Force management statement: Guidance and template for forces

Published on: 5 October 2022

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Introduction

A force management statement (FMS) is a self-assessment that chief constables (and London equivalents) prepare and give to HMICFRS each year. It is central to forces’ strategic, financial and workforce planning processes. The FMS has 12 sections. In ten of these sections, four steps must be followed:

  1. current and projected demand: the demand the force is currently facing, as well as demand it expects to face in the next four years;
  2. workforce assessment: the performance, condition, capacity, capability, well-being, serviceability and security of supply of the force’s workforce and non-workforce assets, and the extent to which current force assets will be able to meet expected future demand;
  3. prioritisation and planning: how the force will change and improve its workforce, policies, practices and other assets to cope with future demand; and
  4. risk management: the risks that have been identified because of demand that can’t be met, how these will be mitigated and the effect you expect this to have.

Purpose of this document

This document provides guidance on completing the FMS. It also contains the FMS template.

We describe our requirements for FMSs and make clear any changes from previous guidance. We won’t publish a revised FMS template unless the basis of FMSs has changed. If we do need to change the requirements of FMSs, we will give police forces at least six months’ notice before we expect them to follow any new guidance or template. During this time, we will still accept FMSs submitted using the previous guidance and template.

Purpose of the FMS

We need the information in the FMS:

  • to inform our inspections of forces’ efficiency, effectiveness and legitimacy;
  • to inform our thematic inspections;
  • to supplement our monitoring of forces’ performance; and
  • to inform HM Chief Inspector’s ‘Annual State of Policing’ report.

The FMS will help identify areas of risk to the force. This will, in turn, inform the focus and depth of our inspections.

Many forces are also using the FMS in their strategic planning to inform their:

  • strategic priorities;
  • financial planning and resource allocation;
  • strategic workforce planning; and
  • change programmes.

The FMS should be completed annually and must be with us by the last Friday in May. If it is complete before this date, you can send it to us sooner.

Principles for completing the template

Please give a clear, concise, focused analysis of the main concerns in each of the 12 sections in the template. If you think that including supporting material would be beneficial, include the relevant information rather than leave it out. This will make sure we understand the evidence underpinning your FMS and will help clarify what demand your force currently faces. While we don’t specify how your information should be presented, the FMS must include all sections and follow the four steps.

The importance of data and analysis

We require data and evidence to support any analysis presented in the FMS. Any data you have used should be available to us if we need it. The FMS should focus on an informed analysis of future demand for services, an estimation of the extent to which you will meet that demand, and an assessment of the expected effect of any planned change. You should show the difference between changes in demand and changes in workload. Include any information from local partner organisations that gives insight into areas of multi-agency service delivery and hidden demand. If you are unable to get the relevant information from partner agencies, please state this briefly in your FMS.

The FMS should highlight technology, science and innovation

Throughout your FMS, you should outline how you intend to use science, innovation and technology to deal with demand, increase efficiency, and improve ability and capability.

The FMS should show:

  • the types of science, technology and innovation the force intends to adopt;
  • how you anticipate this affecting your future demand and performance; and
  • how you intend to measure the benefits.

Consider collecting information from your force’s research and innovation lead.

Structure of an FMS

There are two parts to an FMS.

Part 1: a summary

This should include the main findings from the information in the FMS as well as the decisions you are making based on these findings. It should also contain a summary of the risk assessments for each section. At the end of this summary, there is a declaration that covers the whole FMS. The chief constable (or London equivalent) must sign this declaration. The FMS must include a strategic risk assessment summary in the first section of the FMS.

Part 2: twelve FMS sections

All these sections are mandatory, except for the last section on collaboration, which you only need to complete if it is relevant. The template has instructions on what information you should include in each section. You should include a strategic risk assessment of the topic discussed in each section. You must use all the section headings. If you have other sections, please put these at the end of your FMS. If one section asks for information that might also appear in another, please just refer us to the relevant section to avoid repetition. You must fill in each section to present a full picture of the demand the force faces. If you have any reservations about the completeness or quality of the information you are giving us, please tell us in the relevant section and explain why. This will help us as we continue to develop the FMS.

Force management statement template

Part 1: Summary

Please cover the key issues highlighted in your force management statement (FMS). This information should clearly show the greatest risks to your force and the expected consequences of addressing or tolerating them. Then, please supply an overall statement on the findings of your assessment of the force. This should identify themes and summarise the highest priorities.

There is no need to supply a force history or descriptions of force-specific issues (such as seasonal variation). You don’t need to include sections of the police and crime plan, maps, photographs or too many infographics.

Declaration

(To be signed by chief constable/Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police/Commissioner of the City of London Police)

This is the force management statement (FMS) for [name of police force]. Except where stated otherwise, the information in this statement is complete and accurate in all material respects.

