STRATHCLYDE POLICE: Review Inspection 1998

Executive Summary

1. The principal aim of the Review Inspection of Strathclyde Police was to establish the force's response to HMIC's recommendations in the 1997 Primary Inspection Report, although a number of other issues were examined as they came to notice during the course of inspection. The response to HMIC's recommendations is included in Appendix A of this report.

2. Strathclyde Police is one of the largest provincial forces in the United Kingdom with a strength set by the force of 7352 officers and 2115 support staff and provides policing to 12 local authority areas including the City of Glasgow, which by virtue of its size presents a number of special policing problems. The force receives excellent support from the twelve constituent local authorities, which comprise the Joint Police Board, which has consistently set the force budget at the level of GAE. HMIC was pleased to note the strong links which have been forged by the force with the councils and the Joint Police Board.

3. In the 1997 Primary Inspection Report it was recommended that the force review its senior rank structure. A force restructuring programme, which will see a reduction from 14 to nine divisions during the next five years, has commenced. As a result, delayering of senior ranks will take place and a number of posts will be shed. HMIC welcomes these ambitious plans which will allow for the more flexible use of resources to tackle key problems. The disaggregation of one division has led to a number of good practice points such as the way senior management have handled welfare issues relating to the assimilation of staff into the new divisions. The force has indicated that a review of headquarters posts is to be undertaken and HMIC welcomes this move which should result in a significant reduction in the number of police officers, many of senior rank, employed in an administrative capacity.

4. Financial management is being developed within the force through the appointment of the Chief Finance Officer as a member of the command team sitting on both the policy group and the senior management team. Examination of the postholder's roles and responsibilities was being undertaken at the time of the inspection and it was anticipated that responsibility for managing various aspects of the force administrative structure would be transferred to him. HMIC would welcome such a move, particularly if this allows the Assistant Chief Constable (Traffic) to relinquish administrative functions which the 1997 Inspection recommended should not be associated with this post.

5. The force has developed a corporate strategy and planning framework providing an approach to policy and strategy which adheres closely to the EFQM (European Foundation for Quality Management) model. Included within the corporate strategy, as an integral part of the planning framework, is the force's Spotlight philosophy whose unquestionable success was evident to the Inspectorate.

6. At the time of the force inspection, some 57 'spotlights' had taken place since the initiative was launched on 1 October 1996. HMIC learned that in 1998 initiatives have concentrated on women's safety, transport, truancy, underage drinking/licensed premises and offensive weapons. The force is commended for the energy and enthusiasm demonstrated during the Spotlight campaigns, which have been well received by the public. A child safety initiative was introduced at Hamilton in October 1997 and has seen a tremendous amount of local support from both members of the public and councillors. At the beginning of June 1998 some 249 interventions had taken place with very few of these children coming to the attention of the police on subsequent occasions. HMIC welcomes the arrangement by which the Scottish Office and Strathclyde Police, have arranged for the results to be evaluated by the University of Stirling, ensuring a stringent academic analysis of the project. Since the inspection this report has been published and is supportive of the project.

7. The Spotlight on domestic violence featured heavily in a media campaign in the early part of 1998, focusing public attention on the force's policy on domestic violence. HM Lay Inspector welcomed the domestic violence incident recording system which allows officers attending calls to be advised of the possibility of repeat victimisation. HMIC hopes that the force will be able to maintain this impetus and that the current response to domestic violence will become a permanent feature.

8. Crime fell in Strathclyde Police area by 4.2% to 211,014 during 1997/98, with an increase in the detection rate of 2.71% to 36.71% over the same period. This is the highest detection rate ever recorded by the force and HMIC commends this significant achievement. Crimes of violence have decreased, other than murder/culpable homicide which rose by 2 to 68 in 1997/98. There was a particularly notable decrease in attempted murders, down 10%, and an equivalent percentage reduction in robberies. The bulk of all crimes relate to dishonesty and this category showed significant reductions in particular areas, notably theft and attempt theft of motor vehicles, which were down by 15% and 21% respectively.

9. The force's crime management system is linked to the crime pattern analysis computer and information from these systems is used to good effect at the weekly crime management meetings chaired by divisional crime managers. Further benefits could be gained by force-wide integration but HMIC was impressed with the number and quality of packages targeting specific criminals currently produced as a result of information gleaned from the computerised systems. In particular, HMIC welcomed the clear link into divisional and force objectives, particularly in relation to drugs and housebreakings.

10. During 1997/98, 494 complaints against the police were received and this statistic continues the downward trend evident since 1993. Since the primary inspection, the force has undertaken a comprehensive review and examination of the structure, practices and workloads of the Complaints and Discipline Branch and as a result has reduced two posts of chief inspector to inspector. A further chief inspector post has been re-deployed to the operational establishment of the force. HMIC welcomes this measure and hopes that a further reduction in staffing levels can be achieved should the numbers of complaints cases continue their downward trend.

11. Strathclyde Police are presently examining and piloting the concept of devolved budgets, giving the divisional commander control over all divisional resources. At the time of the inspection the project had been running for some nine months and appears to have been well received by senior management within the pilot divisions. It was demonstrated to HMIC that savings made through good housekeeping have been put to appropriate use, increasing effectiveness and efficiency within the divisions concerned.

12. The importance of the Government's Best Value Regime was recognised by the Chief Constable at an early stage. A Working Group has been established with a member of the Finance Department seconded full-time, an initiative HMIC considers good practice given the size of the force. Achieving best value is also being demonstrated by the force through the process of contract tendering where the Chief Constable, in seeking tenders for contracts, is prepared to look beyond local authority services to ensure he gains value for money. HMIC supports this initiative and would always encourage open tender arrangements.

