Human Resources

Police efficiency and productivity

These pages provide information on improving police efficiency and productivity for the police services in forces across England and Wales.

The tougher financial settlement for the comprehensive spending review (CSR) period requires both police authorities and forces to make the best use of resources, with a continuing commitment to achieve significant cost savings in efficiency and productivity. The police service should see resource management as a core responsibility to deliver sustainable improvement.

Efficiency and Productivity Strategy for the Police Service 2008-11

On 12 February 2008, the Home Office - working with stakeholders including the Association of Police Authorities (APA) and Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) - published a tripartite agreed efficiency and productivity strategy for the police service for 2008-11, which also incorporated a technical note and guidance on local policing plans.

The strategy sets out the overall target for efficiency and productivity improvements across the police service in England and Wales, and creates a framework for the service to make the improvements happen. Delivery of the overall target is the responsibility of the Home Office. The Green Paper - From The Neighbourhood To The National: Policing Our Communities Together (new window) - announced substantial changes to the performance management system for the police service. As a result the overall target for which the Home Office is responsible will no longer be split into individual centrally set efficiency and productivity targets for authorities and their forces. Police authorities will be expected to agree ambitious local targets and to hold their forces to account for delivering sufficient improvements.

Workshops

Paragraph 8 of the strategy explains that the efficiency and productivity elements in the Local Policing Plans would be reviewed by forces and authorities in workshop sessions in order to provide constructive feedback.

Five regional efficiency and productivity workshops for police forces and authorities took place at London, Manchester, Wakefield, Gloucester and Ryton in April and May 2008. There was lively participation by delegates from every police authority and force.

Each event started with a plenary session opened by a keynote speaker from APA or ACPO, followed by an open Q&A session. Delegates then went into syndicate sessions, where each authority and force made presentations about efficiency and productivity in the context of their local policing plans.The presentations were followed by challenging discussion and exchange of ideas. A final session allowed delegates to consider how the tri-partite partners could further support the delivery of efficiency and productivity gains and what future workshops should cover.

Presentations made by forces and authorities at the workshops are available to read in the Efficiency and Productivity Forum (new window).

Key actions for the police service 2008/09

• improving efficiency and productivity by making better use of resources must become a core responsibility for all involved in policing, from police constables to chief constables and commissioners; for all staff from PCSOs to finance directors and for police authority chairs, members, chief executives and treasurers. The Home Office, Association of Police Authorities (APA), and Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) must also treat it as a core responsibility. The National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) will play a key role.
• forces and authorities will produce three-year local policing plans setting out how they will deliver their national and local priorities. The plans will need to explain how forces will make the necessary efficiency and productivity increases.
• there is a lot of good work already happening across the service. We must encourage this good practice and make sure it spreads across the service. We must also ensure that we manage and share this knowledge, for the benefit of all 43 authorities and forces.

The Police Workforce, Efficiency and Finance Strategy Group is the national sponsor of the efficiency and productivity strategy. The group includes representatives from the Home Office, ACPO, APA, NPIA, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC), the Audit Commission and HM Treasury.

A tripartite police service strategy for 2004/05 to 2007/08 was agreed in 2004 and planning guidance was issued to support that strategy. Efficiency planning workshops facilitated by the Home Office have been held from 2005. Guidance and toolkits arising from the workshops have been supporting forces with their force efficiency plans.

The Audit Commission and the Wales Audit Office have assessed police use of resources (PURE) to identify whether police authorities and forces are achieving value for money, effective financial management and good standards of governance and accountability. 

This is the second year that the assessments have been carried out, and the latest report 'Police Use of Resources 2006/07 – Summary Results' is available from the Audit Commission website (new window).

The report of 2005/06 identified how authorities and forces could improve value for money. This year’s report indicates that some authorities and forces are starting to address these improvement areas by working collaboratively with other authorities and local partners, generating efficiency savings. We are sure that police authorities and forces will find the recommendations useful as they develop their efficiency and productivity plans.

Sir Ronnie Flanagan's review of policing has challenged the police service to manage its resources effectively. Work has already started in many areas, from creating a better workforce mix, creating shared services in HR and finance, a more efficient procurement practice, business process re-engineering and demand management. Some examples include:

National workforce modernisation programme

The NPIA/ACPO national workforce modernisation programme currently manages eleven demonstration sites across the country, which will demonstrate new and more efficient ways of working. An independent evaluation of this process is also being conducted. The programme will focus on the positive things that can be done by making sure officers’ skills match the task they’re assigned to, and releasing more officers to the front line.

Visit the workforce modernisation page

Protective services collaboration

This is a programme to develop the service's ability to deal effectively with terrorism, serious crime and public safety by increasing joint working and delivering greater efficiency. It aims to do this through reducing and sharing costs between forces. A demonstration site programme involving thirty forces collaborating on ten projects was launched in July 2007. 

Visit the protective services page 

Operation Quest

Operation Quest follows on from successful projects that ran in 2006 in Merseyside, Suffolk and the Metropolitan Police Service. These projects were focused on improving operational processes like call handling and incident management, and helped forces improve their performance and save money. In 2007, the Home Office funded QUEST with four forces - Avon and Somerset Constabulary, Cheshire Constabulary, Lancashire Constabulary and Thames Valley Police. QUEST 3 is currently underway, involving a further three forces - Norfolk Constabulary, Sussex Police and Wiltshire Police.

Visit the Operation QUEST page

What do you think?

Engaging with stakeholders across the police service will be essential in ensuring the efficiency and productivity strategy work is a success. We want to build effective partnerships with stakeholders, working together to share learning and exchange information. We would therefore be keen to have your comments on any efficiency, productivity and workforce issues, especially if you have evidence of good practice and innovation.

Email the efficiency and productivity team

See Also

• Community support officers
• National policing plan
• Flanagan review
• Protective services
• Review of police pay arrangements