Organisational response

On 12th January 2023 ACC Smith provided a media response to the inspection on behalf of Police Scotland. A further meeting was held with SCD Head of Public Protection, DACU and HMICS representatives where the proposed Improvement Plan was discussed / approved with the finalised Improvement Plan submitted to HMICS on 23rd June 2023.

A Strategic Owners Group was established, chaired by Head of Public Protection and attended by the heads of the relevant business areas to discuss requirements, assign ownership of actions and sub-actions and provide governance to support delivery of the Improvement Plan within designated timeframes.

Tactical owners / leads were thereafter identified allowing a monthly tactical sub-group to be established, chaired by DSU Faulds, national business lead for domestic abuse, with written progress updates sought in advance from attendees.

HMICS has announced Phase 2 of the Thematic Inspection of Domestic Abuse will commence on 2nd August 2024.

RECOMMENDATIONS, ACTIONS & UPDATES – PROGRESS

Appendix ‘1’ – Summary of Recommendations & Areas of Progress contains a summary of the progress made to date against the HMICS Recommendations.

Work is in progress against all the recommendations to improve Police Scotland’s response to domestic abuse. Headline progress is outlined in Appendix ‘1’ however wider, more detailed progress is captured on 4Action.

In general terms the Improvement Plan has made good progress. Matters remain at different stages with some still in the planning stages, others in progress and some complete. Most of the proposed work is expected to be deliverable within the timeframe(s) proposed.

AREAS of COMPLEXITY and INTERDEPENDENCIES

There are areas of the Improvement Plan that are more complex and / or protracted to deliver. In particular there are a number of significant interdependencies and cross-overs with other portfolios and business areas. These include:

• Significant IT related work regarding COS, including the Enquiry Module (re Gender Preference and Victim Safety Plans), Domestic Abuse COS Packages, as well as Action Management more generally.
• Crossover with DAPS work – also links to Victim Safety Plans.
• Training – for C3, for Probationers and DAMS related.
• Trauma Informed Training
• Local Policing – diary car crewing policy – Gender Preference.
• C3 – despatch policy and time limits for DA related incidents.
• SOLO related improvement work.

Further detail is provided below:

• HMICS ask for roll out of traditional Third Party Reporting is not considered safe or viable for survivors of domestic abuse.
COS advises that ability to build gender preference into COS Unifi is possible however the COS Enquiry Module is not yet dated or signed off by the Force. Currently Phase 2 is ongoing and the Enquiry Module would form part of Phase 3 if/when approved and entered into the Digital Change diary. This effectively means that the date previously provided for delivery (30 September 2024) will not apply.
• Similarly, Tasking RFC could assist COS Unifi for more serious / complicated offence types through the use of bespoke tasks to guide officers in their initial engagement to ensure that important actions are covered.
Additionally the intention is that Victim Safety Plans will be managed via the COS Enquiry module, with an entry being created outlining the background and allowing the victim safety plans to be made available across the organisation for those who require access. This however is some way off as per the update above.
• The COS Unifi team advises that national roll out of the phase 2 programme of Crime Unifi is the priority (that being the introduction of Crime, Case and Warrants across Scotland). Phase 3 will focus on enhancements to the system. Multiple applications are being considered, including the enquiry module and VPD. Domestic Abuse COS packages will be able to be managed more effectively via National Crime with clear ownership obvious to all. This will be enhanced further with the introduction of tasking to ensure that individual actions are progressed timeously. National Crime has already rolled out to D, N, A, C, P and shortly to E & J Divs. Remaining divisions targeting Autumn/Winter 2023.
• Work on-going to develop DA Victim Safety Plans (VSPs) as part of the v10 iVPD upgrade. Given other development priorities and the link between VPNs and the new Domestic Abuse (Protection) (Scotland) Act 2021 (DAPS), it is likely VSPs will be released as an upgrade alongside iVPD improvements to accommodate DAPs.
• Service Advisor Initial and CPD training is being considered, with Moodle being a preferred mode of delivery.
• HMICS is seeking for PS to set time limits for call despatch. Existing CAM processes apply. C3 advises that all timescales are based upon THRIVE and victim availability, and/or where the call has forensic capture considerations then C3 should look to despatch officers. C3 and CERP are to explore the possibility of setting upper time limits for certain category calls, and how to provide enhanced public protection capability and liaise with DACU. This is also linked to the initial discussions between stakeholders around the potential for priority/specialist appointments which are ongoing and the benefits of setting bespoke upper time limits for appointments of certain specialist/serious crime types are to be explored in more detail in the near future. This concept was discussed with Service Design and now sits with Public Protection Development Programme to progress.
• A review of Diary Car crewing policies by LPD's is required to ensure that gender preference can be facilitated where possible. This may not be achievable for all divisions, particularly those with a large geographical spread.
• Whilst Police Scotland has renewed the licence with College of Policing in respect of continued DAMS training, some exploration is required regarding financing the external partner aspect of the training.
• Probationer Training reports that since moving onto Modern Apprenticeship in Policing status in 2020 that the number of inputs and hours on DA has increased.
• Work is underway to develop a more strategic and structured approach to the delivery of Trauma Informed Training with the correct levels matched to the various roles that exist across policing. This work is being overseen by the Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategic Oversight Board.