Scottish Government

4. Partnership and Resources

Partnership Working

4.1 HMIC was impressed with the significant level of partnership support for Fife Constabulary and recognises the enthusiasm and commitment of the Chief Constable towards community policing and building on the tradition of partnership working within Fife.

4.2 Many examples of good partnership at all levels were found and of particular note is the work done by the force within local communities. HMIC met with a number of groups and found they had realistic expectations of the police service and a clear understanding of the wider responsibility for dealing with community issues. Community representatives appreciate that police visibility is more than a uniformed Constable on the beat and valued the effort by local officers to become involved in communities. Each division provided several examples of how partnership approaches benefit communities and worthy of note are the Burntisland 'Pulling Together' campaign and Blue Light Discos. Of particular interest is the initiative that facilitates the delivery of policing through local Post Offices which has generated interest elsewhere in Scotland, HMIC encourages such collaboration with other services as a means of improving the accessibility of the service. The development of Locality Inspectors to work alongside the 10 Fife Council Locality Managers within Central Division shows commitment to partnership and good working relationships ensure an integrated approach.

4.3 The Fife Community Safety Coordinator is an excellent example of partnership in action. Joint funded by Fife Council and Fife Constabulary, he manages and coordinates the Community Safety Partnership from force headquarters. He has staff within the Council and the force (see paragraph 1.9) thus ensuring good links between the force and all Council departments. Commitment to partnership is further illustrated through allocating resources to work alongside partner agencies, for example an Inspector is working within NHS Fife (see paragraph 5.47) and a Constable is working within the Area Procurator Fiscal's office (see paragraph 5.37).

Community Planning

4.4 The Local Government in Scotland Act 2003 places a duty on local authorities to 'initiate, facilitate and maintain' the community planning process to deliver a shared vision and Fife Council complies with this legislation through an established structure of partnership working. Fife Constabulary plays a full and active role in this partnership and is helped by the single local authority status that Fife enjoys which allows the Force Executive to engage at a strategic level. The Chief Constable is a member of Fife Partnership that has responsibility for community planning in Fife. Mr David Mellor, before retiring, was very active in the Community Planning arena and held the Chair of the Community Planning Implementation Group. He was held in high regard for his active participation in this role.

4.5 The Community Safety Co-ordinator manages much of the work that falls from the Community Safety Implementation Group. This post is part funded by Fife Council and
the force and again, realistically, is only possible because of the single authority status.
The post-holder is experienced in community working and drives action in support of the Fife Community Plan. HMIC was impressed by the role carried out by this shared resource and recognises the post's existence as good practice (see paragraph 1.9).

4.6 The Safer Neighbourhoods team (see paragraphs 5.45 and 5.81) is another example of community planning in action. This small co-located partnership team, including an Inspector and four Constables from the force, target areas identified as needing longer-term problem-solving solutions to antisocial behaviour. Team members use networks within their own agencies to encourage action and shared intelligence and a greater understanding of everyone's role in providing the solution assists a joined-up approach. The team was formed in 2005 and is still developing but at the time of inspection reported considerable success in an area of Halbeath. HMIC will be interested to examine how the team is developing at the review inspection.

4.7 In October 2005 a best value review of community safety in Fife was initiated and at the time of inspection this review was underway. The review is led by an officer from Lothian and Borders Police and his team has representation from Fife Council, Fife Fire and Rescue and Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue. The completed report will be presented to the Scrutiny Sub-Committee of Fife Community Safety Committee. HMIC welcomes the open approach adopted by the force and its partners for inviting scrutiny from outside Fife.

Demand and Resource Management

4.8 A review of Grant Aided Expenditure commissioned by the Scottish Executive and agreed by COSLA and ACPOS determined that Fife Constabulary's share of funding should be increased. The outcome has been that the force will receive circa £5 million in additional monies between 2002/03 and 2008/09 which, when applied with efficiency savings will potentially increase officer numbers by 61 by 2009/10. This is a welcome development for the Constabulary which considers itself comparatively less well funded than other forces and it is anticipated that further ways of bridging the funding gap will be sought in the future.

4.9 The force is determined to use its resources effectively and has two reviews in progress to ensure efficient use of officers, special constables and support staff.

