Moving to a new beat

While the cuts announced in the comprehensive spending review last year were a little less punitive than earlier predictions had indicated, there's little doubt that the 4% drop in spending each year, towards a target of £1.12bn by 2015, represented an unprecedented change for the police service. Given that approximately 80% of police budgets are comprised of staff costs it isn't surprising that just a few months on, we have already witnessed examples of forces reducing headcount as they react to the targets, through shaving costs in the most obvious areas. According to research undertaken by business process improvement company Lanner and Cedar HR, police forces say that reductions in staff numbers are an inevitable consequence of the CSR, with only 5% claiming that the cuts can be delivered in other areas. The vast majority believe that police support staff will bear the brunt of losses and around a quarter say a reduction in police community support officer numbers is inevitable. One in four respondents envisage that cuts will be delivered through a reduction in police officer numbers – either through compulsory retirement or natural wastage. However, while headcount reduction is an obvious response to budget cuts, it is important to keep in mind that this strategy is a short-term measure, and cannot alone deliver the year on year, long term efficiency savings stipulated in the CSR. As HMIC's report, Valuing the Police: Policing in an Age of Austerity, highlighted last July, improvement and rationalisation of business processes is the only way to ensure efficiencies are sustainable. Many police forces are already tackling inefficiencies held in unnecessary or duplicated processes. When asked about which areas currently present the greatest opportunity for savings to be achieved, better utilisation of technology to facilitate improved processes, and more efficient sharing of resources and intelligence – particularly in HR and back office functions – were the dominant responses. One force in East Anglia has used business process simulation to improve the working patterns in its contact centre, reducing the amount of money spent on shift allowances. At the same time, it optimised operator resources and eliminated duplicated processes. This realised a total of £2.5m in cashable savings and a further £4m in productivity savings that followed from better officer deployment. Yet progress remains varied, with the vast majority (78%) of forces admitting that while they have already made some savings, they have a lot to do in order to reach the numbers outlined. Looking to the future, while headcount reductions may well be necessary now to deliver a proportion of the cuts, it is important that this short term response is balanced against the need for long term process change. The smaller police organisation of the future will remain under severe pressure to deliver improved outcomes. It is process improvement which holds the key to delivering well-resourced frontline services and high standards in the most efficient, sustainable way possible. David Coleman is a former chief constable of Derbyshire Constabulary