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Recommendation 1
That serious consideration be given to extending the period of secondment of officers identified for undercover and other specialist tasks and that prior to their selection for training for such roles the Commander consults with the forces concerned.
Response
The system for the selection of potential undercover officers and those identified to perform other specialist tasks has been revised and formalised. Officers are now selected by the Commander in their first year of secondment and prior to being trained in specialist skills, their home forces are consulted as to the likelihood of extensions to their secondments being granted in the future. Only if agreement is reached with the force, would training commence. To date 3 officers have had their secondment extended to 6 years (3 years beyond the basic tenure period) to allow their particular expertise to be capitalised on.
This recommendation can be regarded as being discharged.
Recommendation 2
That urgent steps be taken to review the accommodation provided to the Edinburgh Branch of the Scottish Crime Squad.
Response
Lothian and Borders Police have to date been unable to provide additional accommodation for the Scottish Crime Squad and the Edinburgh Branch Office remains inadequate for the needs of the Squad. However, the matter has recently been reviewed again and negotiations between the Squad and Lothian and Borders Police now offer the prospect of a 50% increase in accommodation. As such the recommendation can be regarded as having been discharged.
However, the fact still remains that the present accommodation for the Scottish Crime Squad within Edinburgh is not satisfactory. HMIC would put on record that any future Scottish Crime Squad offices, must meet the strategic needs of the Squad, both in relation to facilities and location.
Recommendation 3
That a review be undertaken of the current invoicing arrangements of forces to provide more consistent financial information to the Squad in order to enhance the budgetary monitoring process.
Response
The flow of information to the Scottish Crime Squad from forces has improved with 5 forces now supplying data on a monthly as against a quarterly basis. A revised payment schedule has allowed the Scottish Crime Squad to provide the Scottish Executive with more accurate budgetary information. The 3 forces which continue to supply information on a quarterly basis do so due to their own internal financial systems and therefore for the moment this recommendation is regarded as being discharged.
Recommendation 4
That a review of the information technology requirements of the Scottish Crime Squad be undertaken by the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS) Communications Standing Committee.
Response
A review of the information technology requirements of the Scottish Crime Squad was undertaken in August 1997. It was carried out by a Working Group comprising Scottish Crime Squad staff, and not by ACPOS Communications Standing Committee, although members of the Committee were involved in the consultation process. A strategy document outlining the data handling, telecommunications, radio communications and IT infrastructure requirements for the Scottish Crime Squad was produced. As such, the recommendation can be regarded as having been discharged. However the strategy document concluded that, following on from its work, a detailed business plan indicating the implementation process, priorities and timescales, should be drawn up. To date this has not happened and the Scottish Crime Squad are relying heavily on the Scottish Police Information Systems Strategy (SPIS) to take them forward. The Scottish Crime Squad, are in the same position as the Scottish forces, and await a decision on the Public Safety Radio Communications Project (PSRCP) before progressing any work in relation to a replacement radio system. At a local level, with the exception of the TSU, all Scottish Crime Squad offices are networked via the Police National Network (PNN) giving excellent inter-office access.
Recommendation 5
That a review be undertaken of the current reporting arrangements for Crime Pattern Analysis including the role of SCIO in the procedure.
Response
A Working Group, chaired by an Assistant Chief Constable, was set up and reported its findings to the ACPOS Crime Standing Committee. The main recommendations were that the requirements of the Police National Computer Comparative Case Analysis (PNC CCA) application be devolved to individual forces and that the SCIO should provide advice and assistance to forces during the transitional period. As of April 1999, this responsibility has been devolved and training of designated force personnel was undertaken at the Scottish Police College during February 1999.
This recommendation is regarded as having been discharged.
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