4.10 A review of resource management systems and procedures was initiated in November 2005 under the direction of a Chief Inspector. The force currently operates different approaches within divisions and departments and the remit is to evaluate processes, consider implications of integrating the recently developed national Human Resources computer system ( HRS) with the existing CARM (Computer Aided Resource Management) system, examine good practice in resource management in other forces and organisations and make recommendations to the Force Operations Group. HMIC considers that the force will benefit from development in this area and will revisit resource management as part of the review inspection.

4.11 As well as deploying officers and staff in the right places at the right times it is equally important that they are doing the right things. Since June 2005 an Inspector has been working internally and with partners to update and implement a significant piece of force work identifying some 43 potential activities where an alternative method of service delivery could provide better use of resources. The project has involved considerable benchmarking with other forces and instigated some fundamental changes to force policy. A review process is in place for new procedures that are introduced and at the time of inspection the force was embarking on a review of the policy not to attend non-injury road traffic accidents unless an offence is immediately apparent.

4.12 The HMIC Inspection Team was furnished with good examples of where negotiation with partners has resulted in police involvement being minimised without any diminution in quality of service. Examples of partnership agreements include one with the Scottish Ambulance Service in relation to people who are drunk and incapable of looking after themselves, one with the banks in relation to counterfeit currency and a number with Fife Council in relation to: the reporting of damage to Council property; collecting discarded syringe needles; and dealing with people who have fallen out of bed. HMIC recognises the value of this project and will monitor progress as part of the review inspection.

Financial Planning and Monitoring

4.13 The Force Finance Strategy 2004-07 sets the financial direction for the force and a three-year spending plan has been developed and was presented to Fife Council in December 2005. The Council's Head of Finance and Asset Management is appointed Treasurer for the force and regulations governing corporate governance mirror those of the Council. The revenue budget is divided into centralised budgets managed by the Finance and Business Support department (94% of total revenue budget) and cash budgets devolved to Divisional Commanders and Departmental Heads. Central division will operate a shadow devolved resource management function which will involve the division managing core pay of staff as a pilot in 2006/07. HMIC believes that this development, in line with other forces, should promote financially responsible decision-making by those responsible for local resource deployment and will be interested in this pilot at the review inspection.

4.14 Capital and revenue budgets are monitored by the Finance and Business Support Department with monitoring reports submitted to Fife Council's Community Safety Committee. Fife Council's Policy and Resources Committee also monitor capital and revenue expenditure with variances reported on an exception basis. HMIC considers that Fife Constabulary has sound financial and monitoring arrangements in place.

Internal Audit

4.15 The internal audit for Fife Constabulary is provided by Fife Council's Finance and Asset Management Service and since April 2005 two internal audit reports for the force have been published, one draft has been issued to the force and another is in progress but the annual Operational Plan approved by the Standards and Audit Committee of the Council does not specify time allocated for internal audit of the force in 2005/06. A service level agreement does not exist between the force and the Finance and Asset Management Service and HMIC considers that such an agreement would be in the interests of the force.

Best Value

4.16 The Force Development Board compiles a Continuous Improvement Plan that ensures Best Value reviews are linked to the objectives in the Policing Plan and presents it to the Community Safety Committee for approval. Review teams are established and report to a scrutiny panel that includes representatives from the Force Development Board and an elected member. Service Improvement Action Plans are then developed and acted on. In 2004/05 two Best Value reviews were delivered that examined:

• User Perspective of Domestic Housebreaking, and
• Review of Headquarters Clerical Processes.

A Best Value review looking at Community Safety and partnership linkage was underway at the time of inspection (see paragraph 4.7) and this review team commented on the proactive and open approach to inspection adopted by the force and partners.

4.17 Fife Constabulary is represented on the ACPOS Best Value Sub-Committee with national responsibility for Best Value and Continuous Improvement and the Chief Constable is the chair of the ACPOS business area on Performance Management. HMIC considers that the force has a proactive approach to Best Value and continuous improvement.

Estates Management

4.18 Fife Constabulary's estate of 37 properties with a market value in excess of £30M comprises 18 operational police stations and 19 non-operational properties including 5 police houses. HMIC visited many of these facilities and was impressed with the standard of accommodation. A property asset management database is being developed to assist strategic management and ensure spending efficiency. Estimated medium/long-term maintenance requirements exceed the current annual expenditure of £255k and a recent review of property assets will optimise use and has resulted in a five-year Estates Strategy.

