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Our inspection
Introduction
1. HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS) has committed to a thematic inspection of Operational Support Division (OSD) during the period of our Scrutiny Plan 2022-2025. OSD is a national division within Police Scotland that provides a number of different specialist services across the country.
2. Before publishing our scrutiny plan, we conducted a consultation and engaged in discussion with key stakeholders and partners. The main themes that emerged during our scrutiny planning consultation were road policing, air support and armed policing. During the scoping for this inspection, it became apparent that it would be beneficial to adopt a phased approach. The first phase of our inspection will focus on road policing.
Aim
3. The aim of this thematic inspection will be to assess the state, effectiveness and efficiency of road policing arrangements in Scotland.
Background
4. Road policing services across Scotland are delivered by local policing officers, and by officers and staff from the road policing department. The road policing department is part of OSD and provides a wide range of specialist road policing functions across Scotland.
5. In 2014, only 10 months after the creation of Police Scotland, HMICS conducted a Thematic Inspection of road policing in Scotland. This inspection made five recommendations to Police Scotland and one recommendation to the Scottish Police Authority.
6. In 2020, HMICFRS published Roads policing: Not optional An inspection of roads policing in England and Wales. This report found that the importance of roads policing in England and Wales had been in decline for some years with less enforcement of drink/drug driving and seatbelt offences, along with an increase in deaths attributed to these offences. The report made 13 recommendations to improve the effectiveness of roads policing in England and Wales.
7. The Police Scotland Strategic Threat and Risk Assessment (STRA) 2023/28 document aims to ‘provide a risk based assessment of the threat, risk and harm, complexity of demand and organisational challenges/opportunities facing Police Scotland to inform the Operational and Organisational Policing Priorities and recommendations’. The STRA states that Police Scotland remains committed to working with key partners to reduce those killed or seriously injured as a result of road traffic collisions, by targeting the identified contributory factors and priority risk groups.
8. In 2021, Transport Scotland published Scotland’s Road Safety Framework to 2030, which set out an ambitious long term goal for road safety where no one dies or is seriously injured by 2050. This framework states that road safety will remain a key priority for Police Scotland, and that senior police officers are involved in the Strategic Partnership Board, which was established to govern the framework.
9. The road safety framework identified speed, motorcyclists, pre-drivers, young drivers, older drivers, cyclists and pedestrians as the priority focus areas for further consideration.
10. Our inspection will seek to establish how effectively Police Scotland is contributing to the STRA and to the road safety framework, as well as to local policing plans across Scotland.
11. We will seek to examine how enforcement and preventative approaches are being best used to make Scotland’s roads safer. We will also consider how effectively technology and innovation are being used.
12. In order to gain an understanding of local road policing related activity, we will look at road policing services in 3 contrasting local policing divisions, namely North East, Greater Glasgow and Fife Divisions.
Thematic inspection of road policing in Scotland – Terms of Reference scope
13. This thematic inspection will be undertaken by HMICS in terms of the Section 74(2)(a) of the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012.
14. The intention is to assess the state, effectiveness and efficiency of road policing arrangements in Scotland. This will involve an assessment of the effectiveness of the provision of road safety and road crime related policing services.
15. We will assess how effectively the organisation is addressing the biggest dangers people face whilst driving, namely seatbelts, drink, drugs, speeding and use of mobile phones. We will also assess the policing of the road network to tackle criminals who are using the road network to facilitate crimes, such as the distribution of controlled drugs.
16. The inspection will also consider the extent to which the Scottish Police Authority has exercised proportionate, accountable and transparent governance over road policing issues, and how it has held the Chief Constable to account.
Exclusions from scope
17. The first phase of our inspection will not consider the other OSD business areas, as follows:
- Events and Emergency Resilience Planning
- Specialist Services
18. The relationship between the road policing department and other business areas in addressing road safety and road crime will, however, be considered.
Objectives and outcomes
19. The intended outcomes from the inspection, and its publication, are to assess:
- How effectively Police Scotland prioritises and addresses road safety and road crime related issues.
- How effectively Police Scotland collaborates with key stakeholders to address road safety and road crime related issues.
- Whether Police Scotland’s road and local policing officers and staff have the capacity, capability, equipment and technology to effectively address road safety and road crime related issues.
- How effective the road policing department’s processes are to attract, recruit, train, support and retain a diverse team of officers and staff.
User Perspective
20. As set out in the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010, HMICS has a duty to demonstrate continuous improvement in user focus, i.e. involving users in the scrutiny process. We will endeavour to obtain the perspective of key stakeholder groups through self-evaluation and consultation. HMICS will engage directly with Police Scotland officers and staff, the Scottish Police Authority and partner agencies.
21. Organisations who provide support to people who use Scotland's roads are a valuable conduit in obtaining and understanding road user experience across Scotland. HMICS will engage directly with such organisations to gain their perspective and those of road users.
Methodology
22. We will use the latest HMICS Inspection Framework which is based on the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) Excellence Model and Best Value characteristics. The Inspection Framework will provide a structure to our inspection which will be risk based, proportionate and focused on improving the delivery of policing in Scotland. We will structure our inspection around our objectives and three themes:
- Leadership and Vision
- Delivery
- Outcomes
23. Between January 2024 and May 2024 we will:
- Liaise regularly with Police Scotland through the identified single point of contact for HMICS, who will support the inspection process and facilitate appropriate access to people and information, and maintain ongoing engagement with other key stakeholders.
- Conduct benchmarking activities with other UK police services to identify examples of innovation and good practice.
- Issue a self-evaluation to Police Scotland.
- Analyse the completed self-evaluation and evidence provided and consider relevant documentation in the public domain. Where possible we will minimise the amount of further documents requested, but this will depend on the quality of evidence provided in the self-evaluation. Additional requests may emerge during the course of the inspection.
- Conduct a document review of relevant police strategy, policies, procedural guidance and multi-agency arrangements.
- Conduct interviews and focus groups with staff and representatives from organisations engaged in supporting people who use Scotland’s roads to understand their lived experience.
- Conduct interviews and focus groups with key members of Police Scotland officers and staff.
- Examine and analyse other relevant material/data available from Police Scotland or other stakeholders which captures the experiences of people who use Scotland’s roads.
Publication and reporting timescales
24. We anticipate publishing a report of our findings in summer 2024. Our report will be published in terms of Section 79 of the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012. A copy of the report will also be provided to the Chief Constable, the Scottish Police Authority, the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and will be laid before the Scottish Parliament. A copy will also be made publicly available on the HMICS website.
25. For further information about the thematic inspection of road policing in Scotland, please contact Brian McInulty, Lead Inspector brian.mcinulty@hmic.gov.scot.