Reducing Bureaucracy
A history of reducing police bureaucracy
Find out how Sir Ronnie Flanagan's review of policing, the Policing Green Paper and the policing bureaucracy taskforce have helped shape the current work on reducing police bureaucracy.
The policing bureaucracy taskforce (2002 onwards)
This taskforce was established following publication of the police reform white paper. The government recognised that achieving an increase in police numbers alone would not in itself guarantee to deliver a more professional and high quality service to the public. It pledged to provide the means to enable police officers and support staff to work more effectively and more efficiently.
Sir David O'Dowd, the former HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary was appointed to establish and chair the policing bureaucracy taskforce. Its terms of reference were as follows:
- to reduce the bureaucratic burden on police officers
- to streamline the pressures on police time stemming from the wider criminal justice system
- to ensure that police time is not consumed in activities that could/should be undertaken by other bodies
- to make the best use of support staff to ensure that officers are not undertaking tasks that could be carried out by others within the organisation
- to ensure more consistent exploitation by forces of IT solutions and adoption of working practices that will reduce wasted time.
The taskforce carried out extensive consultation and research and on 31 July 2002, Sir David O'Dowd put forward 52 ‘change proposals’ for forces to consider. The change proposals were divided into the following distinct areas of policing, and were later seen as the foundation for reducing unnecessary bureaucracy:
- incident response and resolution
- crime recording and investigation
- intelligence handling and effective patrol
- detention management and criminal justice support
- management support.
The review of policing (Flanagan Review) (2007/08)
Sir Ronnie’s review of policing reported in two steps, an interim report in September 2007 and a final report in February 2008. The key themes emerging out of the final report were to balance necessary and unnecessary bureaucracy as well as focussing officers on doing the right things and using the right processes. Recommendations for the success of this included:
- reviewing all existing doctrine to consolidate and remove any overlaps
- reducing the amount of information routinely recorded for many crimes while retaining extensive recording for serious crimes. The new ‘streamlined’ crime recording process was trialled across four forces – Staffordshire, Leicestershire, West Midlands and Surrey
- initiating a debate surrounding risk aversion and driving culture change from the centre
- better collaborative working of the agencies currently responsible for inspecting and auditing the police
- overhauling 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)
- the adoption of standardised forms based on the minimum appropriate reporting requirements, followed by the implementation of mobile data technology over time
- a review of the RIPA codes of practice.
Many of the recommendations from the review have largely been addressed, or are in the process of being addressed and are close to completion. Greater development and flexibility in the use of PCSOs is being implemented through the recently completed tripartite PCSO review. The development of an ‘advance neighbourhood officer’ within workforce modernisation pilot sites is offering the potential for greater recognition of officers and staff who remain in neighbourhood policing teams. Workforce modernisation pilots are also going ahead and are being evaluated. The National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) are creating a 10-year workforce plan as part of its people strategy. Finally, the clearer career progression framework sought by Sir Ronnie is being addressed by the already advanced (NPIA) leadership strategy.
Policing Green Paper (July 2008)
The Policing Green Paper was published on 17 July 2008 and we received over 320 responses to the consultation. Responses generally called for the police to be less risk averse in respect to their approach to bureaucracy and that management of risk should be an important part of police culture. There was also resounding support for the government’s intention to cut red tape and free up officer time, as well as funding commitments for PCSOs and mobile data devices.
Chapter 2 of the Green Paper set out the government’s commitment to reducing bureaucracy and ensuring that the police have access to top quality information technology (IT) systems. In terms of technological advancements, the Green Paper noted the benefit of:
- mobile data devices, such as the Lantern mobile fingerprint devices
- the handheld computers British Transport Police is using to print stop and search forms
- the Mobile Information Programme.
The government announced a further £25 million investment over the next two years to support the rollout of 30,000 extra mobile devices by March 2010. It also sought to return discretion and judgement to officers so that greater focus could be placed on the issues that matter to local people. In order to drive this work, a new independent advocate (Jan Berry) has been appointed.
