Report No: 66/12 Agenda Item No 8 TAYSIDE JOINT POLICE BOARD

Corporate Governance Sub Committee

12 November 2011

Report by Report No. PB 66/2012

SUBJECT : HER MAJESTY’S INSPECTORATE OF CONSTABULARY ANNUAL REPORT 2011/12

Abstract : This report provides members of the Corporate Governance Sub Committee with an overview of the HM Inspectorate of Constabulary’s Annual Report for 2011/12.

1. RECOMMENDATION

1.1 It is recommended that the Corporate Governance Sub Committee consider the work of HM Inspectorate of Constabulary for Scotland (HMICS) and assess how this activity contributes to effective scrutiny and performance improvement.

2. BACKGROUND

2.1 The Local Government Act (Scotland) 2003 places a duty on all public bodies to make arrangements for the reporting to the public of the outcome of the performance of functions. The production of this annual report highlights the contribution that HMICS has made to developments and improvements in Scottish policing.

2.2 The Inspectorate work with the police service in Scotland, police boards and authorities, the Scottish Government and other bodies to monitor and improve policing services across Scotland. This is achieved through three key workstreams:

 Self evaluation (developing, supporting and monitoring police forces’ internal arrangements;  Thematic inspections of policing themes, making recommendations for improvement as well as identifying good practice; and  Best value audit and inspection in collaboration with the Accounts Commission.

2.3 This report provides a summary of the activity within the Annual Report which is available by typing the following link in to the internet. http://hmics.org/sites/default/files/publications/HMICS%20Annual%20Report%20201 1_12.PDF

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3. SUMMARY OF OUTCOMES

3.1 The following represents an overview of the work by the Inspectorate throughout 2011/12.

3.2 The state and efficiency of policing in Scotland

3.2.1 HMICS report that the Scottish police service is performing well. Scottish policing received a total revenue budget of £952.6m and spent £928.6m, making savings of £24.0m. During this period Scottish forces made total efficiency savings of £33.3m. The total number of police officers in Scotland is 17,436 (at 31 March 2012) with forces continuing to achieve the Scottish Government’s commitment to funding an additional 1,000 police officers.

3.2.2 Most impressively, this performance has been sustained despite additional challenges placed upon Scottish forces and the common police services that support them. These have included the provision of mutual-aid to address serious public disorder and public reassurance to affected communities during the riots in England; severe weather which affected transport routes and networks across the country; and the significant demands of engaging in, and planning for, the delivery of police reform.

3.3 Force Performance

3.3.1 Individual force performance is set out in the following areas:  Performance against budget 2011/12 All forces reported budget savings.

 Efficiency savings 2011/12 All forces exceeded the 3% efficiency target set by the Scottish Government.

 Public satisfaction 2011/12 Central Scotland, Grampian, Lothian and Borders and Tayside Police all reported increases in user satisfaction. Dumfries and Galloway, and all reported decreases in user satisfaction. Northern Constabulary operate a different process to the other forces and therefore cannot be offered for comparison. Satisfaction rates are currently 97%.

 Recorded crime 2011/12 Northern Constabulary was the only force to achieve reductions in all crime categories. All other forces reported a reduction in recorded crime against most crime categories with the exception of crimes of indecency. This is mainly attributable to the introduction of the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act in December 2010 and the impact of a change in the Scottish Crime Recording Counting Rules. In addition, this category is subject to fluctuation with cases of repeat offenders charged with multiple crimes along with reporting of historical crimes.

 Detection rates 2011/12 All forces recorded higher than the Scottish average for detection rates with the exception of Strathclyde, Lothian and Borders and .

Northern Constabulary and Strathclyde police reported improvements with detection rates for all crime categories against the previous year. Dumfries and Galloway reported higher detection rates for all crime categories with the exception of crimes of violence which remained the same. Central Scotland Police was the only force not to improve on detection rates from the previous

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year. The other forces reported improvements to detection rates in most crime categories.

3.4 Good Practice and Force Initiatives

3.4.1 A number of examples of good practice have been highlighted within the HMICS Annual Report. These are typically focused around partnership working and community engagement. The opportunities from this are being examined by the Force’s Organisational Development and Learning Group.

3.5 Best Value Audits

3.5.1 Under the provisions of the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003, HMICS along with the Accounts Commission have the power to examine Best Value in police authorities and joint police boards. Best Value is concerned with continuous improvement, seeking an appropriate balance between the quality of services and the costs of providing them. The activity focuses on improving outcomes for service users and the wider community. HMICS has published or conducted inspections of Lothian and Borders Police, Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary, Central Scotland Police and Fife Constabulary together with their /joint boards.

