HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary Annual Report 1998

Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary Annual Report 1998

1 Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary

Her Majesty's Inspectors

1. There are 2 Inspectors of Constabulary appointed by the Crown and one Assistant Inspector.

HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary, Sir William Sutherland QPM

HM Lay Inspector of Constabulary (part-time) The Very Reverend Graham Forbes MA BD

Assistant Inspector to HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary David Garbutt QPM GradIPD

Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) Staff Officers

2. The staff officers are serving police officers seconded to the Inspectorate for up to 3 years. The Inspectorate provides a demanding developmental role for seconded officers and of necessity the calibre of those officers seconded must be high. I am extremely grateful to the chief officers in Scotland who nominate and release experienced officers to enable me to carry forward the work of the Inspectorate.

Chief Superintendent Kenneth McInnes (seconded from Strathclyde Police) Chief Superintendent McInnes graduated from Glasgow University with a Bachelor of Science degree in maths and computer science. After training as a systems analyst he joined the City of Glasgow Police in 1973 as a graduate entrant and gained experience in uniform and CID duties until 1977 when he attended the Accelerated Promotion Course at the Scottish Police College. On his return to force he developed his career, through the ranks, in a range of areas including community involvement, communications, research and development, IT and uniform operations. In 1992 he was appointed divisional commander covering the Dumbarton and Argyll areas of Strathclyde and later that year attended the first European Senior Police Officers Course in The Netherlands. In 1993 he was selected for the Strategic Command Course at the Police Staff College, Bramshill and since that time has extended his wide experience of operational command in a large and diverse division prior to taking up his current post in January 1997.

Superintendent Stephen Harvey (seconded from Lothian and Borders Police) Superintendent Harvey joined Lothian and Borders Police in 1979 gaining a range of policing experience, in uniform and plain clothes in Edinburgh, through public order training and as a police firearms officer. In 1983 he was promoted to sergeant on the Accelerated Promotion Course and thereafter developed his experience with specialist roles in administration, emergency planning, research and operational support, operational duties in county divisions and training as a hostage negotiator. In 1996, as a chief inspector, he undertook an EC funded visit to The Netherlands where he studied that country's emergency planning arrangements. He took up his post with HMIC in April 1997.

Superintendent Patricia Jenkins (seconded from Strathclyde Police) Superintendent Jenkins graduated from Glasgow University having gained a Master of Arts degree in Archaeology and Scottish History. She joined Strathclyde Police in 1977 and gained experience in uniform patrol duties, community involvement and the force press office before working as a patrol sergeant in the Gorbals area of Glasgow. After promotion to inspector and transfer to the Training Department she took a leading role in multi agency training in relation to child abuse and reorganisation of the force's casualty bureau. During this period she also trained as a police negotiator, a role she continued to fulfil over subsequent years. In 1992 she transferred as a patrol inspector to the Dumbarton area of the force and was later promoted to chief inspector at Clydebank. Following this period of operational duty she was transferred to the Complaints and Discipline Branch in 1995 prior to taking up her post as staff officer to HMIC in May 1997.

Superintendent David McCall (seconded from Strathclyde Police) Superintendent McCall graduated from Glasgow University with a Master of Arts degree in Management and Computer Science. He joined Strathclyde Police in 1978 and gained a broad range of experience in uniform and plain clothes duties in Greenock, Paisley and Glasgow. He gained further experience in the force Complaints and Discipline Branch before transferring as an uniform inspector to a busy operational division in Glasgow. He joined HMIC in June 1996 and has, in addition to his inspection duties, been involved with the introduction of IT facilities in the Inspectorate.

Chief Inspector William Newlands (seconded from Strathclyde Police) Chief Inspector Newlands graduated from the University of Strathclyde with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Degree in Geography. In 1979 he joined Strathclyde Police as a graduate entrant and after gaining experience in uniform patrol and community involvement duties completed the Accelerated Promotion Scheme in 1985. In 1986, after some time as a Patrol Sergeant he was transferred to the Research and Development Branch where he formed part of a project team responsible for the development of a major computer system. Since 1992 he has worked as a patrol inspector in the Pollok and Giffnock areas of Glasgow until his secondment to HMIC where he is currently an additional staff officer on a short term attachment.

This type of secondment is of great personal value to the officer involved and it represents a substantial additional commitment in support of the work of HMIC. I am very grateful to the Chief Constable of Strathclyde Police for agreeing to Chief Inspector Newlands' appointment, which, among other things, has allowed development of the Inspectorate's statistical database to be pursued. Strathclyde Police's continued support for this role has been invaluable.

STRUCTURE OF INSPECTORATE

Sir William Sutherland QPM HMCIC
Mr David Garbutt QPM Assistant Inspector		The Very Rev Graham Forbes HM Lay Inspector
Staff Officers

Ch Supt McInnes	Supt Harvey		Supt Jenkins	Supt McCall
Organisational & Management	Quality of Service &		Crime Investigation	Complaints &
Framework	Performance Review		Identification Branch	Discipline
Human Resources	Vehicle Fleets		Forensic Science	Information
Recruitment	Emergency Planning		Services	Technology
Police & Support Staff Strength	Public Order		Drugs	Communications
Special Constabulary	Police Use of Firearms		Crime Prevention	Media Relations
Professional Development	Specialist Units		Community Safety	Administration
Equal Opportunities	Air Support		Child Protection &	Licensing
Health and Safety	Criminal Support		Domestic Violence
Training	Relations with Police		Finance
Relations with Police and	Authorities		Property Management
Support Staff Associations	Traffic		Resource Allocation

