HM Inspectorate of Constabulary for Scotland (HMICS) has examined how Scottish forces take account of the public’s views when setting their priorities. This choice of topic arose initially through consultation with our stakeholders. It was subsequently further endorsed by the Scottish Parliament’s Justice Committee, following its inquiry report on the effective use of police resources.
This report is the result of an inspection by HMICS into how Scottish police forces consult the public when setting their strategic priorities.
Number | Recommendation |
|---|---|
1 | That all forces develop a consultation strategy or reconsider their existing one, in light of the findings of this report. In particular, strategies must be clear about the purpose and use of all consultation going on throughout forces and their divisions and, without being overly prescriptive, should identify mechanisms for support, guidance and oversight. |
2 | That, in order to make it easier to plan, co-ordinate and rationalise exercises, each force establish a central database for maintaining the details of its consultation activities. Forces should also consider to what extent this information could be made available to all staff, the police service as a whole, partner agencies and the public. |
3 | That forces evaluate their consultation exercises as standard practice. All consultation plans should include a section describing how forces intend to evaluate their activities, while general guidance and/or sources of further guidance on conducting evaluations should be contained in force consultation strategies. |
4 | That forces move away from centrally-managed postal surveys to more direct, face-to-face consultation in local communities. In seeking alternative methods, forces should consider the merits of models such as the public reassurance strategy, and the value of community intelligence that can be derived from local community meetings and events. |