Central Scotland Police and Central Scotland Joint Police Board
Best Value Audit and Inspection

Prepared for the Accounts Commission and Scottish ministers
July 2012
The Accounts Commission
The Accounts Commission is a statutory, independent body which, through the audit process, requests local authorities in Scotland to achieve the highest standards of financial stewardship and the economic, efficient and effective use of their resources. The Commission has four main responsibilities:
•	securing the external audit, including the audit of Best Value and Community Planning
•	following up issues of concern identified through the audit, to ensure satisfactory resolutions
•	carrying out national performance studies to improve economy, efficiency and effectiveness in local government
•	issuing an annual direction to local authorities which sets out the range of performance information they are required to publish.
The Commission secures the audit of 32 councils and 45 joint boards and committees (including police and fire and rescue services).
Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary for Scotland
HMICS operates independently of police forces, police authorities and the Scottish Government and exists to monitor and improve the police service in Scotland. HMICS does this on behalf of the Scottish public by:
•	monitoring, through self-assessment and inspection, how effectively the police service in Scotland is fulfilling its purpose and managing risk
•	supporting improvement by identifying good practice, making recommendations and sharing our findings in order to achieve better outcomes for Scotland’s communities
•	providing advice to Scottish ministers, police authority and joint board members and police forces and services.
Even though HMICS is independent of the Scottish Government, ministers can call upon the Inspectorate to undertake particular pieces of work.
Audit Scotland is a statutory body set up in April 2000 under the Public Finance and Accountability (Scotland) Act 2000. It provides services to the Auditor General for Scotland and the Accounts Commission. Together they ensure that the Scottish Government and public sector bodies in Scotland are held to account for the proper, efficient and effective use of public funds.

Commission findings
1. This is the seventh audit and inspection report on the performance by a police authority and force of their statutory duties on Best Value and Community Planning. It has been produced jointly by the Controller of Audit and Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary for Scotland. The Accounts Commission accepts the report from the Controller of Audit on Central Scotland Police and Central Scotland Joint Police Board. In accordance with the Commission’s statutory responsibilities, these findings relate only to the Best Value audit of the police authority. 

2. The Commission finds that Central Scotland Joint Police Board fulfils its responsibilities well and has demonstrated many of the key elements of best value. 

3. The board has an effective relationship with Central Scotland Police that is based on a shared vision with a strong focus on community policing. There is also clarity of respective roles and good working relationships. The Commission welcomes the board’s self-awareness; it knows how it can improve further and this can be seen in a strong transitional workplan.

4. This is a time of significant change and the Commission urges the board to prioritise the improvements contained in its transitional workplan to ensure its full effectiveness. The board needs to assure itself that its support arrangements, including analytical support, are sufficient to allow it to meet its responsibilities and implement its transitional workplan. The Commission notes that the board has recently spent a significant amount of time dealing with an ongoing conduct investigation. The Commission further notes that Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary for Scotland is conducting an independent review of the case.

5. The board receives good-quality performance information which has helped the board provide effective scrutiny of the force. This could be improved further by having implications of decisions – such as in relation to finance and sustainability – better explained in reports considered by the board. The board needs to get better at overseeing workforce planning; some specialist priorities such as serious organised crime and multi-agency public protection; and equalities issues where the Lay Diversity Advisor scheme has the potential to be used more effectively. Better reporting by the board of its activities to the public is also needed.

6. The Commission is encouraged that the board recognises that partnership working can be enhanced through members engaging more consistently in partnership activities. 

7. The Commission gratefully acknowledges the co-operation and assistance provided to the joint audit and inspection team by the elected members of Falkirk, Stirling and Clackmannanshire Councils, the chief constable and officers of Central Scotland Police, and other officials and community planning partners.

8. The Commission welcomes the continued joint approach with Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary for Scotland on these police audit and inspection reports, which is having a significant contribution to stimulating more effective and streamlined scrutiny and to driving commitment to securing best value.

