ACPOS states position on police reform

The Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS) has called on the Scottish Executive to work with the police service to create a realistic timescale for policing reform north of the border.

At its annual conference last week, Kevin Smith, president of ACPOS, told delegates that police authorities, forces and the Scottish government must work together and take into consideration all the details obtained in its consultation to reform the police service before deciding on a new model, be it one single force, three forces or the current system of eight forces.

He said: “The pace of change must be determined, first, by the size and complexity of the change and, second, by due diligence, good governance and strong leadership, both political and professional, and not simply by time-scales of the parliamentary process, as important as that may be.

“The date of April 2013 has been muted. That’s less than two years away, two summer holidays, two Christmases. So my call to Scottish government, whether your decision is for one, three or eight with enhanced collaboration, work with us to set time-scales that are realistic and achievable. Strong political and professional leadership, effective governance and sound programme management should determine a timescale that takes account of the size and complexity of the task; that ensures we get the maximum benefit from reform; that takes account of the risks involved; that will allow Scottish government to achieve its manifesto commitment while allowing us to continue to deliver our excellent performance during the delivery of change.”

ACPOS added that so far there has been no evidence or detail around national or regional accountability for any of the three proposed reforms. Mr Smith added that the new arrangements for accountability and governance, at both national and local level under the three options, need to be drafted and subject to scrutiny and consultation, and they cannot be left as “just another task to be done once the decision has been made”.

However, to do this, all the differing perspectives must be taken into account to ensure that whatever model is put in place provides good governance, strong levels of accountability, operational responsibility for chief constables or even one chief constable, at the local, regional and national level, while maintaining clear blue water between police and politics.

In summary, ACPOS called on the Scottish executive to ensure three things are well considered and developed:

•That the draft outline business case, which will provide a consistent financial and economic assessment of the three options, is available for all to see and understand before a decision is made. That should include costs of change and the potential savings to be made and how that sits with maintaining police numbers and police staff;

•That due account is taken of what people, the public and ACPOS have said through the consultation process before a decision is made and that due account is taken of the issues that need to be addressed; and

•Before committing to any reformed model, politicians, police, public and all people with a stake in policing, understand the arrangements for governance and accountability.

“Whatever decision is made, there is going to be significant reform and you, the leaders of the service, must have a significant influence on how we lead and manage that,” said Mr Smith.

“It can only be done by people who understand the complexities of delivering policing locally and nationally; who understand the differences between urban, semi-rural, rural and island policing; who know about policing but understand complex business change; who can continue to deliver excellent policing as business as usual while delivering change; who can lead and take us forward.”