrogated, within the Department and externally, for statistical information and analysis through the force management information application known as the ProMis system. Table 5 provides headline statistics which can be further disaggregated.

Table 5: Total Number of Incidents/Immediate Response Incidents 1997-2002

5.59 HMIC would encourage the use of the management information from the CAPTOR system to monitor, analyse and manage the demands placed upon the force and commends the inclusion of relevant data within the performance profiles produced by the performance unit.

PNC Compliance Audit

5.60 A feature of all Primary Inspections is the police national computer (PNC) compliance audit conducted by the Home Office Security Compliance Section on behalf of HMIC. The results of the PNC audit have been reported separately to the force. HMIC noted that the report contains three areas of good practice and seven recommendations, which will be considered by HMIC at the review inspection.

5.61 During the Primary Inspection HMIC noted the breadth of responsibilities currently retained within the Professional Standards Department for the audit of force applications and the difficulties in adhering to an audit plan due to resourcing and recruitment difficulties, recognised within the above audit. Progress in this area will be examined at the review inspection.

Crime Management

5.62 Tayside Police have a devolved system in relation to 'detective' resources, with locally-based investigative resources being under the command of divisional commanders. Specific functions, namely the Identification Branch, the Force Intelligence Branch incorporating the Force Intelligence Bureau and Special Branch, Fraud Branch, Drugs/Surveillance Branch, Crime Management, incorporating HOLMES, administration, crime prevention, community safety and the force drugs co-ordinator, form centralised resources within the Headquarters Crime Management structure. The Assistant Chief Constable has overall responsibility for the performance of the HQ Crime Management Department.

Day-to-day responsibility rests with the Force Crime Co-ordinator.

Figure 12: Headquarters Crime Management Organisational Chart

5.63 The role of the Detective Chief Superintendent had been the subject of consideration prior to the inspection and a revised job description has placed much more emphasis on a co-ordinating role across the force area. The post holder is required to examine existing processes and disseminate good practice to ensure consistency of effort across the Force area. The current post-holder has been in place since January 2002. The deputy role, at superintendent rank remained vacant at the time of inspection. Comments made in respect of crime management are set in the context of a recent change in leadership within the department.

5.64 Headquarters Crime Management exists:

• To provide specialised support to the prevention, investigation and detection of crime across the force area.
• To provide a co-ordinated response to crime across the force area, support the investigation of serious crime and incidents.
• To provide strategy and policy in respect of crime issues and to contribute to the achievement of local and national objectives.

5.65 An existing Crime Strategy, which was established in 1999, is acknowledged as being in need of review, particularly in light of the force-wide adoption and implementation of structures and processes contained within the National Intelligence Model (see also Intelligence paragraph 5.81). HMIC acknowledges this intention and notes that full consideration is to be given to crime reduction and community safety issues. This is an area of significant importance to service delivery and overall force performance and HMIC will review progress and impact at the next review inspection.

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