HM Inspector of Constabulary for Scotland findings

1. As Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary for Scotland, I hold a statutory responsibility to inspect both Central Scotland Police and Central Scotland Joint Police Board. I concur with the Accounts Commission findings on the Best Value and Community Planning performance
of Central Scotland Joint Police Board and offer the following comment on the performance of Central Scotland Police.
2. My overall assessment of Central Scotland Police is that its performance is good and that the force demonstrates many of the elements of best value. The force executive enjoys the confidence and support of the board, strategic partners and staff, despite having gone through a significant period of change and as it prepares for the transition to a single police force in April 2013.  
3. The force has made improvements to the way it manages strategy, change and performance and the overall strategic framework is now more cohesive and enhanced through effective use of IT. The force has worked with the board to ensure community policing remains a priority whilst at the same time building strong alliances and partnerships across the Forth Valley. Public satisfaction is improving and overall crime rates continue to fall, detection rates remain high and the force continues to show good stewardship in the way it manages its resources.
4. As is the nature of inspection work, there are areas identified for further improvement, but this is in the context of a force and board that are performing well. For example, the improvements made to the force strategic framework would benefit from the board having access to them, in particular the Force Improvement Plan. I would also highlight that the force should evaluate the effectiveness of its partnership working with a view to sharing good practice across the police area and nationally.  Similarly, the force should review its community policing model, Police and Communities Together, to improve the quality and consistency of analysis, intelligence and sharing of good practice. And while the force can demonstrate a strong commitment to diverse communities within the police area, I would recommend that it revisits the lead arrangements for equality issues to ensure they are fit for purpose. 
5. I look forward to receiving a plan from Central Scotland Police and Central Scotland Joint Police Board which addresses the improvement agenda set out in this joint audit and inspection report.
6. I also wish to acknowledge my gratitude for the co-operation and assistance afforded to the joint audit and inspection team by the chief constable, officers and staff of Central Scotland Police, the convener and elected members of Central Scotland Joint Police Board, the chief executives and staff providing support to the joint police board and other officials and community planning partners. 
7. The joint audit and inspection approach adopted in the preparation of this report continues to develop and is contributing towards a more effective scrutiny regime that demonstrates our commitment to achieving best value in Scottish policing.
Introduction
This joint report is made by the Controller of Audit to the Accounts Commission under section 102(1) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and by Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary for Scotland (HMICS) under section 33 of the Police (Scotland) Act 1967.
The Local Government in Scotland Act 2003 introduced statutory duties relating to Best Value and Community Planning. Its provisions apply to local authorities, including police authorities, and require specifically that: 
•	councils and police authorities secure best value (defined as achieving continuous improvement in the performance of functions)
•	police authorities and chief constables participate in the community planning process.
The Act also amended the audit arrangements set out in the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 to cover Best Value and gave powers to the Accounts Commission to examine Best Value in police authorities. HMICS has a statutory duty under section 33 of the Police (Scotland) Act 1967 to inspect police forces and common police services, and to report to ministers on their state and efficiency. The 2003 Act extends this to include provision for HMICS to inquire into and report to Scottish ministers on whether a local authority is carrying out its functions both as a police authority and in relation to a number of matters including Best Value.
The 2003 Act is supported by more detailed statutory guidance on Best Value and Community Planning, and a series of advisory notes on specific topics such as elected member leadership. This guidance is designed to be descriptive rather than prescriptive, defining the goals that organisations should aim for but allowing them local discretion on the methods and routes they use. The Scottish Government has issued further guidance for police authorities and forces. This guidance includes Justice Department Circular 11/2003 Best Value Guidance and Guidance for Members of Police Authorities and Joint Authorities (June 2007).
The scope of Best Value and Community Planning is broad and the guidance and statute indicate that a successful police authority will:
•	work in tandem with the chief constable to develop a clear set of priorities that respond to the needs of the community in both the short and longer term
•	be organised to support the delivery of these priorities 
•	meet, and clearly demonstrate that it is meeting, the community’s needs
•	operate in a way that drives continuous improvement in all
its activities.
Similarly, a successful police force will:
•	work with its partners and the police authority/police authorities to develop a clear set of priorities that respond to the needs of the community in both the short and longer term 
•	be organised to deliver these priorities
•	meet, and clearly demonstrate that it is meeting, the community’s needs
•	operate in a way that drives continuous improvement in all its activities.
The key objectives of this joint audit and inspection were to focus on:
•	the involvement the board has had in setting the strategic direction for the force and what consideration is given to national priorities and how these are balanced with meeting local needs
•	the effectiveness of the board’s governance arrangements and in particular the board’s links to constituent authorities
•	how the board demonstrates community leadership for policing matters and its wider partnership working role and engaging with its communities
•	the board’s arrangements and effectiveness in scrutiny and challenge of force performance
•	the board’s role in developing strategies for the use of resources, and how the board plans to manage the transition of these resources to a single police force
•	the board’s role in equalities and delivering on its single equalities scheme action plan
•	the board’s role in pursuing a sustainability agenda.
As Best Value and Community Planning encompass a wide variety of activities, it is not realistic to audit or inspect everything in depth. For this reason we carried out our detailed work in two ways:
•	We considered the force structure in detail to ensure the audit and inspection took account of the different contexts and policing demands.
•	We selected certain aspects of the force’s and authority’s performance for detailed investigation. We used a wide range of sources, including the force’s and authority’s own assessment of their performance, reports issued following external audit and inspections and the Scottish Policing Performance Framework (SPPF) to assess risks and scope our work to inform this selection. 
Our joint report reflects this proportionate approach, with detailed commentary in some areas and more limited coverage in others. Our main audit and inspection work was conducted in March 2012. The report includes a corporate assessment of the board and the force, while the performance assessment covers only the force.
The audit and inspection team were aware of an ongoing conduct investigation into the assistant chief constable. As this is the subject of a separate and ongoing process no additional work was undertaken in this area.
We gratefully acknowledge the cooperation and assistance provided to the team by Councillor George Matchett, Convener of Central Scotland Joint Police Board; Derek Penman, Chief Constable of Central Scotland Police; Rose Mary Glackin, clerk to the board; and all other elected members, police officers and staff involved. We are also grateful to the community planning partners who participated in the audit and inspection.
The tripartite arrangements and police authorities’ leadership role
The force is governed through a tripartite arrangement between the chief constable, Central Scotland Joint Police Board, and Scottish ministers. As the force covers more than one local authority area the joint police board comprises members from the three constituent authorities. Scottish ministers have responsibility for national policy on law and order as well as the power to regulate on various policing matters including pay and conditions. Central Scotland Joint Police Board is responsible for setting the police budget, holding the chief constable to account and ensuring that best value is achieved. The chief constable is responsible for the operational aspects of policing within the force area. 
The effect of these arrangements is that the board and the chief constable, although they have different roles, must work in tandem to achieve best value. In this report, we only make judgements on the authority and force, but all parties to the arrangement, including the Scottish ministers, have responsibility for the overall performance of the police service.
The existing guidance for policing (Circular 11/2003 and Guidance to Members, June 2007), sets out expectations of the Authority. More details can be found at Appendix 1 of this report.
Police reform
In January 2012, the Scottish Government introduced to the Scottish Parliament the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Bill. Its purpose is to create a single police service and a single fire and rescue service. The bill abolishes the existing unitary police and fire authorities in Dumfries and Galloway and Fife and the six joint police and joint fire boards. It provides for the establishment of a new corporate body, the Scottish Police Authority (SPA). The national force will be established in April 2013.
Prior to the establishment of the SPA, constituent authorities will make appointments to the Central Scotland Joint Police Board. Following the local government elections of 3 May 2012, the new board will be responsible for seeing the force through the transition to a single police force and for progressing any improvement agenda agreed as a consequence of this audit and inspection.
Summary
Overall conclusions
1. Central Scotland Joint Police Board (the board) and Central Scotland Police (the force) work effectively together to deliver a shared vision for policing across the area which is based on a strong focus on local community policing.
2. The board has many of the key elements of Best Value in place. Board members work well with the force in setting a vision and strategic direction for policing in Central Scotland. The board’s decision-making structures support effective challenge and scrutiny by members. It receives good-quality information in many areas, including on the force’s performance on Single Outcome Agreements (SOAs) and its work on shared services. The board could do more to engage directly with communities and board members could have a more consistent approach in relevant partnerships. 
3. The board has a good level of self awareness and has prepared a transitional workplan to take forward improvement activity in the run-up to the national force being created. The board needs to ensure that it continues to meet its statutory requirements in holding the force to account during this transition period towards a single force while also considering the implications of the new arrangements on the force and its staff.
4. Force performance indicates some good achievements including year-on-year reduction in crime, high detection rates, a reduction in road traffic collisions and an improved use of alternatives to prosecution. Eight out of the nine user satisfaction and quality of service indicators have improved; however, complaints against police have increased.
5. The force has an effective working relationship with the board and responds positively to scrutiny and challenge. The force has developed a clear strategy which is informed by communities and is understood by staff. The force has improved processes to manage corporate risk, organisational change and both national and local priorities but it needs to reinstate its internal inspection activity. 
6. The force can demonstrate good practice in the way it has developed partnership working which has the potential to be evaluated and shared across the Central Police area and nationally. The force continues to improve its approach to community engagement through Police and Communities Together (PACT). Both partnership working and community policing has scope for sharing good practice. The force is well positioned to sustain performance while preparing for the transition to a single police force for Scotland by April 2013.
7. The force has a well-developed approach to managing performance and improvement covering national, force and local priorities and organisational change. Performance statistics provided to the board are enhanced by up-to-date contextual information. The force is in the process of improving middle managers’ understanding of how to use existing performance management arrangements to deliver more effective and efficient services.
8. The force has managed its budget reduction well and continues to identify efficiencies together with partners. The force actively scrutinises all areas of spending and seeks to improve efficiency by collaborating with partners and other forces to coordinate procurement and identify shared services opportunities.
9. The force is actively involved with its communities and can demonstrate a broad range of diversity initiatives and improvements in the management of equalities and hate crime. The force is encouraged to review the arrangements for the lead for diversity in the force. The Lay Advisor Group is an excellent cultural resource that could further support the force in its diversity work. The force has made good progress in the recruitment and retention of female officers.
10. The force has been proactive in preparing to move to a single national police service. This has required a considerable investment of time and as a result has not been without some risk to the force. However, the contribution of members of the force executive has helped the force prepare for the transition to a single police service for Scotland in April 2013.
Part 1. Context
The local context
11. Central Scotland Joint Police Board and force cover the local authority areas of Falkirk, Stirling and Clackmannanshire which is spread over an area of 1,024 square miles (Exhibit 1). The total population is around 292,000. Falkirk Council is mainly urban and has the highest number of people (153,280) while Stirling Council covers the largest area, most of which is predominately rural. Clackmannanshire Council is the smallest mainland council in Scotland. The diversity of the area presents its own challenges as well as opportunities for policing in central Scotland. 
12. The central Scotland area includes a number of distinct and unique features: 
