| Chapter 2: Quality
of Service and Performance Review |
| Planning Process |
| 2.1 The
Primary Inspection Report noted that the force was
reviewing its policy making and objective setting process
and had commenced work on a new five year strategy.
However as a consequence "it had not been possible
for HM Inspectors to carry out an analysis of performance
against objectives since those for 1996/97 had not been
reviewed nor had objectives been set for 1997/98".
Concern was also expressed that no public attitude survey
had been undertaken since 1994 and the Report highlighted
the importance of gathering such information. The Report
recommended: |
| Primary
Report Recommendation 2 |
| "that
the force prepares a business plan setting out strategic
objectives which are capable of measurement and
evaluation annually; Area Command and Departmental
objectives should be linked to this plan and similarly
reviewed and evaluated; and public consultation carried
out to ensure that strategy is closely linked to reflect
community needs." |
| Review
Inspection Findings |
| 2.2 The
force published the document "Our Strategy for
Policing with Purpose" in September 1998 after
considerable internal and external consultation. In the
latter stages of its development, the strategy was
considered in detail during a two day seminar attended by
the senior management of the force, staff associations
and ten members of the Northern Joint Police Board. The
strategy lays down the goal of Northern Constabulary
which is "to make a positive contribution to the
well-being of the Highlands and Islands through a problem
solving approach to community policing". The
document is intended as a reference point to enable staff
to check they are in touch with strategic issues. It lays
out the main services the force provides, the internal
factors which affect how that service is provided, and
the potential the force has to effect change. It then
identifies in broad terms the solutions the force intends
to pursue to achieve its goal. |
| 2.3 Copies
of the plan were distributed to every member of staff
within the force and, although HMIC acknowledges that
it is intended as an initial reference document and that
the planning process will develop further in the future,
there was little evidence that people within the
organisation, particularly at operational level, found it
to be either readable or relevant to their day to day
duties. It would be unfortunate if what is basically
a sound message were to be lost or given less credence
because it is perceived to be dressed in "management
speak". The force needs to consider whether it
has done enough to communicate its priorities in simple
accessible terms to its staff and to the public. |
| 2.4 The
strategy is supported by 24 identified force Actions
which the senior management of the force are accountable
for delivering. However HMIC had concerns over the
measurability of some of the objectives and the validity
of the performance indicators which have been put in
place. In the view of HM Inspectorate, action plans and
targets need to be capable of measurement and this was
not always the case. The force has set itself an
ambitious programme with 19 of the Objectives targeted
for completion by or before 31 March 1999. |
| 2.5 The 1
April 1999 is very much seen as a key date for the force,
by which time it hopes to have developed its main
strategies and to have put most of its major policies
into place. Underpinning much of this is the anticipated
move to fully devolved resource management. In line with
this programme Service Unit Managers will be required to
produce plans for the running of their units, area plans
will describe how policing services are to be delivered,
and Headquarters Unit Plans will detail the services they
have agreed to provide (Service Level Agreements). As a
step towards this, interim plans were produced for 31
March 1998 (six months prior to the force plan) by
Service Unit Managers, to a template provided by the
Performance Service Unit at Headquarters. In plain terms
the plans set out where the units are, where they want to
be and how they are going to get there. The
publication of local plans prior to the publication of a
force plan is unusual and the force may wish to consider
the merits of delivering its plans in a more conventional
order in future. |
| 2.6 Although
accepted as an interim measure by the force there is no
question that the task was undertaken seriously by
Service Unit Managers who appear to have found the
analysis a useful exercise. It also needs to be recorded
that this was apparently the first occasion on which the
force had produced local plans. The lack of a published
force strategy had not appeared to hinder the planning
process greatly, mainly because most Service Unit
Managers were clear about the direction the Chief
Constable is wishing to take the force. |
| 2.7 HM
Inspectors found considerable variance in the
consultation that had taken place in producing the plans,
both within the force and with locally elected
representatives and the community itself. There also
seemed to be some uncertainty among the Area Commanders
as to whether local plans were intended for internal or
external consumption and most Councils and Area
Committees said that they did not have copies of the
local policing plan. Some Area Commanders had however
taken the initiative and held local briefings on their
plans for the year, as well as reaching a wider audience
through local media outlets. It may be that there is
scope for the force to identify good practice in the
compilation and publication of the local plans. As
with the force plan, there is a need to consider the
nature of the target audience and to frame the plan
accordingly. |
| 2.8 HM
Inspectors also found wide variation in the awareness of
staff about their local plans but the most striking
aspect was the almost unanimous view of front line
operational officers that the planning process was an
issue for managers and had no relevance to their own day
to day duties. This may reflect the somewhat
traditional and unchanging nature of a mainly rural
policing environment and the fact that the plans were
simply identifying well recognised existing issues.
