This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Tayside police review inspection
29/07/2004
Tayside Police has demonstrated significant progress in its work according to a report published today by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC).
The first review inspection report focuses on the current activities undertaken by Tayside Police, including action taken in response to the recommendations made in HMIC's Primary Inspection of the force in 2002.
Of the 16 recommendations in the primary inspection report, 10 have been fully implemented. In addition, a number of areas considered worthy of review have been revisited. This indicates that a substantial number of issues have been comprehensively addressed by Tayside Police.
As part of the inspection process HMIC also examined a number of other areas including race relations, community planning, preparation for Airwave - the new digital radio system being adopted by all Scottish police forces - and call management.
HMIC acknowledges the positive progress being made by the force across a number of areas, which improves the service being provided to the communities of Angus, Dundee and Perth and Kinross. These include success in mainstreaming the National Intelligence Model, efforts to develop community consultation and sustained improvements in sickness absences for both police and support staff.
The next review of Tayside Police will be conducted during 2005/2006. At that time HMIC will revisit those recommendations which have not yet been fully implemented, and examine progress in relation to those review areas where HMIC retains an interest.
Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary, Mr Andrew Brown, said:
"Tayside Police has responded very positively to the Primary Inspection Report of 2002 and made significant progress towards implementing the recommendations and suggestions in that report. A number of very positive developments have occurred in the interim and the force is clearly committed to continuous improvement in service delivery."
Following a review in 2002, HMIC introduced an enhanced inspection schedule. This is a continuing cyclical process comprising of 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 includes 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 from 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 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.