3. The Very Reverend Graham Forbes, Provost of St Mary's Cathedral in Edinburgh, completed his 3 year term as Lay Inspector at the end of April 1998. I referred in last year's annual report to the experience he brought to his role. He wasted no time in assimilating the policing world he inspected and, in truly representing the interests of the public, he was quick to cut through bureaucracy and tradition to establish the facts. His involvement in all aspects of Inspectorate duties has once more proved the worth of the Lay Inspector role and I have no doubt that his successor, Graham Harcus, will add his own personal stamp. In the meantime I would like publicly to thank Provost Forbes for the major contribution he has made to the work of the Inspectorate during his term of office.
4. HM Inspectorate can only operate effectively with the support of dedicated staff in the form of a personal secretary, a word processor operator and a driver. Each member of staff has taken on an increased number of duties following the shedding of an officer manager's post, and I am indebted to them for the unstinting commitment demonstrated by them in ensuring that a very busy schedule is maintained. The Inspectorate continues to utilise, on a part-time basis, the services of an accountant from the Accountancy Services Unit at The Scottish Office. This specialist support is indispensable, adding considerably as it does to the depth of inspection carried out and the value of the reports produced.
5. The small group of officers and staff which makes up the Inspectorate does a remarkable job. While I believe that each member of staff is enriched by the experience, the end product of regular, frequent and challenging professional reports is a credit to their dedication.

The Inspections
6. The inspection process is a 3-year cycle which consists of a primary inspection in the first year, a review inspection the following year and concluding with a visit by myself in the third year to discuss any outstanding issues with the chief constable.
7. The primary inspection is a comprehensive review of a force which encompasses an examination of procedures, documentation, systems and policies together with discussions with chief officers, members of the police authority and others. There is also a very human side to any inspection and it is my practice to visit police stations and departments and talk to the officers doing the job to get a feel for what is happening on the ground both by day and by night. At the end of an inspection a report on the state of the force is published with recommendations of areas to be addressed and good practice suggestions for the information of all forces
8. During the period covered by this report, primary inspections of Northern Constabulary, Fife Constabulary and Grampian Police were carried out.
9. The new style of review inspection was introduced with the inspection of Lothian and Borders Police. Subsequently Tayside Police was also subject to a review inspection. This is a focused analysis of the progress made regarding the recommendations and good practice advice contained in the primary report, kept up-to-date by reference to relevant major issues affecting the force at the time of inspection. Review inspection reports are published.

Central Services
10. Inspection of central services - the Scottish Crime Squad, the Scottish Criminal Record Office and the Scottish Police College also takes place on a cyclical basis every 3 years. In August and September 1997 the Scottish Police College was inspected and the subsequent report was published.

Thematic Inspections
11. Other areas of policing are covered by specific and more detailed thematic inspections which examine aspects of current policing interest across the Scottish forces. As referred to in last year's report, my thematic report, "Hitting Home", published this year, addresses the issue of domestic violence and offers a number of recommendations designed to aid forces in implementing good practice. I am pleased to note that my report has helped to stimulate activity in the Scottish police service in an area of crime which has hitherto been neglected.
12. At a time when good progress is being made in information systems (IS) and information technology (IT) by identifying a Scottish Police IS/IT Strategy (SPIS) it is right for the Inspectorate to contribute to this development by examining the vexed issues of strategic planning, investment appraisal, procurement, project management and security. An extensive and in-depth investigation has been undertaken throughout the Scottish police service and my thematic report on the subject is due to be published. It is my sincere hope that it will provide a template of good practice for forces to follow.
13. For the first time, the Inspectorate has joined forces with the Accounts Commission in a Joint Study of police financial management. The study has made good progress, all forces have been visited as part of an overview and reports of these visits sent to them. The study will consider financial management, control and delegation and the arrangements for and costs of support services from local authorities and other services. It is anticipated that a joint report will be published soon and this should encourage the sharing of good practice in financial management and inform on a number of funding issues. The experience of working with the Accounts Commission has been excellent and I have been impressed by the professionalism and knowledge that its staff has brought to the study, perhaps only the first of many to benefit from such co-operation.
14. During the year staff participated in a multi-agency working group chaired by HMIC (England and Wales) to develop a good practice guidance package for functional heads of forces' Special Branch. The final draft guidance, having been circulated to all forces for comment is due to be presented to the appropriate Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) group in the near future for approval prior to distribution.
15. I intend to conduct a thematic inspection of Special Branch departments within all Scottish forces in the autumn of 1998. While Special Branch departments are the subject of scrutiny during force primary inspections this will be the first occasion in Scotland that they will be benchmarked with one another and good practice shared.

Quality of Service
16. The essence of the Inspection process is to highlight and encourage good practice that provides a higher quality of service to the public. Quality of service in the way policing is delivered is now a well established principle in all forces. However it takes time to produce a quality organisation and the management effort must be maintained throughout. Accordingly I am pleased to note the increasing commitment being shown by forces to the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) model. Forces are also being asked to address the Accounts Commission modules on management arrangements. A proper understanding and successful application of these principles can only lead to better standards of management.
17. Of the 8 Scottish forces 5 now have applied for and been awarded the Charter Mark.

Performance Review
18. More and more, forces are developing their awareness of the value of good business plans. This requires reference to budgets, targets and timescales in order that performance can be monitored, highlighting the importance to the police service of the Government's desire to introduce 3 year budgets as part of the Best Value Regime. There is now an agreed approach to performance measurement between The Association of Chief Police Officers (Scotland) (ACPOS), the Accounts Commission and the Inspectorate and this will help to inform evaluation of performance. The inspection process applies professional judgement to the evaluation process and it is evident to me that some forces have much work to do yet in setting sufficiently challenging output targets supported by a clear mechanism for measurement and monitoring of performance. This is a necessary ingredient in ensuring that everyone within a force is aware of its priorities and working towards achieving them.