Police Forces 'Must Work Together To Provide Better Service'

Police forces in England and Wales must radically rethink the way they operate to guarantee the public receives a high standard of service wherever they live - according to Denis O'Connor, Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary.

A new HMIC report shows that members are not getting a good deal, in terms of crime fighting and financial efficiency, for the substantial amounts of taxpayers’ money spent on policing.

Getting Together, which is published today, found police forces with the most effective joint working arrangements across traditional force boundaries are getting the best results on organised crime. HMIC found they mount full-scale operations against four times as many crime gangs, including drug traffickers, compared with forces that do not collaborate.

Some forces and authorities spend more than twice as much on human resources as others. Average police spending in this area is above the rest of the public sector, where collaboration is more advanced. There are similar variations in costs for finance services.

Some of the 43 forces in England and Wales also fail to get the best deal from the money they spend each year on procuring goods and services, though the potential for better value is clear and the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) has been working on this. One force saved £144,000 a year alone on DNA sample submissions by taking part in a multi-force forensic collaboration.

The report argues that these wide variations in operational effectiveness and costs must be reduced. It calls for greater collaboration to make the public safer and get better value for money.

Mr O'Connor said: "The police must get the best deal for the public. People want to know how their money's being spent, particularly in the current climate.

"We've found that forces and authorities support the idea of collaboration in principle but find the practice harder. That needs to change.

"The fact is that joined-up working is a win-win situation - it's more effective against organised crime and, in areas of finance, it avoids duplication and creates savings that can be ploughed back into front-line policing."

Forces will be required to spell out their collaborative work in annual reports and the public will be able to judge the cost and quality of policing in their areas.

(JM/NS)