HER MAJESTY'S CHIEF INSPECTOR OF CONSTABULARY FOR SCOTLAND REPORT FOR 1998/99

6 Human Resources

Strength

1. The strength of the Scottish Police Service at 31 March 1999 is shown in the following table, with comparative figures for previous years.

Human Resources (HR) Strategy

2. ACPOS endorsed its Personnel Strategy for the Police Service in Scotland during the year. The document outlines the philosophy and principles to be adopted by all forces in respect of all personnel matters. The strategy is sufficiently flexible in allowing chief constables to set their own priorities and develop intitiatives that tie in with local policing plans and objectives yet allows for the establishment of a Scottish wide agenda. The strategy provides a further opportunity in the promotion and sharing of good practice among forces.

3. While there is a commitment towards overarching Human Resource (HR) strategies within forces the inspection process in the last year has found variance in the policies underpinning strategies and their performance measurement. Some work has to be done in these areas and the forces concerned are addressing these issues.

Recruitment

4. Recruitment figures for police officers are detailed at Table 3. During 1998/99 the recruitment of 321 new officers was less than half last year's total of 664. While this relieves the pressure on probationer training arrangements in forces and at the Scottish Police College the marked reduction in recruitment, particularly when the full extent of financial pressures on forces in respect of efficiency savings is beginning to bite, is a matter for concern. Staff costs account for the largest revenue spend in any force budget and curtailing and/or suspending police recruitment has traditionally assisted in the meeting of financial targets. The knock-on effect of this drop in the level of recruitment will impact operational policing over the next 12 -24 months.

5. The quality of recruits continues to be high with a good level of well-qualified, mature entrants. Of the recruits in 1998/99, 81 were graduates and the average age was 27 years. The quality of recruit depends on a complex set of influences which include police conditions of service and the general employment situation at any given time but it is vital that quality levels are maintained. History shows that where standards are reduced this quickly translates into problems with the delivery of an efficient and effective service.

Cadets

6. At 31 March 1999 there were 15 cadets employed in Scottish forces, at Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary, Fife Constabulary and Central Scotland Police. There are many examples of excellent police cadets who go on to find careers in the police service. Forces sustaining this route need to demonstrate that this is the best use of resources and that the arguments for maintaining cadets withstand proper scrutiny.

Absence Management

7. Policing is an arduous profession with police officers and support staff working demanding shift patterns to ensure that communities receive 24 hour policing. Police officers (and some support staff) can also face physical confrontation with violent individuals and many experience incidents which are extremely stressful and traumatic. It is therefore crucial that forces have in place absence management schemes and occupational health and welfare support. During 1998/99 the days lost through sickness and injury were as shown in the following table (previous year in brackets).

8. The figures show an increase in days lost through sickness of just over 7% for police officers and nearly1.5% for support staff. These figures refer to non-seconded officers and support staff and, using the in-force strength at 31 March this represents 11.7 days lost per officer in 1998/99 compared with 10.7 days in 1997/98, and 13.9 days per member of support staff compared with 13.3 days last year.

9. While these figures disguise varying trends across the 8 forces it is a disappointing increase after recent improvements in sickness rates. Forces which, in the past, have given insufficient attention to sickness rates can no longer afford to do so and close attention must be paid to sound absence management practices. There is no substitute for responsible line management in an area which in 1998/99 was responsible for the loss of the equivalent of more than 700 police officers from operational duties (not including those extra officers who may be pulled away from operational duties to cover for absent support staff). The efforts of Tayside Police in securing improvement in both their police and civilian sickness figures is acknowledged. Sickness absence in the force fell by 26% for both police and support staff in 1998/99 compared with the previous year and this represents 3834 fewer days lost. HMIC welcomes the significant reduction and the commitment of the force to the effective management of sickness including the support and advice provided by the force's Occupational Health Department. This reduction is unequivocally linked to line managers taking a responsibility for the issue.