4.19 Innovative partnership arrangements in sharing premises exist and include arrangements with local postmasters to enhance policing accessibility in rural communities, a police post within the Kingdom Shopping Centre in Glenrothes, the force firing range being used by Tayside Police, co-location of the Special Branch with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs and Immigration Services at the Port of Rosyth (see paragraph 5.34) and partnership working with Fife Council within the Community Safety department at force headquarters. HMIC encourages this approach.

4.20 The force procures project design and commissioning services through Fife Council but some concern was expressed that procurement procedures are delaying some building projects. For example, the move to a centralised FCC freed space in seven police stations for alternative operational use and the decision to refurbish these was made in April 2005. Work on this refurbishment started in the last week of January 2006 with the space unavailable during the intervening period. The closure of the photography laboratory at headquarters provides another example. The force requested that the Council refurbish the space urgently in October 2005 with a view to accommodating the Dedicated Source Unit by January 2006 and this work has not yet commenced. This is an area considered in HMIC Primary Inspection of Fife Constabulary in 2001 and reviewed in 2004 when it was agreed that 'all items including property repairs and planned maintenance and central service charges are deemed to be within the Chief Constables budget and included as service controllable by the Chief Constable.' It is clear that improvements in service delivery have not been maintained and this is an area that should be revisited.

Environmental Issues

4.21 A number of initiatives are in place to minimise the force's impact on the environment and these are to be drawn together into an overarching strategy for corporate social responsibility. The force is represented on Fife Council's Energy Strategy Board and the Carbon Management Working Group and has links with the Council's Energy Management Section who evaluate and promote energy saving schemes. Force Headquarters is designated a 'Green Energy site' and the force was recently awarded the Scottish Power 'Commitment to the Environment' award for use of renewable energy sources. A project to convert the electric under-floor heating at Cowdenbeath police station to a wet system powered by a community heating plant will benefit the environment and lead to savings for the force.

4.22 In 2004 a mobile destruction service for documents both promoted information security and assisted the recycling process. The amount of paper treated in this way has been gauged equivalent of 400 trees. The force has also converted a substantial proportion of its vehicle fleet to diesel to reduce volume of fuel used and the associated costs.

Fleet and Supplies Management

4.23 HMIC notes that the force has effective procedures in place for the maintenance and management of its vehicle fleet and the Fleet Manager operates a five-year forecast of planned replacement based on a cycle of 80,000 miles for beat patrol cars, 100,000 miles for vans and non-patrol cars and 120,000 miles for road policing vehicles. Fully qualified support staff carry out servicing and maintenance internally and accident repair work is contracted out. The force recently received a generally positive report from the ACPOS Best Value review on fleet management and complies with many recommended common practices. HMIC is content that the force manages and maintains its vehicle fleet effectively.

4.24 The force no longer automatically renews officers' uniforms annually and purchase and supply is now based on a needs basis. This has reduced the size of stock, freeing space at force headquarters, and has resulted in cost savings.

Programme and Project Management

4.25 Programmes and projects are the result of internal ideas, what is done elsewhere and external drivers and are presented to the Force Development Board where projects are prioritised. An independent programme board comprising a member of the Force Executive, a senior user and a senior supplier runs high-level programmes. This independent programme board reports directly to the Chief Officer Group and the Force Development Board. Other projects are allocated to a project team who report progress to the Force Development Board.

4.26 The force uses Prince2 project management methodology to ensure a standardised and focused approach to all significant projects and project managers are trained to use this approach.

4.27 HMIC commends the force for recently introducing a senior management post aimed at business benefits realisation and suggests that this post could develop into a force programme manager allowing detached coordination of programmes that overlap more than one area of operation. The post is currently a police officer at Superintendent level who sits within HQ Operational Support to provide command resilience but might better sit in Strategic Development, where the right level of skills and seniority can be developed and the link with the Force Development Board, chaired by the Deputy Chief Constable, established.

Communications and Information Technology

4.28 The force Communications and Information Technology department comprises a Communications Systems Unit, Technical Support Unit, Development Team, Network Team and Helpdesk under the direction of a senior member of support staff who is accountable directly to the Deputy Chief Constable.

4.29 The ICT Board is the strategic group that oversees the direction of the department, prioritises workload and ensures that it meets the force's business needs. An annual strategy is in place that highlights adherence to the Scottish Police Information Strategy ( SPIS) roadmap. SPIS is a common police service that exists to develop computer applications and technologies for the Scottish police service and the force is currently introducing the SPIS developed Human Resource System ( HRS). Fife Constabulary already uses the SPIS Firearms Licensing System (see paragraph 5.100).

