Tag: Scottish Police Authority Board

All Change? Chief Constable announces plans for ‘service transformation’

Chief Constable Jo Farrell gave a wide ranging update on how Police Scotland is delivering for the public during a meeting of the Scottish Police Authority Board yesterday (Thursday 22 February).

The Chief outlined the implications of policing’s budget allocation and discussed necessary criminal justice reform and the need to reset the parameters around Police Scotland’s role in responding to mental health incidents.

CC Farrell also shone a light on policing’s response to serious offences and securing important court outcomes; seizing illegal drugs; road traffic enforcement or picking out the unsung proactive community policing and prevention we know the public values.

The Chief also discussed joint work with the Authority to progress a programme of change across policing in Scotland.

CC Farrell said: “Change can be unsettling but we are building Police Scotland from a position of strength and we must clearly explain the changes to the public – and our officers and staff – so they can be confident in their police service.

“I have asked Deputy Chief Constable Jane Connors to lead our programme of change, focused on delivering service transformation at pace, prioritising the frontline, removing back-office duplication, and creating capacity to deal with new and increasing threats.

“The change programme will inform how we shape, train, enable, equip and deploy our greatest asset – that is our workforce, our officers and staff – to best meet the evolving needs and complexities of our diverse communities at best value.

“Our primary investment will always be in police officers. As Chief Constable, entrusted with significant public funding, I have a duty to ensure I maximise the number of experienced officers available to the frontline through the right investment in non-warranted support.

“So we will carefully examine which roles can and should be done by police staff, enabling a wider range of people access to a policing career and allowing even more of our officers to return to frontline and operational policing roles.

“Our aim is – must be – to bring the frontline of Scottish policing to the strongest position possible within the resources available.

“I think that’s my duty as Chief Constable, I think it is what the Authority would expect and demand. Providing the highest possible level of safety and security with the funding available is what the people and communities of Scotland deserve and would expect.”

WATCH the meeting here

‘Hard choices’ for Police Scotland

Policing our communities update

Police Scotland has provided an update on urgent action to maintain effective policing within the funding available to the organisation.

Hard choices are being taken to deliver effective policing within the funding available and action is being taken to achieve savings, with areas which encounter the greatest demand, and which carry the greatest risk in keeping people safe, being prioritised for resources.

Deputy Chief Constable Designate Fiona Taylor QPM provided an overview of work to prioritise resources, to keep people safe and protect the vulnerable during a meeting of the Scottish Police Authority Board in Glasgow yesterday (Thursday, 28 September).

DCC Taylor said: “As we have consistently highlighted over a period of months, hard choices are being taken to deliver effective policing within the funding available and action is being taken to achieve savings, co-ordinated through the Policing Our Communities programme.

“As I outlined during last month’s Board meeting, we have paused all police support staff recruitment, except for some business-critical areas such as our contact centres and custody suites. We are also reviewing our senior officer command structures and support services.

“We have outlined a proportionate response to crime pilot in our North East (A) Division.

“The police estate is also an area where efficiencies and improvements to buildings in the wrong place or in poor condition can deliver savings and further, necessary cost reduction is planned in relation to police buildings.

“We shared our outline proposals to accelerate disposal of a further 30 police buildings with the Scottish Police Resources Committee last week and we are now developing detailed plans for that work.

“We understand and we are sensitive to community concerns around closing police buildings, but it is important to underline that, as we consolidate our estate, we now have over 60 co-locations with partners, providing more sustainable, more modern, and safer workspaces for our people.

DCC Taylor added: “Of necessity, as part of our commitment to delivering a balanced budget we are closely assessing the officer recruitment profile for the remainder of 2023-24.”

DCC Taylor underlined that Police Scotland would continue to communicate the decisions being taken to maintain effective policing within the funding available.

Police Scotland and the Scottish Police Authority, provided a joint submission to the Scottish Parliament’s Criminal Justice Committee as part of the pre-budget scrutiny process. This submission contains some estimates of police officer and staff numbers should future budgets be flat cash.

Police Scotland returns more than £200m to the public purse every year compared to legacy arrangements.

The Scottish Government’s budget for 2023-24 confirmed an £80m core funding uplift for policing, with £37m required to fund the ongoing cost of the 2022-23 pay award, leaving £43m to fund unavoidable pay and other inflationary costs for the current financial year.

Watch and listen to DCC Taylor’s update here from 31 mins and 20 seconds.