Board, providing transparency and enhancing governance in the transition.
Furthermore, I propose that the Home Office, either wholly through a top slice or jointly with the APA, confirm ACPO’s grant for 2011-12 at the earliest opportunity.
Clearing the undergrowth and moving towards shadow structures: There are
some savings that can be realised quickly. The undergrowth of national meetings, which I have outlined in chapter three should be wound down quickly It would be a very serious mistake to try to carry forward the changes proposed in this Review through the existing governance machinery. The governance and the meetings it supports have been designed for the past, not the future and implementation should take full consideration of the work being undertaken by ACPO and the NPIA into the review of doctrine (see recommendation 3). Despite the best intentions of the members, past experience suggests that the institutional inertia of the past will obstruct progress for the future. The current meetings should be required to conduct
a staged wind down, risk-assessing their outstanding work programmes and providing the Programme team with advice as to what could be decommissioned and what should be migrated into the Professional Body. As this process gathers pace, the Programme should set out new, simpler shadow Professional Body structures that should start picking up the work that needs to continue through 2011-12. The aim being that, by the time the Professional Body is chartered and formally in being, the structures for running its professional business are already largely in place and have been rehearsed in a way that will allow it to hit the ground running.
International Partnerships: I have mentioned the prospect of the Professional Body
creating a national partnership with a world class academic institution for the national programmes in particular. I would suggest that the piece of work to scope this and create a vehicle for such an approach needs to be an early piece of work. It will very important to resolve the future of the estate and, in particular, of Bramshill at an early stage. The sooner the academic partner can be identified, the sooner the Professional Body is likely to move beyond the existing ways of doing business. Making this shift to a different way of delivering national programmes will be a very strong statement of intent for the whole approach and should set the tone for the local and regional partnerships with Higher Education and other providers which this Review envisages.
Talent Management: One piece of work that needs to be given urgent attention is
the rapid development of a talent management framework for the police service. This is particularly urgent given that the financial challenges that face the police service in 2011-12 and beyond are forcing some unpalatable decisions about staffing, promotions and support for development. Our Review has suggested that these are not always being supported by the best practice in talent management approaches. Talent Management becomes even more important in hard times. I would strongly encourage a programme of workshops and practice sharing supported by the rapid development of an initial framework within months. The NPIA has been undertaking a substantial amount of work on workforce planning and talent management that should provide a foundation for this.
Financial year 2011/12:
The most important task for 2011-12 is to agree the constitution and business plan for the Police Professional Body, building up to the process of applying to the Privy Council for a Charter. ACPO has already done some initial work on this. The key to success, from our research across professional bodies, is to work towards a Charter that sets the principles of the Professional Body, without over-constraining future development. Alongside the formal work to agree the constitution, there needs some professionally supported work to develop the business model for what is legally a company. We have included costs for this work in the costs for the Programme.
As the revamped business structures start to replace the existing meeting structure, there will need to be a high priority accorded to the following pieces of work:
The registration process, including the initial membership fees, the transitional approach to recognising the qualifications of existing members of the police service and the framework for continuous professional development
The Police Initial Qualification: it is important to take advantage of the current breathing space, created by minimal recruitment because of financial restrictions. The PIQ needs to be in place quickly – preferably by 2012 – so that, as forces begin to recruit again, they can make effective choices about the approach they want to take to deploy the PIQ. The qualification is also critical to the process of registration
The Frontline Management Qualification: The current qualifications will need to be in place for 2012 (it would be impossible to change the current processes, materials and candidate expectations faster), but the work should aim to replace them with the new qualification in 2013. The ability to streamline the current national support will enable some cost savings to be realised.
The Senior Management in Policing Qualification: the current PNAC and SCC process should run one more time in 2011-12 and then the new qualification, National Assessment, appointment and post appointment SCC development programme should replace it.
The lateral qualification structure: initial work should focus on identifying the existing qualifications, such as PIP (Professionalising the Investigation Process), which might be revised and retained. Most will need a stern and steely examination of the assessment process and a greater emphasis on peer review with a lighter touch. Over the next 3 years all the major areas of policing should be carefully mapped to identify the key steps from a general level of knowledge and skills, to expertise.
Given that there will be some strong stories about a very different landscape, it would also be worth exploring with the Police Executive Research Forum and other international partners whether early progress could be made on the development programme for Chief Officers considered suitable for the most challenging posts. There might be particular relevance in making early progress here given that there are lessons from the US and elsewhere for Chief Officers working effectively with local elected politicians. Given the very challenging fiscal environment in the UK and US, it may be that the first such venture will need to explore the scope for sponsorship support.
Alongside this, the financial year 2011/2012 will need to see the detailed planning for the creation of the delivery body. There are some key early issues that will need to be resolved by the Programme:
An objective assessment of the viability of the National College and, if the approach chosen is to move from Bramshill and enter a partnership with a University, then there will need to be careful assessment of the options both for Bramshill and for the future. If the decision is taken to remain at Bramshill then a rapid solution will need to be found to the maintenance of the Grade 1 listed estate that does not provide a constant and unsustainable financial burden on the Delivery Body.
A financial model for the new delivery body, which matches delivery needs to funding requirements and identifies the staff, support and estates required.
A business plan which is agreed with the Home Office as to how the delivery body will transition from some initial grant funding from the existing NPIA funding envelope to a mixed charge, fee and levy model.
A shadow Board to be appointed to enable the Programme to hand over functions as decisions are finalised.
In the event that the Professional Body and the Delivery Body are not ready by April 2012 – and the timescales are very tight – early consideration needs to be given to extending the NPIA’s phasing out until either October 2012 or the end of the financial year 2012/13.
3 years and beyond
The Professional development programme for managers and frontline staff should be in place. The new Police Initial Qualification will allow forces to streamline their recruitment and initial training as recruitment picks up in Year 3 of the CSR. Managers are coming through the new frontline manager’s qualification. With the Senior Management in Policing well under way and the first post appointment Strategic Leadership programme in place, a new generation of senior leaders begin stepping into their roles.
With all members of the police service now members of the professional body, the Professional Body is developing into a strong and established part of public life. It has already begun building an international network to ensure that policing in England and Wales is able to benefit from the best practice from across the world.