Incidents of antisocial behaviour and disorder have significantly dropped across the communities of Ayrshire and public confidence in its local policing is high, says HMICS in a report published today (Thursday, February 26).

However it found that complaints against the police were on the rise in the division and there was no appraisal system in place for constables and staff.

The report encourages the division to help local scrutiny groups understand how policing operates in Ayrshire and to improve the level of participation by partners and councillors in setting local policing priorities.

The HMICS Report, Local Policing+ Inspection of Ayrshire Division, is the second in the rolling programme under which all 14 local policing divisions of Police Scotland will be inspected to assess their state, effectiveness and efficiency. The first inspection, of Fife Division, was published in October and these inspections will provide a consistent means of assessing the quality of local policing across Scotland and highlight examples of best practice.

This latest report shows that, in line with Fife, the morale of officers and staff has been adversely affected by the pace and nature of change following the creation of Police Scotland, increasing layers of bureaucracy are a common concern and that internal communication needs to be improved.

Key performance indicators and performance targets are strongly reinforced in the division and some officers and staff felt that the emphasis on targets had unintended consequences. An example provided by officers was the use of ‘Stop and Search’, which although valued by the organisation was felt by them to be prioritised disproportionately over other valuable police work that was not measured.

This inspection follows the HMICS Crime Audit 2014 which identified Ayrshire as one of four divisions where an improvement plan for crime recording was required. That work is now in progress.

HM Inspector of Constabulary Derek Penman said: "Ayrshire Division takes in a diverse mix of communities, featuring some of the most affluent and the most deprived areas in Scotland. It has a number of challenges and we have identified areas for improvement.

"The numbers of those seriously injured on the roads in Ayrshire increased by 17% between March and October last year, the largest percentage increase in Scotland and in contrast to a reduction nationally. A focussed approach is being taken to address this and influence driver behaviour.

“The division is not complacent in addressing crime and takes a problem solving method to tackle issues as they arise. They work well with their partners in the three local authority areas and their use of social media and the relationship between their campus cops and the young people from their communities are examples of good practice.

"But we found that opportunities are being missed for wider engagement between local officers and their communities. This may be linked to the consistent demands for community policing officers to support response policing and a review of this practice forms one of our recommendations to the Divisional Commander.

"Internal communication was an issue with some officers in Ayrshire expressing the opinion that Police Scotland currently is not upholding its own values in relation to staff and they sought more face-to-face communication with their senior officers.”

The report contains a total of six recommendations - three for Police Scotland, one for the Scottish Police Authority and two for the divisional commander.

Two of the recommendations relate to external engagement with local authorities and scrutiny groups while one relates to internal engagement and the commissioning of a staff survey.

Additionally, Police Scotland should ensure relevant information about complaints is provided to local scrutiny groups and progress a consistent national performance and appraisal system.

The Divisional Commander should also review the roles of community and response policing teams and take into account the views of officers, staff and stakeholders while doing so.

Mr Penman added: “As a consequence of our inspection, we will expect that Police Scotland will take forward our recommendations and the relevant good practice is shared across Scotland to promote continuous improvement.

“Local policing is a fundamental part of Police Reform and requires cooperation between the police, local authorities, partners and communities to reduce crime and disorder and increase confidence. Local policing divisions must engage effectively with their communities to understand and meet their needs and concerns.

“Differences across the 14 local policing divisions present opportunities for learning, improvement and maximising efficiency and effectiveness.”

The next in the HMICS series of Local Policing+ Inspections, of Aberdeen Division, will be published in May.

http://hmics.org/publications/hmics-local-policing-inspection-programme-...