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Occupational Health/Welfare
10. Occupational health and welfare services are alert to the issues of stress-related illness. Stress management is basically an issue for line managers to tackle and it is wholly appropriate that forces are now starting to develop policies to address this matter, including giving full recognition to the need for critical incident debriefing. Routine debriefing can also be of help to staff. In this regard an area of good practice was identified during the inspection process in the past year. In one force a divisional pilot scheme was introduced for staff working in specialist areas such as child protection, domestic violence and CCTV monitoring whereby they receive the offer of a meeting with a welfare officer every month. The system is an opt out one in that the appointment is made and it is up to individuals to cancel should they not wish to attend. This is a pro-active and preventative approach to staff well being.
11. General management information about the physical and mental welfare of a force, which takes cognisance of confidentiality issues, is important if senior management is to exercise proper influence on aspects of the force contributing to the welfare/health problems. It is only by this overview that early intervention and pro-active prevention can be influential.
Health and Safety
12. With the implementation of the Police (Health and Safety) Act 1997 in July of 1998, health and safety regulations, already applying to civilian support staff, will apply to police officers. While there was concern about some forces where the time taken to employ specialist staff to support health and safety appeared excessive, a great deal of work has been carried out by all forces in advance of the legislation and it will continue to be an area covered by HMIC inspections in 1999/2000 A memorandum of understanding will be settled by HMIC with the Health and Safety Executive to avoid duplication of effort and unnecessary burdens on forces.
Staff Development
13. Forces continue to improve their staff development policies for both police and support staff including the transparent systems of selection for advancement or specialist posts. In smaller forces staff development and career opportunities can be limited and secondments to larger forces offer an alternative source of career development. This exchange, facilitated where possible by larger forces, is to be encouraged. The development of staff and the health of Scottish policing would be enhanced if a greater number of vacancies were advertised and staff, particularly Chief Inspectors and upwards on the police side, were prepared to move force to gain experience.
14. Efforts are also being made by several forces to introduce support staff appraisal systems including the completion of role requirements and personal development plans in some cases. This can only assist support staff who are increasingly being given the opportunities in the same way as police officers, to progress from junior positions to very high levels of management.
Accelerated Promotion Scheme
15. In 1998/99 five persons were successful in being accepted for the Accelerated Promotion (AP) Scheme. An element of the Scheme which is open to well-qualified graduates (APSG) has been successful in attracting 2 candidates (both female) in 1998/99. However, only 9 officers have been accepted for APSG since its revision in 1992. This resulted in a revised approach to the scheme's marketing strategy and the recruitment of two candidates this year indicates a level of success.
16. The issue of opportunities for women in the service is reported on later at paragraph 23 but it is disappointing to note that all 15 in-service officers accepted for the AP Scheme since 1992 are male.
Promotion Examinations
17. The police promotion examinations are operated under the auspices of the Scottish Qualifications Agency. The examination comprises three papers in relation to the professional subjects of crime, traffic and general police duties. Passes in all papers are required to qualify for promotion to sergeant but they need not be taken in the same year.
|
1999 |
1998 |
1997 |
|
| Total Enrolments |
2,380 |
2,395 |
2,305 |
| Candidates sitting all 3 papers |
329 |
369 |
357 |
| Candidates passing all 3 papers |
38 |
71 |
98 |
| Candidates passing
all papers (including those carrying passes in individual papers from previous years.) |
221 |
342 |
372 |
18. The pass rate for candidates sitting individual papers is shown in the following table:-
|
1999 |
1998 |
1997 |
|
| Crime |
32.6% |
35.1% |
43.7% |
| Traffic |
18% |
40.9% |
29.6% |
| General Police Duties |
29.5% |
21.6% |
39.8% |
The pass rate of 18% in the Traffic paper was particularly low and the Board of Governors at the Scottish Police College has invited a review of the examination system.
19. The poor results reflected in the above tables are a cause of concern and raises a number of issues including the knowledge level of candidates (and arguably the wider service), the commitment of candidates and whether the present system is a contributory factor. The police service needs to pursue the issues and provide answers which are satisfactory.
Chief Officers
20. The following chief officer appointments were made in 1998/99:-
Mr Peter Wilson LLB
Assistant Chief Constable (Designated Deputy)
Grampian Police
Mr Thomas Wood QPM MSc
Assistant Chief Constable (Designated Deputy)
Lothian and Borders Police
Mr Ian Gordon
Assistant Chief Constable
Tayside Police
Miss Sandra Hood MPhil FRSA
Assistant Chief Constable
Strathclyde Police
Mr Kenneth McInnes BSc
Assistant Chief Constable
Lothian and Borders Police
Mr Frederick Newton
Assistant Chief Constable (Co-ordinator of Ports Policing)
Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary
Mr Graeme Pearson MA
Assistant Chief Constable
Strathclyde Police
Mr David Strang MSc BSc
Assistant Chief Constable
Lothian and Borders Police
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