£280m of untapped savings

According to new research, the police service could save a minimum of £280 million* this year through business process improvement, minimising the impact of this week’s proposed budget cuts on frontline policing.

Data compiled by process simulation specialist Lanner Group showed that if all 43 police forces in England and Wales applied the business process improvement platform as adopted by Cambridgeshire Constabulary to core areas, including call handling, incident response, forensics and custody management, they could reap substantial efficiency gains through refined processes and better informed decision-making.

Using Lanner Group’s PRISM software as part of its internal efficiency improvement programme, Cambridgeshire Constabulary recently identified cashable savings in excess of £2.5 million and productivity savings of £4 million, with further savings earmarked across other areas of the force.

Cambridgeshire Constabulary’s aim was to review its contact centre operations, to look at how high service delivery standards could be maintained in a more efficient way. Using the software, the force was able to map all processes and variables to identify surplus capacity and process duplication and align resources precisely with demand, delivering substantial benefits.

“As we face a period of economic constraint and predicted deep budgetary cuts, PRISM is extremely valuable for any constabulary as it facilitates informed decisions around changes to service delivery,” said Sarah Dennett, programme manager, Citizen Experience, at Cambridgeshire Constabulary.

“We used the software as part of a programme to look at both our process refinement and staffing resource model recommendations within our contact centres, and were able to successfully illustrate cashable savings in excess of £2.5 million. During that same phase, we also used the software to build an enhanced appointments solution and evidenced £4 million of productivity savings, and we are currently using the software for the criminal justice unit (CJU) and custody to equal impact.”

Lanner Group believes that while efficiency-led initiatives have become intrinsic to police culture, the stringency of the proposed cuts, estimated to be in the region of 25-35 per cent, demand drastic action.

Frontline policing is unlikely to emerge unscathed, but predictions of 35,000 jobs being lost could be significantly offset through smarter working, a strategy endorsed by various industry bodies such as the CBI, the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), the Audit Commission, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) and the Wales Audit Office.

“In the past, process refinement has been synonymous with expensive consulting projects, but our simulation approach is designed to model and identify savings quickly, and with minimal investment, crucially eliminating the need for capital expenditure,” explained David Jones, CEO, Lanner Group. “£280 million is a modest indication of the savings which could be exploited through smarter use of simulation. In fact, our insight shows that the real figure could be closer to £1 billion. As the extent of cuts unfolds, and forces prepare for budgetary battle, few can afford the luxury of ignoring what are relatively easy, rich pickings of this scale.”

*£280 million is based on all 43 police forces in England and Wales replicating the approach taken by Cambridgeshire Constabulary, which resulted in £2.5 million cashable savings and £4 million confirmed productivity savings.