This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Scottish Police College review inspection
11/12/2003
The Scottish Police College has demonstrated significant progress in its work according to a report published today by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC).
The report of the First Review Inspection focuses on the current activities undertaken by the Scottish College, including action taken in response to the recommendations and suggestions made in the HMIC's Primary Inspection of the College in 2001.
The Primary Inspection Report made seven recommendations and 18 suggestions in relation to a number of areas including performance monitoring and reporting, processes and resources, and people management.
Of the seven recommendations and 18 suggestions contained within the Primary Inspection report, five recommendations and 15 suggestions have been fully addressed or resolved and are considered to have been discharged by HMIC.
Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary, Sir Roy Cameron, said:
"HMIC acknowledges the significant progress that the Scottish Police College has made in addressing the recommendations and suggestions made in the Primary Inspection report.
"A number of very positive developments have occurred in the interim and the College Executive is clearly committed to continuous improvement in service delivery.
"Not all of the issues raised by HMIC were capable of resolution in the short term, and some involved co-operation and collaboration with a number of other bodies. Work is ongoing to address these remaining issues and HMIC looks forward to assessing the impact of this work at the Second Review Inspection of the Scottish Police College which is scheduled to take place in February 2005."
Following a review in 2002, HMIC introduced an enhanced inspection schedule. This is a continuing cyclical process comprising a primary inspection and two successive risk assessed follow-ups. It can be summarised as follows:
(i) A Primary Inspection of each police force and common police service is made every five years. This comprises a comprehensive examination of all aspects of a force or organisation's activity at a strategic level. There is also subsequent field work focusing on areas of business which attract particular attention due to performance levels, variations from common practice or concerns identified about the approaches followed. The process also seeks to identify good practice form which other forces or common services could learn. A report is placed before the appropriate Police Board/Authority, published and placed on the HMIC website.
(ii) In the intervening years, two Review Inspections take place at 18 month intervals. These focus on a range of issues including progress against recommendations made in the preceding primary inspection, progress made against recommendations made in recent thematic inspections and national developments in policing. Reports of these inspections are also presented to the Police Board/Authority and a copy posted on the HMIC website. In the case of the Scottish Police College the appropriate authority is the Board of Governors of the Scottish Police College.