•	Grangemouth is one of the largest petrochemical complexes in Europe and plays a significant role in the Scottish economy. 
•	Much of rural Stirling falls within the boundaries of Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park and the countryside and historic sites attract significant numbers of tourists and visitors to the area. 
•	Stirling University has a large campus and around 10,000 students. 
These features bring their own challenges to policing the area. 
Central Scotland Joint Police Board
13. The main role of the police board is to ensure that Central Scotland Police is accountable for the services it provides. The board has 11 elected members from the three constituent councils: six from Falkirk, three from Stirling and two from Clackmannanshire. At the time of the audit the board was chaired by Councillor Matchett QPM from Clackmannanshire Council.
14. The board is responsible for a revenue policing budget of approximately £49 million (2012/13). It is funded through specific grant funding (approximately £24 million) with the balance coming from its constituent authorities. In 2012/13 this was: Falkirk £13 million, Stirling £8 million and Clackmannanshire £4 million (Exhibit 2). 
15. The board generally meets five times a year; however, since October 2010 it has been meeting almost on a monthly basis to deal solely with an ongoing conduct investigation. It has three main subcommittees which report to the board:
•	Best value and audit subcommittee: to ensure that the activities of the joint board follow proper corporate governance principles and promote a sound internal control framework in accordance with audit committee principles. It also ensures that the essential elements of Best Value are adhered to with regard to sound governance, performance measurement and monitoring, continuous improvement and
long-term planning. 
•	Complaints subcommittee: to discharge the board’s statutory function in terms of Section 40 of the Police (Scotland) Act 1967 by being informed of the manner in which the chief constable deals with complaints against the police. This subcommittee also considers complaints made against chief officers under the Police (Conduct) (Senior Officers) (Scotland) Regulations 1999.
•	Physical resources subcommittee: to review the effective management and utilisation of the physical resources available to the chief constable. The subcommittee meets twice a year and its regular business includes consideration of shared premises arrangements between the force and other public sector partners. 
16. Falkirk Council provides committee support to the board through the joint board clerk and the assistant to the clerk. Stirling Council provides the Treasury function and Internal Audit. 
17. In January 2012, the board carried out a self-assessment exercise which was facilitated by force officers. The exercise was based on the findings from published Best Value and Inspection reports on other boards. A transitional plan has been prepared outlining seven high-level priority areas covering key Best Value attributes including training and development, reporting arrangements for use of resources and partnership activities.
Central Scotland Police
18. The force executive is made up of the chief constable, deputy chief constable (DCC) and an assistant chief constable (ACC), the director of finance and resources and the head of HR. The chief constable has overall responsibility and is accountable to the board for the effective and efficient policing of Central Scotland. The DCC is responsible for a wide portfolio including human resources, professional standards, media and corporate planning. The ACC is responsible for operational matters and has reporting to him a chief superintendent, specialist operations and governance, and a chief superintendent, community policing. The director of finance and resources reports directly to the chief constable. There are currently 869.75 full-time equivalent police officers working in Central Scotland Police which
is slightly over the Scottish Government target for police officers of 868. During the financial year 2010/11, the force accepted applications for 20 voluntary redundancies with a further
14 voluntary redundancies and seven compulsory redundancies in 2011/12. Including the deletion of vacant positions, 56 posts have been removed from the force establishment.
19. Central Scotland Police has made a considerable investment in the police reform agenda. As the president of the Association of Chief Police Officers Scotland (ACPOS) Chief Constable Smith has taken overall charge of the programme. Acting Chief Constable Penman is leading Central Scotland Police through to the establishment of the single force, while he and Temporary Deputy Chief Constable Samson also lead on significant strands of police reform in respect of information technology and criminal justice.
20. At the time of reporting, a temporary ACC is in charge of operational policing while an ACC is absent from duty as a result of an ongoing conduct investigation being considered by the board. These matters are therefore not subject to comment in this report, other than to place into context the interim arrangements for the police senior executive team and the additional pressures and resource implications for both the force and the board. 
21. The force is divided into two area commands: Falkirk, and a combined command area covering Stirling and Clackmannanshire.
22. The Falkirk area command is headed by a superintendent and split into three sub-areas commands: Falkirk, Denny/Stenhousemuir and Grangemouth. There are two chief inspectors, one with responsibility for the first two areas and one with responsibility for the latter. They are responsible for community policing teams, tackling and preventing crime and ensuring public safety in their areas. 
23. Stirling and Clackmannanshire area command covers the two council areas. The Stirling and Clackmannanshire Area Command is subdivided into three sub-area commands, namely Stirling, Dunblane and Clackmannanshire, providing policing services from a range of police stations, smaller offices and shared facilities from where the eight community policing teams
serve the local communities. The area command is led by a superintendent who is supported by three chief inspectors who oversee community inspectors and community policing teams. 
Part 2. Corporate assessment
 Vision and strategic direction
Central Scotland Joint Police Board
The board actively engages with the force to set the vision and strategic direction for policing in Central Scotland. It shows good awareness of, and provides direction for, what it wants to achieve for the area and has a strong focus on community policing. 
24. The police board actively engages with the force in setting its strategic objectives and priorities. It has a strong cohesive vision to deliver policing services to its communities and the board has worked well with the force to ensure this has been incorporated into the Force Strategic Plan. The board and the force developed their vision and strategy and this is encapsulated within a ‘wheel’ configuration (Exhibit 3). 
25. The board considers strategic policing issues at each of its meetings. Board members have a strong focus on community policing and road policing, however this can be at the expense of national and specialist policing matters such as serious organised crime and multi-agency public protection. The force is raising the awareness of the board in strategic matters through updates and overview reporting on issues such as public protection and domestic abuse.
26. Board members, the chief constable and senior police officers work well together. The strong working relationships could be strengthened further by establishing officer and member working groups or involving board members in some of the force governance areas such as the Diversity Forum, the Force Business Change Board or the Force Improvement Board. The board has identified that members could also take on a ‘champions role’ in areas including equalities and improvement. This would increase the members’ own knowledge and understanding while enhancing the board’s oversight of these areas.
27. The board is proactively considering its arrangements for managing business during the transitional period prior to the establishment of a national force. It has a transitional workplan that considers how it will maintain business continuity during this period as well as how it will work with the constituent councils to inform new governance arrangements. The board is also monitoring the force executive’s role on police reform activities and the impact this has
on the management capacity within the force. 
Central Scotland Police
The force has developed a clear and comprehensive strategic framework which is informed by communities and understood by staff. The force and its strategic partners are confident that the force executive is able to sustain services while preparing for police reform. Given this challenging agenda, the force and board should continue to manage the risk this places on the resilience and capacity of senior managers. 
28. In 2011, the force identified a lack of clarity surrounding its corporate planning arrangements and set about developing and articulating a new overarching model. It achieved this following consultation with communities, staff and partners and by using IT more effectively. In particular, the force responded to the board’s desire to see more of an emphasis on community policing.  
29. By updating their systems and processes the force has improved how it manages corporate risk, organisational change and both national and local priorities. In so doing, the force has improved accountability, ownership and how it manages improvement activity. The board approved a new Strategic Performance and Planning Framework in June 2011. The force developed its vision and strategy with the board and this is encapsulated within a wheel configuration (Exhibit 3). 
30. The outcome of ‘trust, confidence and satisfaction’ is at the centre of the wheel. ‘Policing our communities’, ‘protecting the public’ and ‘improving service delivery’ are the force’s key strategic themes and 16 strategic priorities sit on the outer ring of the wheel and are managed through programme management arrangements.
31. The strategy is understood by staff and the force executive has been highly visible in promoting it. Staff are aware of how force priorities link to their role. They are briefed daily on what the immediate priorities are and expected to develop trust, confidence and satisfaction in everything they do.
32. By taking a lead role in police reform the force executive is well placed to understand the issues facing the force in preparation for the transition to a single police service for Scotland in April 2013. For example, the force restructured in 2011 to strengthen and rationalise community policing while preparing the rest of the force for a shift to national structures. However, with the board’s main priority remaining firmly that of local community policing, and with the force executive contributing significantly to the national reform programme, there is potential for the resilience and capacity of the force executive to be over-stretched. Both the force and the board are alive to these concerns and have taken steps to mitigate the risk. For example, the interim arrangement of having all ACPOS officers temporarily promoted is built upon strong existing relationships between the force, board and partners that provide continuity during the year of transition. Nevertheless, the force and board should continue to work closely together to actively manage this ongoing risk.
Governance and accountability
Central Scotland Joint Police Board
The board’s decision-making structures support effective scrutiny by members and it manages its business well. Members have a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities and this is supported by effective learning and development opportunities. The board should review its support requirements to ensure it has sufficient resources to enable it to continue to conduct its business effectively at a time of significant change.
33. Board members have a good understanding of their role and responsibilities and the board agreed role descriptions for members in May 2010. These clearly articulate the role and responsibilities of a board member, but more work needs to be done to ensure board members, particularly new members incoming this year, continue to develop their knowledge and understanding and the board should monitor whether these duties are being discharged effectively. 
34. Board members receive effective learning and development opportunities which support them to undertake their role and responsibilities. Following their appointment to the board in August 2007, all members received induction training and they have also had the opportunity to access a variety of training and development events, but attendance has been variable (Exhibit 4). Members have undertaken a training needs analysis to identify personal priority areas for development. Joint budget planning training was also held with the joint Valuation and Fire Boards during 2011. The board recognises that it can improve on its current arrangements. Its improvement plan identifies priorities including induction and continuous training for all members, consideration of mandatory training for certain functions and the development of a training scheme based on a further training needs analysis. 
35. The board conducts its business effectively and all full board meetings are held in public. The minutes and papers are made available to members one week in advance of the meetings to ensure sufficient time is available for them to become familiar with their content before board meetings. The board has effective pre-agenda arrangements that ensure it has a role in setting meeting agendas and a role in reviewing the quality of the information in papers being presented. These meetings are held two weeks before the main meetings and are attended by the convener and vice-conveners. The convener is mindful that these meetings are not open to the public and does not allow discussion on the detail of papers. The board is considering how all board members can influence meeting agendas. 
36. Board papers are accessible and the agendas, associated papers and minutes from previous meetings are publicly available through the joint board website. The quality of reports is generally good with sufficient information to enable members to make informed decisions. 
37. The format of reports is improving and reports include sections for information on the implications on finance, personnel, diversity, shared services and sustainability. However, the information reported in these sections is often limited and needs to improve and be more consistent. Further improvements are needed to ensure the reports contain information that is up to date and complete particularly in relation to the financial implications of decisions. A number of reports identify no explicit financial implications but at the same time refer to costs within the body of the report, for example in reports on shared services and the rental
of premises.
38. A high number of reports are tabled for noting and this can limit members’ opportunity to comment and effectively consider reports. The board should consider alternative ways of distributing reports for noting to ensure the time spent at board meetings is used more effectively.