3.6 Thematic Inspections

3.6.1 Themes for thematic inspections are identified through considering individual forces’ self evaluations and by consulting with partner organisations and stakeholders (including the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS), police authorities and boards and the Scottish Government). During the reporting period the following inspections were undertaken and published:  Victims in the criminal justice system – phase 2 examined how victims are treated within the criminal justice system in Scotland and follows on from a previous inspection which looked at victims experiences where no court proceedings were commenced. This has previously been reported within PB20/2012.  Crime Audit – HMICS undertook audits of individual forces to assess the accuracy and robustness of forces’ own internal crime audits of compliance with the Scottish Crime Recording Standards. The findings from this review were reported within report PB45/2012.

3.7 How recommendations improve policing

3.7.1 During a previous thematic inspection on domestic abuse HMICS recommended that all Scottish forces review and reinforce quality assurance practices and processes for recording of domestic abuse incidents. In the 2010 Crime Audit it was identified that four forces had not met the crime recording compliance target for domestic abuse (not Tayside compliance 96.2%). During a subsequent Crime Audit in 2011 HMICS found evidence of active intervention amongst those forces to ensure domestic abuse incidents were being properly recorded and investigated.

3.7.2 Lothian and Borders Police have a long standing strategy to tackle the root causes of crime through effective community policing with a focus on prevention. HMICS observed that more could be done to develop performance systems to better reflect the link between priorities and resources and the subsequent impact on preventing crime. Lothian and Borders Police has taken this forward within its improvement plan, ensuring that prevention is clearly defined to ensure corporate understanding and focus, developing an online knowledge base to capture and share preventative practice and developing a set of measures based on victims and offenders that identify effective prevention activity and can be integrated into the force performance management system. Page 3 of 5

3.7.3 During 2012, HMICS submitted written evidence to three Scottish Parliament Committees who were seeking views on the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Bill. Many of the views expressed by HMICS were included in the resulting committee reports and HM Inspector of Constabulary was invited to attend each of the committees to provide evidence on a wide range of issues relating to the reform of policing in Scotland.

4. LOOKING FORWARD

4.1 During 2012/13 there will be significant expectation on Scottish policing to deliver a single police service for Scotland and the associated benefits of reform. HMICS are concerned that during this period there may be a possibility that attention is being focused on reform at the expense of sustaining performance. Consequently there will be a need for robust governance by police authorities and joint boards to ensure that focus is maintained on Best value and “business as usual”, as well as transition arrangements ahead of the formation of the Police Service.

4.2 In support of this, HMICS will monitor “business as usual”, performance and force reform transition plans to identify risks during the reform period and highlight effective practice in transition planning, which can then be widely communicated to stakeholders.

4.3 In recognition of the important link between inspection and performance, HMICS is currently reviewing the Scottish Police Performance Framework (SPPF) with the aim of developing a suite of strategic indicators measures centring on local and specialist policing, corporate centre and outcomes. These core measures will be supported by more detailed analyses which can be used for scrutiny purposes as well as public reporting of police performance in Scotland.

4.4 During the year ahead HMICS will also continue to develop a new scrutiny and inspection model that will be fit for purpose for the Police Service of Scotland. HMICS are in discussion with Audit Scotland regarding the Best Value programme of inspection to develop a “local police area” inspection model, with pilot inspections due to commence later in the year.

4.5 HMICS are also reviewing their staffing structure and have begun the process of recruiting a pool of “associate inspectors” with a broad range of skill sets, who can be called upon to deliver specific pieces of work.

5. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

5.1 There are no financial implications associated with the production of this report.

6. STAFFING IMPLICATIONS

6.1 There are no direct staffing implications associated with this report.

7. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

7.1 This report does not have any impact on the environment.

7.2 This report does not have any impact on social development. Page 4 of 5

7.3 This report does not have any impact on economic development.

8. CONSULTATION

8.1 The Clerk and Treasurer have been consulted regarding the terms of this report. All matters raised by the staff associations/unions have been resolved.

9. SUMMARY

9.1 This report provides members of the Corporate Governance Sub Committee with a summary of the work undertaken by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary during the reporting year 2011/12.

10. COMPLIANCE

Is the proposal;

(a) Human Rights Act 1998 compliant? YES

(b) Equality & Diversity compliant? YES

JUSTINE CURRAN Chief Constable

Police Headquarters 4 West Bell Street Dundee DD1 9JU

NOTE: No background papers, as defined by Section 50D of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (other than any containing confidential or exempt information) were relied on to any material extent in preparing the above Report.

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