However the planning process gives Area Commanders the
opportunity to look ahead and adopt a more proactive
policing style, particularly now that the improved
transport infrastructure in the Highlands and Islands is
leaving the area more vulnerable to the threat from
travelling criminals and the influx of drug related
crime. Not all local plans reflected this reality and in
many cases the dominant tone was of "business as
usual". Whilst HMIC recognises the value of the
measures taken to date, it considers that further
progress needs to be made if the force is to assume a
pro-active stance in the face of the likely operational
challenges of the 21st century. |
| Bi-Monthly Performance Review |
| 2.9 The
force, while demonstrating a strong commitment to
devolved decision making, is conscious that a meaningful
form of two way accountability is required. They have
introduced a process of Bi-Monthly Performance Review
(BMPR) for all Service Unit Managers, the key elements of
which are the principles of self-assessment and audit. In
these reviews managers are given the opportunity to
demonstrate to the Force Executive their achievements and
their ability to undertake their devolved responsibility.
This is a recent innovation and at the time of the
Inspection most Service Unit Managers had experienced one
Performance Review, looking at their personal
performance, the management of their Service Unit and
their contribution to the corporate development of the
force. This was generally seen as a very positive meeting
providing an opportunity for a meaningful two-way
exchange of information and is commended by HMIC. Other
forces may well wish to note this development as one
possible means of maintaining local management
accountability. |
| EFQM |
| 2.10
Northern Constabulary had adopted the European Foundation
for Quality Management (EFQM) "Model of
Excellence" as a framework for continuous
improvement and is undertaking the training of 30
Assessors spread throughout the force. Self assessment
will be built into the Annual Planning Cycle so that
matters requiring attention can be incorporated into the
objective setting process. Progress in relation to
identified actions will then be monitored as part of the
BMPR process. |
| 2.11 HMIC
commends the force for its evident commitment to quality
but would ask that it keeps a careful watch to ensure
that the considerable time and effort that is being spent
on the planning process is being translated into
meaningful and practical outcomes. In particular, there
appears to be considerable work to be done if the overall
planning process is to achieve credibility at operational
level. |
| Inspectorate Function |
| 2.12 At the
time of the Primary Inspection the Constabulary had a
Force Inspectorate based at the Dingwall Office. HM
Inspectors had been impressed by the thorough approach
taken to the internal inspection process but suggested
"that the programme should be capable of adjustment
to provide flexibility to deal with specific issues as
they arise". |
| Review
Inspection Findings |
| 2.13 The
force no longer has a centrally based inspection unit and
is engaged in revising its internal audit arrangements.
Service Unit Managers have been appointed as Quality
Auditors with portfolios of functional areas for which
they are responsible. Thus, for example, the Area
Commander at Inverness has a forcewide remit to audit the
quality of police reports and statements, while the Area
Commander in the Western Isles has a similar
responsibility for identification parades. The force is
in the process of developing its existing Standing Orders
into a new style Force Reference Document and as each new
policy is emerging via the practitioner groups an
identified quality auditor is assigned. HMIC will be
interested to monitor the progress of this initiative. |
| Public Consultation |
| 2.14. As
stated earlier, the Primary Report recommended that
public consultation be carried out to ensure that
strategy is closely linked to community needs. The force
has identified money to carry out a Public Perception
Survey and at the time of the Inspection the proposal was
out to tender. The force hopes to benchmark the results
against those obtained in 1994. However HMIC noted that
according to the schedule of target dates set out in the
force document "Our strategy for Policing with
Purpose. Action Plan 1998" the proposed survey had
failed to meet its target of 30 August 1998 for producing
a published report on the findings. We were later
informed by the Chief Constable that the target date
given was a misprint and that the correct date was 30
August 1999. It was clear from our conversation with some
senior managers that this misprint had caused confusion
as they appeared to believe that the deadline had been
missed and spoke of money for the survey being earmarked
in the current year's budget. The force may wish to take
the opportunity of removing any remaining uncertainties
on this point (See also paragraph 5.20). |
| 2.15. The
force does not use any system of station counter surveys
to assess customer satisfaction from people who call in
at local offices. It was suggested that Highland Council
is investigating a system of key pad electronic devices
in shops or libraries, to allow the wider public to
respond to questionnaires and to measure satisfaction
with council service delivery. It is hoped that the force
might be able to participate in such a scheme. However
this would only cover one part of the force area and local
managers might wish to look at ways in which to
supplement the valuable input already received from
elected members, with more direct views on customer
satisfaction levels and priorities in public safety. |
| 2.16 The
force must however be given credit for the well-founded
community links which it has built up and nurtured over
the years and which play such a vital part in creating an
awareness of the concerns of local people. This is at the
heart of much of the highly responsive and sensitive
policing which was in evidence during the Inspection.
This consultation has recently been formalised into a
three tier process, approved by the Joint Police Board,
which details the appropriate level of liaison expected
at local community meetings, Area Command level, and by
the Force Executive. The practice of completing brief
reports on matters raised at local meetings was found to
be particularly useful in keeping managers up to date
with local concerns and informing the deployment of
resources. HMIC would commend this practice |
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