HOME OFFICE News
Release issued by The Government News Network on 7 February 2008
Sir Ronnie
Flanagan GBE MA
Radical changes to policing could deliver the equivalent of over
3,000 additional police officers
A new model of policing in which the police service direct their
resources specifically to areas that will have the biggest impact
on reducing harm to communities is proposed by Sir Ronnie Flanagan
today (Thursday 7 February).
Better management of resources, less paperwork and greater use of
technology could help free up valuable police time and transform
the police - giving individual officers more discretion,
delivering efficiencies, and enabling police forces to focus on
the specific threats to their communities.
Publishing his final Review of Policing report, Sir Ronnie
recommends a fundamental re-evaluation of the management and
deployment of police resources, a reduction of unnecessary
bureaucracy, a strengthening of the partnership working between
the police and other agencies and a better emphasis on local accountability.
The report estimates that between five and seven million hours a
year - the equivalent of 2,500 - 3,500 police officers - could be
refocused on front line duties if changes he recommends are made.
Key points in the review include:
Reducing bureaucracy
* Reduce the amount of information routinely recorded for many
crimes while retaining extensive recording for serious crimes -
trialling a new streamlined crime recording process across four
forces Staffordshire, Leicestershire, West Midlands and Surrey.
* Better collaborative working of the agencies currently
responsible for inspecting and auditing the police, including
HMIC, to prevent duplication and share best practice.
* Overhaul of the stop and account process - removing the form
and replacing with a 'receipt' of the encounter and a
verbal record on Airwave that an encounter has taken place (with
the person's ethnicity). This will be trialled this year.
* That the receipt based system for stop and search remain, but
be streamlined as new technology emerges.
* The adoption of standardised forms based on the minimum
appropriate reporting requirements as recommended in his interim
report needs to be followed by the implementation of mobile data
technology over time, such as handheld computers.
Managing resources
* Clearer roles for NPIA, Home Office, ACPO, APA to avoid
duplication and improve efficiency
* The Government's new Assessment of Policing and Community
Safety should focus on fewer indicators and high level priorities.
* Removing the floors and ceilings from the operation of the
police funding formula so that funding goes to the areas of
highest need.
* Temporary relief from capping for police authorities and forces
who opt for voluntary mergers to improve efficiency and delivery.
Better partnership working
* Partnership working between the police and colleagues from
local and central government that is properly integrated into
mainstream policing and that the police are fully equipped to work
effectively in partnership to enable them to deliver strong public protection.
* The successful implementation of Neighbourhood Policing should
be used as a model for this.
Greater local accountability
* Strengthening local accountability so that the public's
views are heard and their police service is responsive to their needs.
* That the citizen focus and quality of service commitment
approach be embedded in forces.
* Options for significant structural reform.
Sir Ronnie Flanagan said:
"This is an opportunity to alter the course of how we
deliver policing. We can free up valuable police time and
transform the working environment of individual officers. But
this has to be in the service of public protection.
"Police forces must be freed up from unnecessary bureaucracy
and better targeted at responding to the threats the public face
and reducing the harm caused by crime. But individual officers
and forces must be accountable for the decisions we give them the
freedom to make.
"By improving the management and deployment of resources,
exploiting technology, working in partnership with other agencies
and thus increasing productivity, the police will be better able
to manage the risks they bear on society's behalf.
"Only by creating high quality engagement and involvement
with local people can we accurately understand what matters to
communities, what their priorities are and how the police should
be targeting their efforts.
"Over the past 25 years our police service has been
transformed with many changes improving the service. But in the
process of improving the service we have also become process
bound. That is why we must address the drivers of bureaucracy. We
must strive for a police service that gives the police the
flexibility and support to act with their own professional
discretion and one that offers accountability to the public.
"The police service cannot stand still and the best customer
service and citizen engagement are critical to the delivery of
successful policing in the 21st century."
Notes to Editors
1. The report can be found on the Home Office website at http://www.police.homeoffice.gov.uk/police-reform/flanagan-police-review/
2. Sir Ronnie Flanagan's interim report on his Review of
Policing was published on 12 September 2007 and can be found at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk
3. The review was announced on 27 March 2007. The terms of
reference can be found at http://police.homeoffice.gov.uk/police-reform/flanagan-police-review
4. Sir Ronnie Flanagan is Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of
Constabulary (since 2005) and formerly chief constable of the
Royal Ulster Constabulary and the Police Service of Northern
Ireland. He was asked to conduct this independent review in his
role as the Home Secretary's senior professional adviser on policing.