HM Inspectorate of Constabulary: A Report of Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary: Scottish Crime Squad 1999

3 People Management

Personnel

3.1 Figure 3 Scottish Crime Squad Police strength at 31/3/99

3.2 The inspection provided evidence that the people making up the Scottish Crime Squad are highly motivated individuals who have a strong desire to be involved in their current field of work. However a number of issues were raised, most of which in fact reflect the nature of the organisation and the high turnover of police staff, arriving from and going back to their separate forces.

Policy

3.3 There is no formal human resources (HR) policy or strategy within the Squad and policy comes from an amalgam of Standing Orders and received practice. HMIC considers that for effective personnel management there is a need for the management and personnel of the Scottish Crime Squad, together with officers' home forces, to be aware of individual rights and responsibilities, ideally by means of a consolidated document. However HMIC acknowledges that within the present organisational framework, such a document could be of restricted value as the Squad does not "employ" its staff and the home forces retain considerable influence over officers' careers. Officers' secondment to the Squad is defined under the collaborative agreement and a civil action by a member of the Scottish Crime Squad in 1997 raised the question of the status of the Squad in relation to its liabilities towards its staff. The case involved a Squad officer suing for damages for injuries sustained in a vehicular accident while on duty. The outcome of the case and subsequent appeal held that officers seconded to the Scottish Crime Squad were not considered to be engaged on Central Service and therefore, Chief Constables of seconding forces, were not exempt from their liability for the actions of officers while performing duty with the Squad. However, whatever the official status of staff, HMIC still considers it would be of value for current HR related practices and procedures within the Scottish Crime Squad to be more formally recorded for the information of those they affect.

Current Issues

3.4 There were 5 main personnel issues identified during the inspection:

• selection procedures for police personnel;
• training and subsequent abstraction;
• tenure of post;
• liaison with home forces and staff development; and
• employment of support staff personnel.

Selection

3.5 A three year tenure of post policy means that on average there is the potential for a 30% turnover of staff each year, which involves the Scottish Crime Squad and forces in a fairly constant selection process. Forces are supplied with job descriptions for all Scottish Crime Squad posts but the only accompanying person specification is contained in a short paragraph entitled "relative experience". Two slightly different processes apply. Posts for inspector rank and above are advertised country-wide and a selection committee, comprising representatives of the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS) and the Commander, interview candidates who have been supported by their own force. Posts at these ranks are open to officers from all forces. Posts at sergeant and constable rank are subject to a pre-determined allocation of numbers per force, and as vacancies arise the force which is expected to fill that vacancy is notified. There was evidence from force adverts that "relevant experience" was being interpreted differently in relation to length of service and whether or not an officer had worked within a criminal investigation department. All forces advertise vacancies internally and carry out some form of sift. Some went on to nominate officers directly to the Scottish Crime Squad, the remainder held interview panels to select their nominations, but only 3 forces involved Scottish Crime Squad personnel in the interview process. HMIC considers that a detailed person specification requires to be drawn up for each post. The specifications should, where possible, allow for comparison of work experience across forces. It is important that the selection criteria applied by forces is consistent and applicable to the posts concerned so that any potential for direct or indirect discrimination is avoided.

3.6 It is difficult to trace the history of the pre-determined allocation of posts, which is in effect a "quota" system based on the relative size of forces. Not only does it decide how many officers of constable and sergeant rank from each force will serve within the Scottish Crime Squad, but from which of the squad offices they will work. For example it is customary for officers from Grampian and Tayside to serve at Stonehaven, Strathclyde officers to serve at Paisley, Lothian and Borders and Central Scotland officers to serve in Edinburgh and so on. While there may be logistical reasons for this, the application of these arrangements in the view of HMIC, distracts from the wider strategic need to develop a fully national identity in Scottish Crime Squad management and operations. The table below shows the number of officers of sergeant and constable rank, from each force, in the Scottish Crime Squad and the representative percentage.

Figure 4: Number of officers of sergeant and constable rank, from each force, within the Scottish Crime Squad and the percentage of the total they represent.

3.7 HMIC questions whether any quota system can on every occasion provide the best person for the job. This is not to detract from the enthusiasm and commitment of individuals and there was an acknowledgement within the Scottish Crime Squad that the quality of secondees is high. If the quota system no longer applied there would be a challenge in achieving a level of representation across forces, while applying the principles of equal opportunities and the selection of best candidates. There could also be times when not all forces would be represented. There are obvious advantages in having a wide representation from forces and it could be argued that in-depth knowledge of a particular geographic area and its crime trends might well be a deciding factor in appointing a candidate. However the argument that it requires a local officer to give full attention to a particular force area appears in the judgement of HMIC to underestimate the professionalism of the able officers who put themselves forward to play a full part in the policing of Scotland as a whole. HMIC was impressed by many of the officers spoken to who recognised the broader picture and the need to consider policing in a national and international dimension. If the quota system were replaced, it would however raise the importance of maintaining effective links with forces at all levels. HMIC believes that the management of the Scottish Crime Squad is well able to rise to this challenge.

Staffing Diversity

3.8 Figure 5 shows the number and percentage of women officers in the Squad over the last ten years and indicates that this figure has remained fairly static since 1993. During the inspection, Scottish Crime Squad management and syndicate heads recognised the operational value that a broader gender balance would bring to surveillance work. In the past some forces' vacancy adverts have stated that applications would be particularly welcomed from women, but this is not a widespread practice and the number of women applying for posts is small. There is also anecdotal evidence that some forces tended to replace women on a "one for one" basis, thereby keeping the number fairly static. During the course of the inspection HMIC also asked questions regarding the ethnic origin of squad members. Although no formal monitoring takes place, it appears that there has never been an ethnic minority officer in the Scottish Crime Squad.

Figure 5: Number and percentage of women officers in the Scottish Crime Squad.

Equality of Opportunity

3.9 While HMIC did not encounter any conscious discrimination and found management attitudes on equal opportunities issues to be positive and progressive, it nevertheless remains the case that the current procedures for the selection of staff for the Scottish Crime Squad raise a number of potentially difficult questions which could benefit from early consideration before problems develop.

3.10 While recognising the high calibre of officers within the Scottish Crime Squad, HMIC does not consider that the present means of gaining a post within the Squad is designed to provide equality of opportunity for officers throughout Scotland or to provide the best candidate for every job. Accordingly it is recommended that there is a total revision of the means by which vacancies in the Scottish Crime Squad are filled in future.