13. Those responsible for vehicle fleet management are also aware of the need for value for money and, with no capital allocation for vehicle replacement in 1998/99, they are looking at a number of options one of which is vehicle leasing. It is essential that the force ensures that the chosen option does indeed provide best value.

14. The IT and communications budgets are under considerable pressure. For 1998/99 the overall capital allocation for Strathclyde Police is £6.25m. This is significantly down from the 1997/98 allocation of £10.10m. Through good housekeeping, the force has been able to find some additional revenue funding for the appointment of 11 IT staff but the capital allocation will not provide the force with the additional IT funding recommended in the 1997 Primary Inspection Report. In striving for effectiveness and efficiency, the computer services manager holds monthly meetings with representatives of the force training centre in order to identify short and long-term issues effecting the delivery of training. HMIC considers this good practice.

15. Due to budgetary constraints, the recruitment of new officers was temporarily suspended in January 1998 to allow natural wastage to take effect. Wastage for 1998/99 is projected at 282 officers, however the force anticipates it will require to recruit 221 people during the course of the year to achieve a readjusted strength of 7,152 police officers. At the time of the inspection, it was expected recruiting would resume in August 1998 and continue on a phased basis to match intake dates at the Scottish Police College although since that time a decision has been taken to suspend recruitment during financial year 1998/99. The force has been unable to proceed with the final phase (Phase 6) of an on-going civilianisation process. When funds become available, it is the intention of the force that the balance of Phase 6 civilianisation will be phased in and this should help to reduce the costs of employing police officers in these posts.

16. A system of Annual Personal Development Review for force support staff, introduced in 1997/98, has generally been welcomed with the hope that it will contribute to improve levels of communication and personal development.

17. Equal opportunities training has continued and it is expected that the whole programme will be completed by March 1999. During the course of the inspection, it was observed that the force's equal opportunities officer reports direct to the Assistant Chief Constable (Personnel). Given that the equal opportunities officer has to provide guidance to both staff and the ACC in grievance cases, on which the ACC may have to rule, it is felt that there may be a conflict of interest and it is recommended that this should be reviewed.

18. During a visit to the force training centre HMIC learned that while training for tape recorded interviewing was only available to officers identified by their divisional commanders, in practice it was only provided for CID officers. HMIC recognises the resource implications of extending this training and that this issue is not confined to Strathclyde Police. However, it seems inappropriate that such a valuable facility is not more fully utilised and HMIC suggests ACPOS may wish to review this matter in terms of a national policy.

19. The Sex Offenders Act 1997 resulted in a substantial amount of work for staff in the female and child units at divisions carrying out risk assessments of convicted sex offenders. A Child Protection Unit has been established within Force Headquarters and is dedicated to the collation of information and intelligence relating to the physical and sexual abuse of children and vulnerable adults. The last Primary Inspection Report suggested there was scope for periodic meetings of female and child unit staff across the force for the exchange of good practice and mutual support. It was pleasing to note that such a system is now in place and feedback, following the first meeting, indicated that it was well received.

20. Costs associated with the analysis of DNA samples have been increasing. The force estimates that in 1998/99 some £5-£600,000 will require to be found to meet the cost of analysis, and there has been no additional allocation of GAE to meet this demand. Because of concerns over DNA sampling, an efficiency scrutiny of this aspect of crime investigation has been commissioned by the Chief Constable. The terms of reference have been extended to include the force response to crime scene management, fingerprinting, photographing and the interview of witnesses/suspects and accused. HMIC commends this initiative as good practice but is concerned that Strathclyde Police and other forces are having to find such substantial funds from within existing resources to progress this valuable new technology.

21. The significance of DNA samples is apparent and many are obtained through the work of the Identification Branch. HMIC learned however, during a visit to Argyll, that no officer from this specialist department was posted to any of the stations in the area. As a result the number of crime scenes were not receiving the attention they would if a local branch officer was available. Accordingly HMIC recommends that an Identification Branch officer be strategically located within Argyll to allow increased attendance to scenes of crime in the area.

22. The Primary Inspection Report recommended that consideration be given to experimenting with the deployment of local officers using hand-held speed detection equipment. This issue has been considered by the force with local officers stationed in rural areas assisting the traffic department in campaigns such as "Speedwatch". However, HMIC considers that opportunities should be available for officers to make use of the equipment without the necessity to be accompanied by traffic personnel and recommends that local officers be appropriately trained to enable them to make use of hand-held speed detection equipment - a system which works effectively in other forces in Scotland.

23. Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) technology is playing a part in charge bar and cell areas of police offices where the systems provide protection for both people in custody and police officers. Other technology, in the form of bar code readers, is being used to scan in details of prisoner checks at custody centres. HM Lay Inspector endorsed this good practice in the area of prisoner welfare.

24. There are currently 42 victim support schemes in operation throughout the force area and in 1997/98, 12,072 victims of crime benefited from the services provided by the schemes. HM Lay Inspector of Constabulary visited a victim support office and met staff. Whilst he learned that relations with senior police management throughout the divisions were generally good, scope was identified for improvement in some. Accordingly, HM Lay Inspector observes the need for all divisional senior managers to ensure that suitable liaison is developed with local victim support staff.

25. Trials of CS Incapacitant Spray began in October 1997 in one division of the force and, during a visit to the divisional headquarters, the Assistant Inspector of Constabulary was impressed with a training demonstration in the use of the spray given by trained instructors. On later speaking with a group of officers who were trained in its use, it was evident that it increased their confidence in arresting violent criminals and was viewed as an essential part of their officer safety equipment to protect the public and themselves. HMIC was satisfied that the arrangements for storage and use of the equipment were appropriate.

26. It is the opinion of Her Majesty's Inspectors that, in terms of the Police (Scotland) Act 1967, Strathclyde Police, continues to provide an effective and efficient service.