Report Summary
This report provides members of the Scottish Police Authority's Audit, Risk & Assurance Committee with an overview of benchmarking activity within SPA Corporate, presenting an overview of activities undertaken and a summary analysis following an initial data exchange with other oversight and public bodies. This paper also provides details of the next steps being taken and areas of focus for the 2024-25.
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Meeting
The publication discussed was referenced in the meeting below
Audit, Risk and Assurance Committee - 15 August 2024
Date : 15 August 2024
Location : online
Initial Data Exchange
Using the online surveys, a combination of qualitative and quantitative information has been received from participants, including detailed written responses providing context and insights into each organisation’s responsibilities and set up. Appendix 2 provides an overview of the responses received, split by policing oversight bodies and other organisations. This table focuses on statutory responsibilities, core functions and governance arrangements.
Other data such as staffing levels and budget information have been used by the Strategy and Performance Team to calculate ratios and percentages to give further insight into how these compare across participating organisations, as shown in Appendix 2.
With this initial analysis it appears SPA Corporate are one of the leading bodies in terms of staff to force ratios and efficiency against overall policing spend, however we will undertake further analysis and work with comparable organisations to gather a more detailed understanding of the different responsibilities and functions carried out by each organisation.
As an example, the Irish Policing Authority figures look closest to ours, however it can be seen in Appendix 2 that we are responsible for a range of additional functions not delivered by the Authority in Ireland, including being the employer of all police officers and staff, managing complaints and conduct issues in relation to senior officers, and providing independent custody visiting.
A number of outliers are also immediately apparent from the analysis, such as the staffing levels for some OPCCs. It is recognised that OPCCs generally carry out additional functions such as victim care and community support services, which is mentioned in the written responses from both Durham and Darlington and Lincolnshire OPCCs, while Greater Manchester’s Combined Authority covers fire and rescue as well as policing and crime.
To improve our initial analysis a set of follow up questions will be used to gather additional details and clarification from our network of organisations, leading to discussions with those most relevant.