39. Following each meeting an action note is issued to the force. These notes record the decisions taken and any follow-up action required. Although the notes are a good tool for ensuring decisions are followed up by the force they are not tabled at any subsequent board meetings to allow the board to ensure that appropriate action has been taken timeously. 
40. The board’s decision-making structures and the way it manages its business support effective scrutiny and challenge of the force by members. Members ask relevant questions of officers and ask for further information or future action where necessary. This is generally consistent across all areas of force business. However, further improvements are required to hold the force to account on their performance in relation to specialist policing priorities.
41. The board has good business arrangements in place to support the scrutiny of police complaints. The complaints subcommittee is effective. It considers reports on how the chief constable deals with complaints against the force and complaints made against chief officers. Members have taken part in specific training and demonstrations of police working practices to develop a better understanding of the nature of complaints. Members have also had training in ‘dip sampling’ by carrying out a sample audit of complaints; however, this has only been used once by a vice-convener and could be used more systematically. 
42. Board members’ role descriptions highlight that they should represent the interests and convey the views of the board within their own constituent councils and associated bodies. Further work is needed to ensure this role is being undertaken effectively. Although each council has its own informal approach there are no formal reporting arrangements in place for members to report back to their councils on the work of the board or the force. In Stirling, members report any issues by exception, but as the force is performing well have not felt the need to do so. In Falkirk, the minutes of joint board meetings are made available publicly on its website. In Clackmannanshire, the agenda and minutes are made available via the members’ portal. There are more formal partnership arrangements for senior council officers to meet and work with the force executive where matters such as budget issues, joint working opportunities and police reform are discussed. The board has recognised the need to formalise communication of board outcomes and impact to constituent councils.
43. The board receives good support from the clerk and assistant clerk to the board. Falkirk Council provides committee support to the board through the joint board clerk and the assistant to the clerk. There is no service level agreement in place between the board and Falkirk Council for the level of work they undertake and the council absorbs much of this cost. The board also receives support from Stirling Council. The council provides the Treasury function and internal audit. This is provided through a service level agreement and costs the board approximately £100,000 per annum for these support services. The board does not have any dedicated policy support which means that it is reliant on the force for this work and does not have access to independent advice. While board members consider that they receive a good service from the support arrangements in place they have not evaluated whether or not there is sufficient capacity in these arrangements to effectively support members in undertaking their role. For example, the clerk has recently spent a significant amount of time in supporting the board in dealing with an ongoing conduct investigation while at the same time being responsible for the board’s ongoing business and other council work. The board should review its support requirements and ensure it has sufficient resources to allow it to conduct its business effectively.
44. The board operates the Independent Custody Visiting Scheme. Custody visitors are independent members of the community who make regular unannounced visits to persons held in police stations to check on their welfare and on the conditions in which they are held. They are volunteers and receive only travel and subsistence allowances from the board. The assistant clerk administers this scheme on behalf of the board and is the Scottish Scheme Administrator on the national executive of the Independent Custody Visiting Association. The board receives an update report annually on the operation of the scheme. 
Central Scotland Police
The chief constable and force executive have effective working relationships with the board and respond positively to scrutiny and challenge. Internal governance arrangements, risk management and the communication of decision-making have all improved, but there is a need for the force to reinstate its internal inspection activity. In the lead-up to the formation of a single force, a greater level of scrutiny and challenge by the board is needed to support the force.
45. The working relationship between the force and board is professional and constructive and the force responds positively to scrutiny and challenge by the board. For example, the board rejected proposals regarding changes to terms and conditions of police staff members and requested further reports to allay concerns about stop and search powers and procedures and the use of force. In 2011, the force and board were jointly involved in workshops to review emerging issues, identify improvement themes and to develop a strategic workplan for future governance, scrutiny and accountability arrangements. The force has improved the public reporting of performance and police activity. Reporting, through the ‘My Area’ web pages, is balanced, detailed and relevant to local communities. 
46. The force has recently improved and clarified its governance structures (Exhibit 5). Risk management, organisational change and decisions relating to performance are open and transparent and communicated effectively. However, owing to staff absence, quality and audit work was temporarily disrupted, but the force is taking steps to reinstate regular inspection activity and has now identified resources to carry on the work around high-risk areas that have the potential to impact on public confidence, for example the internal audit of crime recording. 
47. The introduction of the Force Improvement Plan (FIP) and Force Risk Register ensures that all risk management and improvement decisions are electronically recorded in one location, including actions from the board and from the force executive. The FIP is monitored at the Force Improvement Board, which is chaired by the deputy chief constable and reports to Force Policy Group. The FIP also helps to coordinate and monitor the divisional and departmental improvement plans. The FIP has the potential to be resource intensive to manage, but it is a comprehensive method of capturing, monitoring and managing decisions. At present, the board does not have direct access to the FIP because it is hosted on the force IT network. The force is encouraged to explore potential solutions to allow the board access to the FIP, particularly for those areas that involve decision-making by the board. 
48. Because of the limited resource available to the board, the force works with the clerk and assistant clerk to ensure the efficient exchange of information, including detailed performance reports, and the smooth handling of policy and scrutiny. This joint arrangement works well but it is not clear how proactive the board is in setting agenda items. 
49. The force’s handling of complaints is sound and it takes a robust approach to dealing with service complaints. The force actively analyses performance information and the lessons learned are used to improve services and prevent complaints. The board takes an active role in monitoring performance with a proportionate and appropriate level of challenge. At present, learning arising from complaints is handled informally, being passed from the deputy chief constable to area commanders and chief inspectors. Where there is a substantive change in practice arising from learning outcomes a Force Order is compiled and disseminated through the force.
Partnership working and community leadership
Central Scotland Joint Police Board
Board members have a good understanding of the policing issues affecting their local communities and the board monitors force performance using outcome indicators from the SOAs. It also scrutinises shared services arrangements effectively. However, there is no consistent approach in members’ involvement in partnerships and the board recognises that it can do more around partnership activities and has included this in its transitional workplan. 
50. Board members are involved in various aspects of partnership activity including Community Planning Partnerships and the Criminal Justice Authority. However, this is in their role as elected members of their constituent authority and is not consistent across all councils. There is no clear link between board members and the three community safety partnerships covered by Central Scotland Police. Members could do more to further the interests of the board by taking a more active and visible role in partnership activities and work with local organisations and representative groups. The board recognises that it can do more around its partnership activities and has included this in its transitional workplan.
51. The board receives good information which helps it work with community planning partners. It receives quarterly reports from the force on performance against the SOA priorities. The level of information in these reports has improved and now provides details on performance broken down by local authority area, along with contextual comment and recommended action. Further improvements could be made to these reports to clearly link the force performance with the police resources committed to delivering these priorities. 
Shared services
52. The board has good oversight of the force’s approach to shared services. The physical resources subcommittee receives reports from the force on the board’s work to develop shared services, in particular on the opportunities for shared premises. The board has a good understanding of community issues and uses this local knowledge when considering opportunities for shared resources between partners. This is based on the shared premises agenda and is linked to a wider Forth Valley consideration of rationalising public offices. 
53. The force is a member of the Forth Valley Public Sector Property Group which involves NHS Forth Valley, Central Scotland Fire and Rescue, Scottish Ambulance Service and the three local authorities. The group is aiming to develop an area-wide joint property and asset management strategy and produced a report in June 2011 which, at the time of the audit and inspection, was out for consultation with partners. However, neither the joint board nor its subcommittee has been involved in discussions and the implications of this wider strategy. The board would benefit from accessing reports on the property group in order to give it a fuller insight into the strategic approach across Forth Valley for property and asset management.
Central Scotland Police
The force invests heavily in strategic and tactical partnerships aimed at improving community safety and public protection. The force can demonstrate good practice which has the potential to be shared across the police area and nationally. The force and key strategic partners within the Forth Valley area aim to retain the benefits of partnership working within a single police service in Scotland.
54. The force has been proactive in developing partnerships, for example the pan-Forth Valley Strategic Coordination Group. There is good evidence of continuous improvement in the reporting of partnership outcomes, access to services by all and the use of social media to promote partnership activity.
55. Strategic partners engage regularly and jointly on issues of efficiency and effectiveness and there is a strong and mature partnership culture. For example, Central Scotland Police operates a scheme where partner agencies work together to ensure that victims and witnesses receive appropriate, high-quality, professional and caring assistance. The ‘Victims First’ objective aims to minimise the impact of a crime or incident by providing an accessible and locally based response. 
56. The force has also worked with partners to rationalise services and deliver value to communities. For example, the force recently took over ‘out of hours’ calls for Clackmannanshire Council. This was achieved within existing resources and resulted in a saving to the council. The force actively scrutinises all areas of spending to improve efficiency by collaborating with other forces; for example, it has a service level agreement with Strathclyde Police for purchasing uniforms and procurement arrangements with the Forth Valley Property Group. 
57. The force has pursued numerous other initiatives to improve partnership working. For example, a partnership strategic assessment has been introduced in the Falkirk area with the support of the community planning and community safety partnerships which forms the basis of a partnership tasking and coordination process. This allows clear objectives to be set for all partnership activity, with an agreed set of measures and targets to track progress and demonstrate the impact of partnership working. The assessment helps to make resource commitments clearer and helps to ensure that the skills mix of partnership groups is considered and ensure that the appropriate people
are involved.
58. The Falkirk partnership tasking and coordination process is more established than the arrangements in Stirling and Clackmannanshire. An evaluation of the Falkirk strategic assessment and tasking process should take place to identify strengths, areas for improvement and lessons learned which can then be shared as good practice elsewhere in the force area. 
59. A multi-agency screening hub (MASH) in Larbert has been introduced to improve public protection through shared services, co-location, joint working and effective information sharing and decision-making. Although in the early stages of implementation, the MASH brings together much of what is recognised as good practice from across Scotland. Building on the concept that public protection, community safety, repeat victims, vulnerable adults and child issues can be best dealt with through a single joined-up approach, the MASH acts as a conduit for all public protection reports (some 13,000 each year) and allows for fast-time multi-agency screening, decision-making, information sharing, case-conferencing and action. Partners achieve this by sharing intelligence and by making decisions together with a broad range of stakeholders, including community, charity and volunteer partners in the third sector. 
60. The MASH initiative covers the whole Forth Valley area but each local authority is at different stages in converging to the single hub approach. The strategic partners are sure that the approach to improving social outcomes, particularly for children and vulnerable persons, has the potential to deliver best value and consider that this is a model for public protection in Scotland. The project is at an early stage and the partners should carry out a formal evaluation as soon as practicable and share the results with other forces and the Police Reform Team for consideration while developing future structures. 
Community leadership and engagement
Central Scotland Joint Police Board
Board members have a good understanding of issues affecting their local communities. It needs to raise its awareness of the community engagement activity carried out by the force. 