4.30 The department has clearly defined objectives for 2005/06 in support of the Policing Plan and these state realistic goals. HMIC noted that current staffing levels and budget constraints limit the capacity for new projects and maintaining and developing current applications must be priorities. However, evidence of new projects was supplied, for example the force is working towards the introduction of an outsourced telephony system that will deliver savings and improved data performance.

4.31 The introduction of a content management system, designed to devolve responsibility for information to those in the best position to supply that information, has prompted a revamp of the force website ( www.fife.police.uk ). A corporate approach and interactive operation are design features and the site will continue to offer the facility to report hate and homophobic crime and has links to CrimeStoppers and the PITO system for minor crime reporting.

4.32 The Communications and Information Technology department is led by very experienced members of support staff who are clearly committed to the force and showed vision in discussion. HMIC considers that this vision could be better demonstrated by adopting a longer-term flexible strategic plan for the department. Whilst the world of information and communications technology advances quickly, the cost and scale of systems and applications necessitate longer-term planning.

Force Contact Centre

4.33 Fife Constabulary moved to a single, purpose built telephony and radio communications centre, the Force Contact Centre ( FCC), on 11 August 2004 and, in keeping with other forces making the transition, the move has not been without difficulty. The FCC has been the subject of adverse local press reports and it is clear to HMIC that many partners and stakeholders in the communities of Fife feel that its introduction has reduced service. Officers and support staff expressed the opinion that the FCC does not deliver service as effectively as local control rooms did. Evidence of early performance supports these views but statistical returns at end of year demonstrate considerable improvement.

4.34 HMIC is reassured that the Chief Constable is very aware of these views and understands the need to rectify the situation in terms of service provision and reputation. Strong leadership has been identified to drive improvements.

4.35 In September 2005 a full review of the FCC was carried out and 23 recommendations made to the Chief Officers Group. At the time of inspection some 14 of these had already been acted on and the rest were in progress and, whilst it is not possible to go into detail here, these revolve around leadership, resources, enhanced technology and training.

4.36 One of the recommendations implemented in October 2005 was the introduction of a switchboard to answer routine calls. Coupled with an increase of two controllers per team, this has improved a low-point of answering 79% of routine calls in September to answering 92% in December. Importantly, this means that people who telephone speak initially to an operator and are not automatically added to the waiting list for a controller following the delivery of a recorded message.

4.37 The force has doubled (to four) the number of officers on the public assistance desk within the FCC. These officers offer advice over the telephone and note reports of certain types of crimes without the need for officers to attend at people's homes to speak personally to callers. The increase in number means more callers can be satisfied at first point of contact benefiting both the individual and the force.

4.38 Another recent addition to staff is a seventh supervisor whose primary function is quality assurance for call handling and an initial task is preparing comprehensive guidance intended to improve individual performance and the efficiency of call handling. A quality improvement team established recently will identify issues and consider practical ways of addressing them and a Supervisors' Forum has also been instigated to monitor and drive performance.

4.39 A number of the recommendations relate to technical work on the Customer Relationship Management system ( CRM) and rely on improvements to software and training of staff. The system is designed to recognise previous callers and automatically populate incidents with relevant information. The force is enhancing this capacity, which should speed up and provide better interaction between operator and caller.

4.40 In November those working in the FCC were included on the new force shift pattern (VSA222) (see paragraph 5.1). This has enhanced morale which was low because of the criticism aimed at FCC performance and has also provided the opportunity for training days used to improve knowledge of policy and procedures.

4.41 HMIC is content that the performance of the FCC has improved. Good leadership and a determination to deliver a quality product were evident at inspection. It is clear however that the force needs to promote, both internally and externally, what improvements have been made and the effect that those improvements have had on performance as a matter of urgency.

4.42 HMIC will revisit the FCC to examine performance and consider the impact of the programme of improvements as part of the review inspection.

Information Assurance

4.43 Information Assurance in Fife Constabulary is the primary responsibility of the Information Security Officer ( ISO) based within the Complaints, Conduct and Professional Standards department. The force has progressed work to comply with the ACPOS Community Security Policy through action plans on policy and procedures, protective monitoring and physical, personnel and technical security. Progress is reported to the ICT Board and HMIC notes that, although considerable work has been done, some tasks still require attention.

