Staffordshire PEEL 2017

Staffordshire Police has many effective practices in place designed to help it understand the demand on its services. For example, it shares data with other organisations to understand communities that may have less trust and confidence in the police. This provides valuable insight into patterns of offending that might otherwise have remained hidden. However, there is evidence that the volume of calls that the contact centre receives is outstripping the available resources. This means that some calls are not answered. Another consequence is that the force has an incomplete understanding of the demand for its services. Effective processes, such as digital mapping, are in place to identify inefficiencies and improve the force’s work. This will also include a diagnostic tool known as the model office, which the force intends will enable it to test new initiatives before it puts them into practice. The force is committed to responding to ideas from the workforce in terms of innovation and change. We heard several examples of tangible improvements that have been introduced as a result.

Staffordshire Police is developing its understanding of the current and future skills and capabilities of its workforce. It has used external consultants to develop this understanding beyond the operational skills of the workforce; the process of identifying the standards of leadership required for each role in the force is underway. Through external recruitment and use of contemporary selection techniques, such as psychometric testing, it is creating promotion processes directed towards the skills and capabilities that it requires.

The force has introduced a new leadership passport and development course, although these initiatives are only in their early stages. In deciding its operational priorities, the force takes into account both national policing requirements and local priorities, which it assesses through analysis and consulting the community. This enables the force to allocate resources intelligently to different areas. It uses the THRIVE model that assesses the harm or risks to which individuals may be exposed so that it can provide the service that meets their specific needs.

The force ensures it possesses a strong base of evidence for its investments through its established benefits realisation process. This gives the force a clear understanding of the success of its investments. The force continues to demonstrate a strong commitment to joint work with public and private-sector partners. It is open to collaborative agreements with other police forces where the business case for doing so is clear. Staffordshire Police actively seeks opportunities to improve its service externally. The development of academic links with local universities also helps to introduce modern and innovative ways of working into the force.

Detailed analysis has improved the force’s understanding both of current and future demand. However, the base of evidence on which it relies for this analysis is only partially complete because of the volume of calls from the public that are not being answered. The force has a strong track record in making the best use of opportunities in technology, for example, in the use of mobile data terminals. Specialist capabilities within its digital intelligence team are helping it to meet the evolving challenges of online offending and computer-based crime.

The force continues to have close and constructive working relationships with other public and private-sector organisations. The force could do more to develop leadership opportunities more widely. These opportunities are weighted more towards police officers than towards police staff. We found evidence of the force using external recruitment to strengthen the overall capabilities of the leadership, including the engagement of specialists to develop its talent enablement strategy. However, the force could make greater use of some national selection programmes that offer opportunities to recruit talented individuals directly into senior ranks.

The force has made significant progress in developing its future plans. However, further work is needed to ensure that the plans represent fully the required savings that budgetary forecasts have identified. Although the force’s assumptions underpinning the current financial plans are prudent, plans to achieve the required savings are not fully formulated. The force’s finance department also continues to suffer from a lack of capacity.