61. In May 2010, the board agreed role descriptions for its members. These included a key task for members to represent and act as an advocate for the interests of the board, and liaise and work with local organisations and representative groups to further the interest of the board. Members work well with their local communities, although this is not formally in their role as representatives of the joint board. 
62. Members have a good understanding of the needs of their communities and use this knowledge to influence the way policing is delivered in the area. Board members engage with their communities by attending local events and community council meetings in their role as local councillors. Board members consider that along with the attendance of local community police officers and the presentation of People and Communities Together priorities to these forums, they are in a position to understand, respond to and represent local policing concerns. 
63. The board is responsible for scrutinising the force’s approach to engaging with local communities. However, the information provided to it by the force is limited, particularly on its performance against the community engagement standard. The board agreed the force’s community engagement standard in February 2010, but there does not appear to have been any further reporting or follow-up work to demonstrate that the force is adhering to the agreed standard. Although the board receives quarterly reports from the force on its performance against the strategic theme of ‘trust, confidence and satisfaction’, including results on service-user satisfaction, perception and trust in the police there is limited data or analysis on its actual community engagement activity. 
64. The board does not have its own arrangements for communicating and engaging with its communities and does not engage directly with its communities through surveys or other feedback mechanisms. The board recognises in its improvement plan that it needs to develop a formal method of recording community issues and views. 
Central Scotland Police 
The force demonstrates a high level of commitment to policing communities and is improving its approach to community engagement through PACT. Community satisfaction is improving, and the force is well placed to sustain community engagement and deliver services to communities while preparing for transition to a single police force.
65. The force clearly articulates its commitment to communities in its Strategic Plan 2011–15. The force executive is attuned to the fact that this area of policing attracts a lot of attention and challenge by the board. The force has responded by increasing the number of community police officers from 64 to 117 over the past five years, by improving the skills and enhancing the responsibilities of community officers and by reducing abstractions of officers from their core role. Central Scotland Police is a relatively small force and senior managers are able to quickly identify community risk and concerns of local partners and communities and ensure that action is responsive.
66. The PACT process is operating well and there is clear evidence of community officers taking steps to understand the needs of communities and setting local priorities. This is achieved through effective consultation, planning and reporting back to communities. The introduction of PACT led to the development of Community Policing Forums that are involved in how priorities are presented and how communities feed into this through a process of ‘You said, we did’ reporting. 
67. The force is also using PACT to inform response teams and demand management. In Bannockburn, the force is testing an approach which links demand management with PACT priorities so that response teams are aware of the priorities in areas where they are being deployed. Community policing shifts have recently been reviewed following consultation and agreement with the police federation and the planned changes to shift patterns will improve overall capacity spread across 24/7 with community officers working more days and a less compressed shift pattern.  
68. Although the PACT process is sound, there are variations in the quality of PACT reporting and it could be more quantifiable in terms of results and more specific around prevention, intelligence and enforcement activity. There is also scope to improve the quality of analysis, and sharing of good practice to improve community policing across the force area as a whole. 
69. In 2011/12, the force achieved an impressive turnaround in customer satisfaction rates relating to the updating of victims and eight out of the nine user satisfaction and quality of service indicators have improved. 
70. The force can demonstrate a strong commitment to community policing and continues to work to ‘lock in localism’ to ensure that communities continue to receive a high quality of service in the final year of Central Scotland Police. The force has restructured, strengthened and increased resources within community policing which remains a key priority for 2012/13.
Performance management and improvement
Central Scotland Joint Police Board
The board has good arrangements in place to scrutinise force performance. It receives good-quality reports and has influenced reporting arrangements. The board could do more to prioritise and monitor force improvement activity.
71. The board has good arrangements in place to scrutinise the force’s performance and these are continuing to develop. Members consider a wide range of performance on a quarterly basis at board meetings. This covers performance at a strategic level, on outcomes from the SOA and crime statistics, as well as performance at an operational level, for example on road collision statistics. This is supplemented by regular reports by the force on the implementation of its Improvement Plan. The best value and audit subcommittee considers force performance against the indicators contained in the SPPF and Force Performance Framework (FPF).
72. The force continues to explore innovative ways of presenting information to board members such as through live demonstrations of the FIP during board and subcommittee meetings. The force has given presentations to the board to explain in more detail the information provided and the management system that the force uses. Although the board does not currently have direct access to the force’s performance management system these presentations have helped develop board members’ knowledge and understanding. This allows the board to work with the force to explore new ways of presenting information to improve how members can scrutinise performance. 
73. The board has influenced how the force reports performance, such as the information on road injury collisions. This has improved the understanding by board members and in turn the effectiveness of their scrutiny. As a result of a challenge by the board on how collision information was being reported, the force improved the presentation of information, in particular by mapping of the locations of collisions across the force area so that board members could relate this to council initiatives such as traffic calming. The board needs to improve its understanding and scrutiny of specialist policing performance such as serious organised crime and public protection by exploring with the force how information is presented.
74. The best value and audit subcommittee effectively scrutinises how the force conducts its business, but it could be more involved in prioritising areas for review. The subcommittee approves the annual internal audit plan and receives a regular position statement on progress against the plan for noting. It also considers reports on the force’s progress against recommendations made by HMICS and how the force is progressing its Best Value Service Review Programme. These reports, however, tend to focus on what stage a review is at, rather than the actual findings of the reviews. There is little evidence to indicate that the board itself initiates or prioritises review work beyond that identified by the force. The board recognises this and has included an item on its improvement plan to address this.
75. The board endorses the force’s annual report in a foreword but it does not produce information in its own right. The board should consider how it publicly reports and accounts for the work that it does in order to demonstrate it is meeting its public performance reporting duties.
76. The board is aware of areas where it needs to improve. In January 2012, the board, in conjunction with the force, undertook a self-evaluation using the Best Value characteristics and the findings from previous Best Value and inspection reports. From this it identified improvement activity and at its meeting on 23 March 2012 agreed a transitional workplan (Exhibit 6). The transitional workplan is still under development and its contents are to be refreshed following the formation of a new board after the local government elections in May 2012. The board has also committed to incorporate improvement actions arising from this Best Value Audit and Inspection report and any emerging areas from the police reform work. 
Central Scotland Police
The force has a well-developed approach to managing performance and improvement, covering national, force and local priorities and also organisational change. Performance statistics provided to the board are enhanced by up-to-date contextual information and the force continues to explore ways to better inform stakeholders on how resources are being used to deliver performance. 
77. The FPF is comprehensive, outcome focused and includes both operational and organisational assessments. The FPF effectively integrates service planning and delivery. Local (PACT) and national (Scottish Police Performance Framework) indicators are included in the FPF and the board receives quarterly reports at the best value and audit subcommittee. The force produces performance reports which include information on SOAs and comparative information on other Scottish forces. Performance information provided to the board is of a good quality and better ways of presenting the information are being trialled, to include information on impact. The introduction of quarterly reviews of the strategic assessment and reports to the board containing POA information has helped the board better understand where resources have been applied and policing outcomes. 
78. All indicators are held on a ‘Master’ Framework. Key managed indicators are considered by the Force Policy Group and the board. Useful up-to-date contextual indicators are included, for example in respect of underperformance and proposed improvement plans, and these help to inform the monthly tactical tasking and coordination meetings and quarterly strategic meetings. The FPF provides reports across the force governance structures at tactical, strategic, board and public levels. There is a clear link between the FPF and the force strategy.
79. The force has made ‘trust, confidence and satisfaction’ central to its vision and it is well defined in terms of customer satisfaction, quality of service, complaints and call handling. The strategy is understood by staff, but the force has identified a skills gap in middle management and supervisors around how best to access and use management and performance information. The force has recognised that middle managers need a better understanding of how to use existing performance management arrangements to deliver more effective and efficient services.
Use of resources
Central Scotland Joint Police Board
The board has good arrangements in place to oversee the use of resources. However, the scrutiny of some aspects of this can be inconsistent, such as workforce planning.
Managing finance
80. The board approves the revenue budget and capital plan and effectively oversees the financial management of the force; however, it is not formally involved in developing the budget. It receives regular detailed budget monitoring reports on the force’s revenue budget and its capital plan at its full board meetings. 
81. Members have a good understanding of the financial challenges the board faces. The board has made progress in addressing these challenges by focusing on the implications of efficiency savings on police numbers and other staffing implications such as voluntary and compulsory severance. While the Treasurer meets regularly with the force director of finance the involvement of board members in budget discussions is through the convener and vice-conveners at pre-agenda meetings. 
Managing people
82. The board undertakes limited scrutiny of how the force manages its workforce. Although it considers regular update reports on human resource issues, as a standing item on the board’s agenda the reports are subject to only limited scrutiny. Board members consider a range of issues including attendance management, recruitment, staff development and health and safety. The board has been more challenging on other workforce issues. For example, the board decided not to consider proposals put forward by the force in a report to the board on police staff terms and conditions of service until a job evaluation process was completed.
Managing assets and other resources
83. Board members effectively scrutinise the force’s asset management through the physical resources subcommittee. The subcommittee approved the force’s Asset Management Strategy in August 2010. It also approved the force’s approach to exploring future shared premises options with local public sector partners and it regularly considers reports on the force’s Asset Management Strategy, property options, carbon reduction plan and updates on shared premises. 
84. The best value and audit subcommittee oversees the force’s risk management arrangements. In February 2010, it considered a report on the force’s risk management arrangements and agreed to receive future reports on a quarterly basis. At the meeting, it also requested that the force develop an appropriate mechanism to facilitate members’ involvement in the development of Risk Registers at an early stage and training for members. Despite this, there is no evidence to indicate that this has taken place. At its meeting in February 2012, the subcommittee was provided with an update along with a presentation of the risk management system that sits within the force’s improvement plan. The board has identified the need for the board to be more involved in the management of risk.
85. The board is considering establishing a subcommittee to oversee the use of all forms of resources and this has been included in its transitional plan. 
Central Scotland Police
The force has managed its budget reduction well, worked hard to minimise the impact on staff and continues to meet its efficiency targets. The force has been proactive in preparing to realign resources to national police structures and functions.
Financial management
86. The force actively engages with some members of the board, chief executives and chief financial officers of local authorities to discuss and agree priorities and budgets for the force. The constituent authorities have recognised the financial challenge faced by the force and supported the 2011/12 budget approved by the board. Although this required a reduction in police staff of over ten per cent, it enabled the force to maintain its front-line capability and satisfy the Scottish Government target in relation to police officer numbers. This required a 2.17 per cent increase in the contribution by the constituent councils, even though their revenue support grant was being reduced by 2.6 per cent on average.   