Signed:

Date:

Strategic risk assessment summary

Your strategic risk assessment should be an assessment of the demand you expect to deal with in the next four years, and the status of your workforce and other assets. It should also indicate the areas of highest concern for the force. The risk assessment should be colour coded to provide a visual summary of the risks identified in your FMS, and should be accompanied by a qualitative narrative. We don’t mandate a single method of strategic risk assessment for the FMS.

You should consider how you will meet demand both now and in the future, and the status of your workforce and other assets. The summary should cover every section of your FMS. It should include an assessment of the risk of harm to the public due to unmet demand. You may provide this as a narrative to accompany the strategic risk assessment.

As with previous FMSs, you can use whichever risk assessment techniques, scoring and visual presentations you believe work best for your force within these criteria. You should present a consolidated summary of the strategic risk assessments for each section of the FMS.

Part 2: FMS sections

Our FMS has 12 sections. You must follow the four steps below for each FMS section, apart from section 1 on finance and section 2 on well-being.

The four steps

Step 1: current and projected demand – establish the difference between current demand and the demand that you expect in the next four years

In this step, you should establish your expected demand for the next four years and identify the difference between current and future demand. Your demand assessments should demonstrate an effective understanding of demand. You should identify major changes that could significantly affect demand on your force and making a judgment on their likelihood and effect.

In step 1, we are asking you to include:

  • projections for the next four full financial years (shown as year-on-year projections for each financial year, particularly for areas showing the most significant expected change, or that are priorities or higher risk) – we understand that these projections may change if new circumstances arise, so please include an indication of the confidence you have in the projected data;
  • an explanation of the level of demand the force expects to deal with in the next four years;
  • information about major changes from agencies likely to be aware of hidden demand that the force doesn’t formally record (for example, joint strategic needs assessments, local hospitals, ambulance service, children’s homes, mental health agencies and local authority plans);
  • a description of the method(s) used for demand projection (in a technical appendix); and
  • an explanation of any significant changes in trends, for example modifications to Home Office Counting Rules or forces’ crime recording practices.

Your assessment of demand should be evidence-led. It should draw on existing data your force holds and support any observations made relating to demand. We suggest for each area of demand forces supply:

  • a graph and table showing past trends (from the previous three to four years), your projection and assessment of the future within the next four years, and your statement of how confident you are in your assessment;
  • a short and clear explanation of what the graph is showing, what is causing the underlying trend, and why and how it might change in the future; and
  • a statement of the difference between current and future demand – please tell us if the period referred to is shorter than the four-year statistical projection.

We don’t mandate a single method of projection. We encourage forces to predict events that might disrupt trends and incorporate this information into their modelling whenever possible. You will improve your forecast further by predicting changes to the operating environment identified by futures scanning. Some forces refer to this as horizon or futures scanning and adopt the PESTELO (political, economic, social, technological, environmental, legal and organisational) approach, or others.

It is important you identify and prioritise problems that represent the greatest risk to the standard and resilience of the service your force provides. It is therefore worth giving more detail in a few areas where your assessment suggests there will be a major effect on future demand, as well as those areas that require the highest level of risk management. You should include charts and tables for areas that show the most significant expected change, are higher risk or are a priority for the force. We want you to focus on assessing the evidence that you are using to inform decision-making.

Step 2: workforce assessment – establish the status of both workforce and non-workforce assets: performance, condition, capacity, capability, well-being, serviceability and security of supply

Step 2 of an FMS asks you to assess the status of your workforce and non-workforce assets, and how these assets affect your performance. In doing so, you should aim to demonstrate an understanding of the workforce profile.

In step 2, we are asking you to include:

  • the capacity of the workforce and other assets – whether the workforce and other assets can meet current and future demand;
  • the capability of the workforce – strengths and weaknesses in workforce skills, and the extent to which those skills are likely to meet the demand the force faces and will face in future;
  • the well-being and serviceability of the workforce and other assets – what it takes in money, time and effort to look after the workforce and other assets, to make sure people are fit, mentally and physically, to work at their best (for example, training and professional capability; initiatives to improve resilience; improvements in supervision, efficiency and effectiveness; sickness levels; diversity information; and the results of well-being surveys);
  • the condition of the workforce and other assets (for example, physical fitness or limitations, professional attainments, and seniority for the workforce; or the state of a non-workforce asset in relation to its appearance, quality or working order);
  • security of supply – how resilient capacity is in terms of meeting demand;
  • whether you are currently achieving expected or accepted performance, and how you are monitoring this, referring to standardised performance frameworks when making this assessment (for instance, when considering how well your force responds to requests for service, you should consider the national standards for forces in England, Wales and Northern Ireland for answering 999 and 101 calls); and
  • how the force is performing in comparison to previous years, its most similar group and against other forces in England and Wales – include victim or user satisfaction data when relevant (this gives an indication of the level of service provided to victims and those who contact the police) as well as public confidence data (this provides information around wider confidence in local policing).