4.44 The ISO has written a Systems Ownership document that identifies senior managers accountable for each computer application in the force and who are aware of their responsibilities in terms of information security and audit.

Data Protection

4.45 The force processes personal information under the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998 and follows the ACPOS Code of Practice. A force policy document detailing the approach to be adopted is in place and training for police and support staff is delivered. Part V of the Police Act 1997 is strictly adhered to in relation to the disclosure of information about those who wish to work with vulnerable people and children.

4.46 The Data Protection officer and Data Audit staff sit within the Complaints, Conduct and Professional Standards Department and deal with data protection requests from the public and correspondence with the Information Commissioner. Data Audit staff processed 829 subject access requests in 2004/05 compared with 660 in 2003/04 and this year at the end of the third quarter the figure is 775.

4.47 HMIC considers the provisions in place in Fife Constabulary to deal with data protection adequate and effective.

Freedom of Information

4.48 1 January 2005 saw full implementation of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 and Fife Constabulary set up a Freedom of Information Unit in the Finance and Business Support department to coincide with this event, although the publication scheme on the force website ( http://www.fife.police.uk/FOI/publication_scheme.htm ) was established in June 2004. A Chief Inspector and Records Manager make up the unit with the Chief Inspector taking the lead on freedom of information issues and the Records Manager concentrating on instituting robust records management systems in pursuit of the Act. HMIC is of the view that the operational and management experience of a Chief Inspector was valuable in the planning and implementation phases of the Freedom of Information Act but the force should now consider whether the Freedom of Information officer's post is suitable for civilianisation.

4.49 The Unit responds to requests from the public for information and ensures that the force is trained and aware of the requirements of the Act. Between its inception and 6 December 2005 the Unit processed some 570 questions made in 228 requests. The majority of these have been from the media and whilst some can be answered easily, others have taken longer to research. In the first quarter of the year it was estimated that over 500 hours was devoted to answering 102 questions.

4.50 The force is represented on the ACPOS Freedom of Information Practitioners Group, which produced the ACPOS Manual of Guidance ensuring a national approach to the supply of information.

4.51 An internal appeals process has been instigated and eight members of staff have been trained as reviewers. When a request is refused an appeal is treated in the same manner as a complaint and sent by the Deputy Chief Constable to one of the eight for review. The Deputy Chief Constable replies to the individual requesting the information on fully considering the result of that review. Any further appeal is directed to the Scottish Information Commissioner.

4.52 A process map governs the flow of freedom of information requests and a force notice giving details of the implementation of the Act was circulated in December 2004. However, HMIC considers that a comprehensive force policy on freedom of information should be written with guidance attached.

Airwave

4.53 Airwave is a fully integrated, national, digital radio communications service designed to meet the needs of the police and other public safety organisations in Scotland, England and Wales. Fife Constabulary joined the network in April 2005. The project, initiated in 2000, was seen through to implementation by a Chief Inspector but responsibility for management passed to the force Systems Manager in August 2005.

4.54 The system was thoroughly tested in Fife during the policing of the G8 Conference, the largest policing operation for an event ever undertaken in the UK. The system performed well and coped with enormous demand.

4.55 Representatives from the force, ACPOS, PITO and mmO2 (the service provider) meet regularly at force headquarters to discuss technical issues and operational working practices and the Force is also represented on the Scottish Airwave Forum - Regional User Group which meets monthly to discuss national developments

4.56 The force uses software that measures use of the 1300 handheld and 200 vehicle terminals and disables sets that are lost or stolen. At the time of inspection only one disabled terminal was missing.

4.57 The force manages and maintains the 160 Airwave terminals used at the Scottish Police College, although the College operates on dedicated talk-groups. HMIC is supportive of this shared approach to managing and maintaining communications technology.

Prisoner Escort

4.58 Prisoner escort and court custody management have been supplied to the force by Reliance Custodial Services ( RCS) since November 2004. The force is content that its interface with the company is effective and working well. Good partnership arrangements exist and a Chief Inspector has been nominated as liaison officer. The force has estimated that time equivalent to nine officers has been used more effectively and better operational resilience is realised through the contract. Police Court Officers have been redeployed as remote resource managers within each court in Fife and the force claims that this has helped prevent operational officers from spending unnecessary time at court and better aligns officer's shifts with court dates. HMIC supports this partnership approach to resource management but considers that in the longer-term this role could be carried out effectively by support staff.