87. The current police grant allocation model still leaves the force nine per cent below the national average in funding per head of population. The force has maintained open face-to-face communications with staff as reductions have been made to the number of staff posts, but staff remain extremely concerned about their future. In 2011/12, a 2.6 per cent reduction in grant funding was met among other factors, through non-staff savings of over £700,000 and staff reductions netting over £1 million savings.
88. In the lead-up to the 2011/12 budget, the force identified that budget cuts were likely as a result of impending constraints in public funding, and decided not to fill vacancies as they occurred pending the 2011/12 budget settlement. The voluntary redundancy and early retirement scheme was also introduced which created further vacancies. The majority of staff savings were achieved through management of these vacancies and a programme of redeployment was identified as being achievable without a significant impact on front-line operational activities. The force also carried out options appraisals on the communities policing and crime and specialist operations where significant proportions of the savings identified relate directly to front-line roles that would require being backfilled with police officers, an option considered to be both expensive and counter-productive. The force provides the board with regular detailed financial update reports including an overview of efficiencies made within the annual Revenue Budget Proposal Report submitted to the board. This report also provides brief information on the efficiencies the force has made over the preceding year, although it does not provide specific details in respect of these efficiencies. 
89. Like all forces in Scotland, Central Scotland Police has been working to achieve efficiency savings. While it has exceeded its targets in the last three years (up to 2010/11), it has consistently been among the lowest performers. For example, in 2010/11 the eight forces combined to achieve savings of more than 55 per cent over the target; Central Scotland Police exceeded its target by a more modest 11.1 per cent. This level was achieved in the context of funding below the national average and the rate of police officers and police staff per 10,000 population also being below the national average.
90. As with the other Scottish forces, the force is developing Police Objective Analysis (POA) to enable the force and the board to better manage finances and resources. The force is extending the use of POA to link cost and performance as the basis for a better understanding of resource allocation within the force.
91. The force has identified how future developments might impact on its financial management arrangements and is proactively managing the risk. In January 2012, the force amended its operational command structure to better support the transition to a single force. Crime management and communities policing were brought together, while the majority of specialist support and corporate support functions were amalgamated under a single specialist operations and governance command. The police reform agenda has changed the mindset of the force executive from one of workforce modernisation – increasing police
staff – to a new imperative of maintaining police numbers, ‘locking in localism’ and preparing for transition to a single force.
92. In this final year of Central Scotland Police existing as a separate entity, the force has no significant or exceptional capital expenditure planned.
Workforce management 
93. The force human resources strategy is incorporated within the force strategic plan and is in line with the ACPOS People Strategy. The Force Policy Group determines the strategy on any staff allocations based on individual business cases, or fluctuations in service demand. In 2011, The Force Establishment Group was formed to better manage the officer and staff complements against the budget and the Scottish Government Additional Capacity Target.
94. At the end of March 2011, Central Scotland Police employed a total of 1,245 officers and staff. The force’s rate of police officers per 10,000 population is below the average for Scotland (30.1 compared to 33.6 for Scotland). This is also case for police staff (12.3 compared to 12.9 for Scotland). The force has one of the lowest proportions of police support staff in the country, and the latest half-year figures show that numbers have continued to reduce in 2011/12. 
95. During the audit and inspection we examined the impact that this is having on the force. For example, traditionally the force has been very strong in making sure that its pending cases are entered into the electronic Criminal History System (CHS) to within the national targets, 70 per cent within 24 hours; 90 per cent within five days. In the three years to 2010/11, the force recorded the highest proportion in Scotland for entries within five days, at consistently over 98 per cent. It also had the highest rates for cases entered within one day for the previous two years. The force recognises that the conscious decision made under the Strategic Spending Review to reduce the number of staff in this function has led to a reduction in performance previously achieved. However, even though entries within 24 hours on to CHS has reduced to 88 per cent, this is still 18 percentage points above the national target of 70 per cent.
96. In 2010/11, the force had the highest, albeit declining, proportion of its police staff payroll that is accounted for by overtime, 2.4 per cent compared to a Scottish average of 1.5 per cent. In December 2011, approximately 96 police officers (about 11 per cent) were sitting with over 40 hours each of time to be taken off which had accumulated through accepting such time off in lieu of financial payments. The force has been active in trying to reduce the police officer overtime budget and is projecting to achieve around a ten per cent (up to £200,000) reduction in spend. Nevertheless, data for 2011/12 show an increase in police staff overtime, with the proportion for police staff payroll now sitting at 2.9 per cent. The force has suggested that this may be related in part to the reduction in salary costs as a result of the 2010 spending review, with a similar amount of overtime spend showing proportionately higher against a reducing salary baseline.
97. In contrast to the national trend, the number of special constables per 10,000 head of population working with the force has fallen annually over the last four years. Until last year, this reduction had been offset by sustaining the average number of hours worked by these volunteers. To improve the situation, the force has recently reviewed this situation and has recruited a number of new special constables, bringing its complement in 2011/12 to 93. The anticipated rise in the number of hours worked by these volunteers has yet to be realised. However, the force has a new development programme and liaison officer post in place.
98.  In 2010/11, the force had the lowest uptake for courses held by the Scottish Police College (excluding non-territorial forces). The force took up only 66.1 per cent of allocated places, a reduction of a third on the previous year 16.7 percentage points below the Scottish average for 2010/11. The impact has been most acute on courses covering Crime Management Division’s community safety and detective courses, as well as the Leadership and Management Division’s continuous professional development programme.
99. Sickness absence among police officers has risen from 3.5 per cent working time lost in 2010/11 to 3.9 per cent in 2011/12. This rise is mirrored for police staff, which has risen from 3.6 per cent to 3.9 per cent. However, at the time of writing, comparative data is not available to compare this performance with that of other Scottish forces, but it is expected to be in the order of 4.2 per cent.
Equalities
Central Scotland Joint Police Board
The board monitors the force’s performance in relation to its Single Equality Scheme (SES); however, it could provide more leadership in relation to its own activities. The board recognises that it could strengthen its approach to equalities.
100. The board could do more to provide leadership for, and to, promote equalities. The board has a scrutiny role in monitoring the force’s performance in meeting its SES and receives annual reports. The board last received a report on the force equalities duties in May 2011 and noted the force’s performance against its action plan.
101. The board has published its own SES for the period 2010–12 and an accompanying action plan. The SES should be reviewed annually but there has been no reporting to the board since the establishment of the SES to advise on progress. 
102. All members have undertaken equality and diversity training, some as part of the joint board training and others as part of training provided by their constituent councils. All reports to the board contain an equalities subheading; however, the quality of information provided is often limited. The board’s self-assessment identified that there was a potential benefit for a board member to be a portfolio champion for equalities. It considers that any member, in doing so, would be expected to undertake a participatory role with relevant force governance groups. The board’s transitional workplan identifies that formal remits should be developed to allow appropriate scrutiny and feedback to the board on these arrangements. This should strengthen the board’s links with the force’s equality and diversity groups and increase accountability in this area.
Central Scotland Police
The force is actively involved with its communities and can demonstrate a broad range of diversity initiatives and improvements in the management of equalities and action on hate crime. However, there is no executive level lead for diversity in the force. The Lay Advisor Group is an excellent cultural resource that could further support to the force. The force has made good progress in the recruitment, retention and development of female officers
and staff. 
103. Central Scotland Police applies the principles of the ACPOS Diversity Strategy and is extending its existing SES through to 2013 to ensure convergence with the reform programme. The SES and Action Plan are monitored by the force Diversity Forum and also by the board including defined Equality Scheme outcomes. 
104. The force takes a broad approach to the recording and reporting of hate crime and has been one of the first police forces in Scotland to capture information on transphobia, homophobia and disability-related discrimination. The force has also led on the development of a new website which encourages the reporting of hate incidents. Moreover, through the Multi-Agency Hate Response Strategy (MAHRS) partnership across the Central Scotland area it has built strong links over many years, particularly in relation to tackling racist incidents and harassment. It has developed a system that allows each agency to report, record and monitor racist incidents and to hold multi-agency case conferences designed to address repeat victimisation.
105. The force has strong community representation on its Lay Advisor Group. The Lay Advisor Group is very active and includes a mix of race, faith, gender and disability representatives. The force has held a number of diversity evenings where a range of community and minority group issues have been discussed. This group is an active cultural resource and there is further scope to develop how they support the force, for example within Gold Groups and in reviewing hate crime processes and procedures. 
106. The force has made good progress in the recruitment of female officers. In 2010, the force became accredited to deliver the international Springboard Women’s Personal Development Programme. The programme has been made widely available to female officers and staff to ensure that the force continues to provide female workers with the necessary personal skills and confidence to progress their career and improve their own performance. The Springboard Programme is being championed across the force by the deputy chief constable. In a recent promotion process to sergeant, while only 16 per cent of applicants were women, female officers constituted 50 per cent of those candidates who were successful in the final part of the process.
107. In the process of better aligning the role with the community policing function there have been a number of recent changes to the lead on diversity in the force which is now delegated from the DCC to chief superintendents. The chief superintendents are members of the Force Policy Group ensuring a continuing focus at executive level. However, there is potential for the focus to be lost across the policing functions and the force is encouraged to examine the effectiveness of this arrangement.
Sustainability
Central Scotland Joint Police Board
The board has a good understanding of the wider economic and social aspects of sustainability and recognises that it needs to do further work to ensure this is embedded across all areas of the force. 
108. The board has a good understanding of the wider economic and social aspects of sustainability, in particular how to sustain communities policing. This is particularly evidenced in the discussions on shared premises reports considered at the physical resources subcommittee. The board members also receive reports on the Force’s Carbon Management Plan and the debate at meetings shows that the board understands its green agenda.
109. The board’s self-assessment recognised, however, that it needs to strengthen its approach to understanding social sustainability. It has identified that it should develop its strategic approach to sustainability in partnership with the force and embed across all areas of business as part of its transitional workplan.
Central Scotland Police
The force has made good progress in developing its approach to green issues, but this can be improved further. The force has worked hard to ensure that ‘business as usual’ will continue during a period of transition, in particular that community safety and public protection will be sustained at a local level. 
110. The force’s commitment to sustaining community safety is reflected in its vision, strategies and plans. Senior managers understand the need to manage police reform and ‘business as usual’, by continuing to deliver and improve on services to communities.
111. The force is planning to take a partnership approach to delivering sustainability at the Community Planning level. To assist this development it intends to review all structures for participation in all threads of sustainability. It is anticipated that once that exercise is complete the force will be able to demonstrate various initiatives to reduce energy use, but these have not been fully explored at this time.  
112. The force is improving sustainability through sharing services and rationalising assets with partners. The force’s strategic approach to energy management is yet to be published but a number of carbon management plans are already in place. The force has achieved a 23 per cent reduction in emissions from 2008 totals. Other areas that may have an indirect impact on sustainability will include their on-demand system of procurement (rather than stores) and the sharing of services and assets across local authorities and with partners. 
113. The force’s performance management framework could be improved by incorporating a range of indicators that allow it to demonstrate its impact on sustainability.
Part 3. Central Scotland Police performance assessment