Step 3: prioritisation and planning – explain what you will do to make sure your workforce and other assets can meet the demand you are expecting. Describe the expected effect of planned changes and how you will monitor them

In step 3, we ask you to set out what you will do differently with your current workforce and other assets to manage the difference between current and future demand identified in step 1.

In step 3, we are asking you to include:

  • the decisions you have taken to manage the difference between current and future demand throughout the force as a whole;
  • the set of agreed actions the force will take, and how those actions are expected to close the gap – you should set out when you expect to implement these changes;
  • if you have already implemented changes that have yet to influence demand, how you expect these changes to close the gap;
  • how you intend to use science, technology and innovation to improve policing;
  • what you plan to do to support or improve performance and service delivery; and
  • what you can do within your existing budgets over the next few years to improve your operation by doing things differently or more efficiently.

You should also state any major proposed changes in policy here. There may be interdependencies to consider; for instance, the risk of reducing costs in one area creating higher costs elsewhere, or conflicts with corporate policies or the police and crime commissioner’s priorities.

Step 4: risk management – estimate the extent of future demand that you expect to be met having made the changes and efficiencies in step 3. You should state any demand that you expect to be unmet and what the consequences of not meeting it are expected to be

Step 4 requires you to state how much of the gap you expect to remain for each FMS section after you have implemented the changes identified in step 3.

In step 4, we are asking you to include:

  • the demand you will meet because of the changes identified in step 3;
  • the demand that will remain unmet;
  • the decisions your chief officer group has made to tolerate or mitigate the effect of unmet demand; and
  • the expected effect of those decisions.

You should name any demand that you can’t meet or plan to tolerate. You should state what it is and what steps you are taking to minimise the associated risks.

Section 1: Finance

This section is about your force’s current financial position, the projected changes in income and expenditure, any financial gaps in funding the changes proposed in the FMS and how you propose to fill them. You don’t need to follow the four steps for this section.

Your medium-term financial plan should give you most of the information. Please consider the revenue plans and where you will make investments or savings. Please consider the capital plans and any critical interdependencies that may affect the force’s plans. When discussing how you are using reserves, you may need to refer to your police efficiency, effectiveness and legitimacy inspection data for the outturn reserves for the preceding financial year to identify your net revenue expenditure. And you may need to consider how this compares with your earlier forecast of that position.

Earlier FMSs described forces’ medium-term financial planning in detail. But the link between operational decisions and financial planning hasn’t always been clear. We are asking you to include a summary of the estimated financial costs associated with the decisions described in each section of the FMS. You should demonstrate how you are using financial resources to meet your priorities, make sure your assets are fit for purpose, and maintain or improve performance.

This section should also outline your medium-term financial planning, in three main aspects.

Aspect 1: current financial position

This is an organisation-wide financial assessment. It should include an assessment of your force’s current and future financial needs, alongside any changes in how much income you think your force will get.

Aspect 2: projected changes in income and expenditure

This is your assessment of the financial implications of future demand. Please compare this with the budget you expect to get and the resources that budget makes available. (For example, increases in pay could mean reductions in officer and staff numbers.) We have designed the FMS to demonstrate what you have done and will do to make efficiency savings, and the extent these actions will help close any gap between demand and financial resources.

Aspect 3: financial gaps to fund changes

This is how you propose to mitigate or manage any major financial risks.

Your financial statement should include the main findings from your most recent external audit report. You must include any references by the external auditor about the financial resilience of the force.

Section 2: Well-being

This section is about your force’s overall approach to the well-being of the people who work in it. You don’t need to follow the four steps for this section.

You need to give us:

  • an overall assessment of your force’s well-being and how you expect it to change; and
  • an assessment of the resources dedicated to understanding well-being, such as a force occupational health unit, and how progress is tracked in this area.

You might also consider how your force uses the Blue Light Wellbeing Framework in this section.

Section 3a: Responding to the public – requests for service

This section is about how you deal with people who request a service from the police, especially emergency or urgent responses. It also includes how the public contact you through other means, such as emails or the front desk. You should include specific information about:

  • 999 calls;
  • 101 calls;
  • email and online contact; and
  • front desk enquiries.

Section 3b: Responding to the public – incident response

This section is about how you respond to incidents, including when you don’t deploy a resource. You should include information on:

  • emergency attendance;
  • priority attendance;
  • attendance that doesn’t fit into the emergency or priority categories; and
  • resource not deployed.

