This inspection looked at the way police forces in Scotland engage with, and provide feedback to, members of the public who call the police to report something,whether or not it is a crime.
It examined the policies, practices and procedures which forces have in place to:
- negotiate the type of police response to the call;
- inform callers of police action taken in response to the call, once this has been completed (i.e. provide feedback); and
- assess callers’ levels of satisfaction with the feedback they receive.
Number | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
1 | That forces agree a national approach to user surveys to explore the needs of all service users, their satisfaction with the services received and the service improvements needed to increase user satisfaction. | Closed |
2 | That all forces publish details of the service that members of the public can expect to receive when they call the police. In order to promote a consistency across the Service that nevertheless acknowledges local force variations in service delivery, we propose that this take the form of a national minimum standard agreed by ACPOS that can then be tailored to take account of local differences. Publications should be sufficiently detailed that the public can understand what the police can and cannot do in various circumstances. | Closed |
3 | That the Scottish Government together with the relevant criminal justice agencies consider a review of all information services provided by the criminal justice system to crime victims and witnesses, with a view to co-ordinating the information flow to victims in a way that respects the respective duties of different agencies but minimises the burden and uncertainty for victims and witnesses. | Closed |
4 | That all forces have clear internal guidance on dealing with members of the public. This should focus on quality of service and with a specific requirement to manage expectations and provide feedback about progress as necessary. This guidance should set out the entire process for dealing with service users, from beginning to end, and define the relationships between the various parts of that process. Appropriate systems to promote compliance will be required. | Closed |
5 | That the appraisal systems/performance development reviews for all police officers and police staff be amended to include an assessment of both the quality of service delivered by the individual and any associated training needs. | Closed |
6 | That selection arrangements for all staff who will come into contact with the public should seek not just good communication skills but also a strong customer focus. | Closed |
7 | That forces work with the Scottish Police Services Authority (SPSA) to ensure that all | Closed |
8 | That, in developing new IT solutions for police functions, improving the quality of service provided to the public is one of the primary business benefits of all new systems. There should be a particular emphasis on using mobile phone technology and e-mail to supplement existing methods of communicating with the public and reduce demand on operational officers. | Closed |