Force performance indicates some good achievements including year-on-year reduction in crime, high detection rates, a reduction in road traffic collisions and an improved use of alternatives to prosecution. Eight out of the nine user satisfaction and quality of service indicators have improved; however, complaints against police have increased. 
Public reassurance and community safety
Recorded and detected crime 
114. The recorded crime rate per 10,000 of population between 2007/08 and 2010/11 has fallen 15.6 per cent (Exhibit 7). Over the same period of time the detection rates for crimes in groups 1-4 have also increased slightly (Exhibit 8).
115. During 2011/12, the recorded crime rate in groups 1-4 decreased by a further 2.6 per cent; however, the detection rate decreased from 48 per cent to 45 per cent. 
116. During 2011/12, violent crime fell across the force with decreases in the number of attempted murder charges, serious assaults and robberies. There was also a slight reduction in the number of offensive weapon charges. 
117. Central Scotland Police is the only force with detection rates for group 1 crimes of violence consistently above 95 per cent over the previous four years (the Scottish average in 2010/11 was 71.6 per cent), although in 2011/12 it experienced a slight drop to 92 per cent. 
118. Recent increases in group 2 sexual crimes have been experienced by most other Scottish forces. The force has reviewed this aspect of its crime recording and will form the basis of any remedial action required. For the most part, however, the force tends to be at or below the Scottish average for crime rates per 10,000 population recorded and at or above average rates of detection.
119. Group 7 motor vehicle offences per 10,000 population numbers reflect positive and proactive efforts (Exhibit 9). The force consistently records one of the highest rates of group 7 crimes. That said, rates for some of its key managed indicators for driver behaviour, including speeding offences, collisions and offences involving drink/drugs, and seat belt and mobile phone offences are showing short and longer-term declines.
120. The last three years have also seen sizeable reductions in the rate of road traffic collision casualties per million vehicle kilometres. Road collisions and casualties, and within that young drivers and motorcyclists, is a particular priority for the force and a number of prevention activities have been directed at speeding young people and children. All four key indicators used by the force to assess performance in this area are showing short and longer-term reductions in both collisions and casualties. 
Crime subgroups
121. Over the previous four years the force has recorded the highest number of domestic abuse incidents per 10,000 population in Scotland, 125.7 compared to a Scottish average of 106.1 in 2010/11 (Exhibit 10). Furthermore, the figures for 2011/12 show a further increase of 0.75 per cent. The force has a robust approach and takes positive action in the recording of and responding to domestic violence issues. The force has further improved the management of all domestic abuse bail offenders by prioritising risk and robustly managing bail conditions imposed by the courts. A domestic abuse toolkit is available for all officers to access.
122. The force also regularly records one of the highest proportions of group 1 to 6 crimes committed by youths, defined here as young people between the ages of eight and 17, though in 2010/11 the rate declined. This may be a consequence of a national focus on early intervention programmes and the force’s large increase in the number of restorative justice warnings issued and conferences held. Approximately a quarter of the force’s detected group 4 crimes of vandalism and fire-raising are committed by youths, 23.1 per cent in 2010/11. This is the highest proportion of any crime group for the force. Moreover, in 2010/11 the force was second only to Strathclyde in the rate of group 4 crimes recorded per 10,000 population in total. The same is true, perhaps unsurprisingly, of its antisocial behaviour crimes and offences of environmental damage. This is despite the fact that they have been declining over the last five years.
Criminal justice and tackling crime
Submission of crime reports
123. A national target of 80 per cent has been in place for a number of years now for the proportion of crime reports submitted to the procurator fiscal and the Children’s Reporter within 28 and 14 calendar days respectively. Over the last five years the force has remained above target in both cases. For reports to the procurator fiscal, it has submitted around 87 per cent within the target period. Despite a slight drop in those submitted to the Children’s Reporter, at 83 per cent it too remains comfortably within target. One reason for the decline relates to delays in the final decision-making process introduced by the Early and Effective Intervention (EEI) scheme.
124. However, the force also exhibits one of the highest percentages of reports marked ‘no proceedings’ (Exhibit 11) at 13.9 per cent compared to 12.6 per cent for Scotland in 2010/11, and rising to 16 per cent in 2011/12. The force has one of the highest and rising percentages of ‘no proceedings’ cases so called because of insufficient evidence, 7.1 per cent compared 5.3 per cent for Scotland in 2010/11. The force is recommended to review current arrangements and to take steps to improve performance in this area.
Alternatives to prosecution
125. Forces can also deal with offences though direct measures, such as antisocial behaviour fixed-penalty tickets, formal warnings and restorative justice warnings and conferences. Despite some annual declines, the force tends to issue a higher than average rate per 10,000 population of formal and restorative justice warnings/conferences. The force managed a large increase in the number of restorative justice warnings and conferences in particular in the first half of 2011/12. 
Service response
User satisfaction
126. In comparison with other forces, Central Scotland Police recorded a decline in satisfaction ratings during the period 2008/09 to 2010/11 across the range of interactions surveyed, including initial contact and treatment and how the matter was dealt with overall (Exhibit 12). This was a matter of concern for the force as ‘trust, confidence and satisfaction’ are central to its policing vision for the area. As a result, the force prioritised action to raise public trust, confidence and satisfaction and has brought about a dramatic rise of nearly 18 percentage points in the proportion of Central Scotland Police users saying that they were kept adequately informed about their case (60 per cent) in 2011/12. Eight out of the nine user satisfaction and quality of service indicators have improved; however, complaints against officers have increased.  
Complaints
127. Over the last four fiscal years to 2010/11 the force regularly had one of the lowest rates of complaint cases received per 10,000 population. However, in 2011/12 the force has seen a marked increase in the number recorded by the force, from 211 to 285 with a relatively high number of complaints from persons violently resisting arrest. 
128. The force saw a drop in the number of quality of service allegations in 2010/11 but this has not been sustained in 2011/12 with a 40 per cent increase recorded against the three-year average. The force rigorously analyses both quality-service issues and complaints against police, but there are no discernable trends identified. The force takes positive steps to address conduct issues to show one of the highest percentages of complaint allegations disposed of through some action being taken, by giving advice, misconduct procedures, criminal proceedings or convictions and alternatives to prosecution, 28.1 per cent compared to a Scottish average of 17.3 per cent in the first half of 2011/12.
Call handling
129. The force’s performance on call handling tends to mirror the Scottish average (Exhibit 13). Figures for 2011/12 show that performance in this area is being sustained. Nevertheless, the percentage of non-emergency calls abandoned by callers to Central Scotland Police is typically among the highest in Scotland and remains at around six per cent for 2011/12. The force is currently reviewing its performance to identify areas for improvement.
Part 4. Improvement recommendations