Section 4: Prevention and deterrence (including neighbourhood policing)

This section is about preventative functions, including how you deal with community-based activities to reduce crime and antisocial behaviour and make the community more confident in the police. In this section, please supply information on:

  • preventative activities;
  • antisocial behaviour and an assessment of antisocial behaviour-related activity;
  • alcohol-related crime and offending related to the night-time economy;
  • stop and search;
  • use of force; and
  • action taken to make sure treatment of the public is fair (this relates closely to police legitimacy and overall public confidence).

Section 5: Investigations

This section is about investigations and the workload and resource requirements arising from crime. If you have included this information in other sections, you don’t need to repeat it here. It should include:

  • investigative departments;
  • digital and online crime investigation;
  • intelligence;
  • custody;
  • forensic services;
  • criminal justice department;
  • information relating to outcomes and crime recording standards; and
  • crime not dealt with elsewhere in the FMS.

Section 6: Protecting vulnerable people

This section is about how your force identifies and safeguards vulnerable people and investigates offences against them. This doesn’t include the first response to calls for service discussed in section 3. If you have included this information in other sections, you don’t need to repeat it here.

In 2023, the Home Office reviewed the Strategic Policing Requirement and included violence against women and girls offences. If you have stated your approach to the Strategic Policing Requirement in other sections, you don’t need to repeat this here.

The offence categories should include, but not be confined to:

Section 7: Managing offenders

This section is about the workload and resourcing needs created by managing people convicted of offences and/or who present a risk to others. These include:

  • registered sex offenders;
  • repeat offenders; and
  • anyone the force is managing because of its own assessment and analysis.

Section 8: Managing serious and organised crime

The Government defines serious and organised crime as individuals planning, co-ordinating and committing serious offences, whether individually, in groups and/or as part of transnational networks. Refer to the National Strategic Assessment, your force’s assessment and the regional strategic intelligence assessment to consider your capacity and capability against serious and organised crime threats. If you have included this information in other sections, you don’t need to repeat it here.

This section of your FMS should include, but not be confined to:

  • child sexual abuse and sexual exploitation;
  • modern slavery and human trafficking;
  • organised immigration crime;
  • firearms;
  • drugs, including county lines activity;
  • organised acquisitive crime (for example, theft, robbery and burglary);
  • money laundering;
  • fraud;
  • illicit finance;
  • cyber crime; and
  • serious violence, gang and knife crime.

Section 9: Major events

This section covers civil emergencies, public order, armed policing, roads policing, terrorism, national cyber incidents and the Strategic Policing Requirement.

To help your understanding of demand, you should draw on:

If you have outlined your approach to the Strategic Policing Requirement in other sections, you don’t need to repeat this here. Under terrorism, please consider factors that will affect decisions made by your force, such as Prevent or armed policing. We don’t need you to assess your regional counter-terrorism unit.

We understand that the risk from these threats varies, and your FMS may need to be based on preparedness to respond. If you have covered your approach in a separate section, that section should outline how you meet the Strategic Policing Requirement.

Section 10: Knowledge management and IT

This section is about how your intelligence, information and IT assets make your force more efficient and effective, now and in the future. It should cover how useful, correct, prompt and secure your data and information are, and the systems and processes you use to gather, store, process, analyse and use information. This section should include, but not be confined to:

  • intelligence functions;
  • performance management and the provision of management information;
  • an assessment of your analytical capability;
  • your plans to improve efficiency, effectiveness and productivity through your force’s use of science, technology and innovation; and
  • implementing the Information and Records Management Code.

Section 11: Force-wide functions

This section is about the functions of your force that you haven’t covered in other sections. You should use this section to provide more information on any workforce pressures facing the force. This section should include, but not be confined to:

  • HR functions;
  • learning and development functions;
  • professional standards functions, for which you may want to draw on your counter-corruption threat assessment;
  • environment and sustainability matters, as well as any related financial, logistical and operational pressures; and
  • any other departments with existing or predicted risk or demand pressures.

You can present this section as an overall assessment or discuss each function separately.

Section 12: Partnership working and collaboration

After the first FMS, some forces asked us to include a section on collaboration. Some collaborations may generate their own workload, or have resources dedicated to making the collaboration work. You can use section 12, if you need it, to tell us about the benefits and drawbacks of working in collaboration, and the resources it requires. You don’t need to tell us about the work your units carry out through collaboration, as you will have covered that elsewhere.

Change log

21 October 2024

  • Updated the FMS guidance to combine the guidance and template into one document.
  • Information added to highlight the need for forces to consider how they use science, technology and innovation to meet demand.
  • The four steps of the guidance were updated to refocus on risk management, prioritisation and planning.

Back to publication

Force management statement: Guidance and template for forces

Last updated: 22 October 2024