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Mr William Taylor
QPM
HMCIC
| Mr Graham Power QPM MA(Oxon) Assistant Inspector |
Mr Graham Harcus MA MEd HM Lay Inspector |
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Staff Officers |
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Ch Supt McAteer |
Supt Harvey |
Supt Jenkins |
Supt Clacher |
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Team Leader Organisational & Management Framework Relations with Police Authorities Complaints & Discipline Media Relations |
Quality of Service & Performance Review Best Value Vehicle Fleets Emergency Planning Public Order Police Use of Firearms Specialist Units Air Support Criminal Justice Traffic Special Branch and Ports Policing Firearms LicensingExplosives |
Crime Investigation Identification Branch Scientific and Technical Support Drugs Crime Prevention Community Safety Sexual Crime, Child Protection & Domestic Violence Finance Property Management Resource Allocation Productions and Fines Lost and Found Property |
Human Resources Recruitment Police & Support Staff Strength Special Constabulary Professional Development Equal Opportunities Health and Safety Training Relations with Police and Support Staff Staff Associations Information Technology Communications Liquor Licensing Civic Government Act |
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The Inspectorate
3. In 1998 Mr Graham Harcus, former Depute Director of Education for Strathclyde was appointed as HM Lay Inspector of Constabulary for Scotland and continues to provide an additional perspective to the inspection of forces. Mr Harcus has brought with him a considerable experience of public service. He has a full role in the inspection process enabling his particular experience to be used to good effect. He is a valued member of the team and HMIC is convinced of the need for and benefit of this lay involvement. For any inspection or thematic (see paras 11-14) additional lay expertise can and has been used, invariably on a consultancy basis.
4. During the year Mr David Garbutt, the immediate past Assistant HMI, took up post as Director of the Scottish Police College and was replaced in September by Mr Graham Power. Mr Power, who joined the Inspectorate staff from his position as Deputy Chief Constable of Lothian and Borders Police brings a tremendous wealth of policing experience, particularly in the field of complaints against the police.
5. 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. Their unstinting commitment to ensure that a very busy schedule is maintained with maximum efficiency is greatly valued. The Inspectorate continues to utilise, on a part-time basis, the services of an accountant from the Accountancy Services Unit at the Scottish Executive. This specialist support is indispensable, adding considerably to the depth of inspection carried out and the value of the reports produced.
6. The small group of officers and staff which makes up the Inspectorate does a remarkable job. The end product of challenging but professional published reports is a credit to their dedication. Staff moving through the Inspectorate have a singular development opportunity and take a very useful experience forward into their next role.
The Inspections
7. 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 HMCIC in the third year to discuss any outstanding issues with the chief constable.
8. The primary inspection is a comprehensive review of a force that encompasses an examination of procedures, documentation, systems and policies. There are also discussions with chief officers, a range of other staff, members of the police authority and representatives of the wider community. There is also a very important further dimension of any inspection, that is the visits to police stations and departments to talk with the staff doing the job to gain an understanding and appreciation of what is happening "on the ground by day and by night". At the end of an inspection a report is published with recommendations and suggestions of areas to be addressed and good practice points for the information of all forces.
9. During the period covered by this report, primary inspections of Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary and Lothian and Borders Police were carried out. This is a comprehensive examination of force policy and practice resulting in a number of key recommendations to aid continuous improvement.
10. Strathclyde Police, Fife Constabulary and Northern Constabulary were subject of a review inspection. This is a focused analysis of the progress made regarding the recommendations and suggestions 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 and, for the first time, the Northern Constabulary review inspection was made available in Gaelic as well as English.
Central Services
11. Inspection of central services - the Scottish Crime Squad, the Scottish Criminal Record Office (SCRO) and the Scottish Police College - also takes place on a 3 year cyclical basis. The inspection of SCRO was deliberately delayed pending the outcome of a review by the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS) and is rescheduled for 1999/2000.
Thematic Inspections
12. Other areas of policing are covered by specific and more detailed thematic inspections which examine aspects of current policing interest across the Scottish forces. HMIC's thematic inspection report, 'Getting IT Right' on the specification and deployment of information technology systems in the Scottish police service was published. All HMIC published reports are available via the internet at the Scottish Executive web site: www.scotland.gov.uk.
13. Computer power has become a much cheaper resource, capable of carrying out a wider range of tasks cost-effectively. There is now a greater convergence of technology between computers and telecommunications, making it easier to inter-link computer systems and transmit data along telephone lines or hand held mobile telephones as personal radios. That has given the police service more opportunity to use computers and has made it much easier for forces to share information. That, in turn, has led to the emergence of the Scottish Police Information Strategy (SPIS) and detailed consideration of the Public Safety Radio Communications Project (PSRCP), both designed to make it easier for the police to share information in an efficient way. 'Getting IT Right' points to encouraging early progress with SPIS. The service still faces a number of challenges in introducing SPIS but HMIC is convinced that the concept is good and the goal vital for future policing needs in Scotland. Issues raised in the thematic report are being addressed by forces.
14. In last year's Annual Report it was highlighted that, for the first time, the Inspectorate had joined with the Accounts Commission in a joint study of police financial management. The study "Credit to the Force" was published in November 1998 and considered financial management, control and delegation and the arrangements for and costs of support services from local authorities and other services. Forces were found to be at different stages in the development of devolved resource management (DRM) and a number of recommendations were made based on good practice and designed to assist forces to operate DRM successfully. Forces' progress is examined during the regular inspection process.
15. The study highlighted a number of key issues to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of policing which can only be taken forward by The Scottish Executive and which may require legislation. These include carrying working balances forward from one year to the next and reviewing the arrangements for approving and allocating forces' capital programmes. The Scottish Executive has formed a working group to develop the issues and associated requirements.
16. The experience of working with the Accounts Commission was most valuable, not least the professionalism and experience that its staff brought to the study. Such studies consistently demonstrate the benefits to be derived from collaborative working with others and point up a direction for the future.
17. The thematic inspection of Special Branch departments within all Scottish forces was delayed due to staffing changes but some pre-inspection work is underway and completion will likely be towards the end of 1999.
Quality of Service
18. The essence of the Inspection process is to highlight and encourage good practice that provides a higher quality of service to the public by securing continuous improvement. Quality of service considerations is now a well established dimension in all forces. However it takes consistency and determination to produce a quality organisation and the management effort must be maintained. Forces continue to test and evaluate the impact of the service they provide through programmes of user surveys to gauge public opinion. Such undertakings are vital and additional credence is given to this activity if the survey is undertaken by an independent source, although there is the cost to weigh in this option.
19. The application of user surveys takes on strategic importance for forces making increasing use of elements of the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) Business Excellence Model as a framework for policing and self assessment of the organisation. Emphasis is placed on an organisation's external relations with the public and internal relations with its staff within the EFQM model and user surveys assist in determining satisfaction levels, which inform the setting of objectives and local plans.
20. Such surveys are also a component part of Service First's Charter Mark and 4 forces (Central Scotland Police, Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary, Grampian Police and Tayside Police) continue to demonstrate a commitment to excellence in the provision of public service in holding the Charter Mark while 3 forces (Central Scotland Police, Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary and Strathclyde Police) are accredited Investors in People. The Scottish Police College continues to hold both awards.
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