130. Scottish police services are going through a period of major change with the government’s announcements of their plan to create a single Scottish police force. We recognise that this is now a prominent issue for all forces and have taken this into account in setting out the improvement agenda. Police boards and forces must continue to observe their duties under the Best Value legislation to ensure that police services remain effective, make the best use of resources allocated to them and are accountable to local communities.
131. The improvement areas set out below focus on areas that are important to the operation of the police board in the transition to a single force.
Improvement agenda
Joint improvements

1.	The board needs to continue to work with the force to ensure it delivers an effective policing service during the transition to a single force. 

Central Scotland Joint Police Board

1.  The board should prioritise the improvement activity identified in its transitional workplan and implement this work timeously to ensure the board and its members obtain the full benefit of the planned work during what will be a very busy period in the run-up to the introduction of a single force.

2. The board should consider its own arrangements and ensure that it has sufficient capacity to effectively support it through the ongoing conduct investigation and changes in arrangements through the transitional period until the establishment of a single force.

3. Scrutiny and challenge should be consistent across all areas and board members should ensure this happens particularly in relation to equalities, workforce planning arrangements and specialist policing priorities such as serious organised crime and multi-agency public protection.

4. The board should put in place more active and visible arrangements for board members to further the interests of the board in partnership activities. It should also assure itself that the links to constituent councils are operating effectively. 

Central Scotland Police

1. The force should facilitate the board in having access to the Force Improvement Plan, particularly those areas that involve decisions made by the board. 

2. The force internal inspection programme should be resourced and fully reinstated as soon as possible. 

3. The force should review and evaluate effectiveness in partnership working, in particular the strategic tasking and coordination arrangements at Falkirk and the MASH at Larbert and share good practice across the police area and nationally.

4. The force should review its operation of PACT with a view to improving the quality and consistency of analysis, intelligence and sharing of good practice to improve community policing across the force area.

5. The force should review its arrangements for an executive level lead for equality issues to ensure they are fit for purpose.

6. The force needs to identify the issues and implement improvements in the quality of reports to the procurator fiscal, particularly in relation to improving the sufficiency of evidence.

Appendix 1. Expectations of police authorities
The Scottish Government has issued two main sources of guidance on the role of elected members and police authorities:
•	Circular 11/2003, Implementing Best Value in the Scottish Police Service, issued in December 2003.
•	Guidance to Members, issued in June 2007.
Taken together, these two documents set out six main areas of activity for police authorities and their members:
•	Police authorities need to pursue Best Value in tandem with chief constables who are responsible for police operations in their force. Members of the police authorities should take joint responsibility for the overarching plan to achieve Best Value and other duties in the force, and work with the chief constable to ensure that it is carried out effectively.
•	Best Value requires elected members and senior managers to develop a vision of how Best Value will contribute to the corporate goals of the authorities, inform the direction of services and be communicated to staff.
•	Police authorities are expected to demonstrate responsiveness to the needs of the public and other stakeholders. Plans, priorities and actions should be informed by an understanding of those needs. Police authorities may make clear publicly how they engage and work with chief constables, delivering and reporting on Best Value. They have a particular role to play in ensuring effective public consultation on aspects of policing.
•	It is a matter for each authority to determine how it fulfils these roles. However, one option might be for the police authorities to contribute to and endorse the chief constable’s annual plan.
•	Members of the police authorities should be able to demonstrate that they are making the best use of public resources and demonstrate an approach to review that is rigorous, robust and covers all aspects of their work.
•	Police authorities need to make sure that the force collects and reports good-quality performance data to them. Police authorities should analyse the data and any accompanying commentary. They may then want to investigate further by asking questions of the chief constable as part of a continuous discussion and review of force performance.