Too many police collaborations failing due to focus on finance - report

Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) says that while some collaborations have been a success, a large number have ended up costing forces “money, time and effort”.

The report comes after the acrimonious divorce between West Mercia and Warwickshire police forces, which took two years and Home Office intervention to settle.

‘The Hard Yards: Police to Police Collaboration’ report suggests a series of recommendations to help police improve efficiency and effectiveness.

Inspectors found that too many collaborations do not have a clear purpose or objectives, and that too often forces failed to “think beyond financial savings”.

The report also noted that “complicated and bureaucratic” decision-making undermined the effectiveness of many partnerships, while some forces were failing to utilise officers with the right skills and were “not effectively sharing learning”.

It also highlights the agreement between West Mercia and Warwickshire as “not precise enough”, leading to management not being able to take informed decisions, and making the costs of the ‘divorce bill’ difficult to assess.

The report states: “During our 2018/19 inspections of West Mercia and Warwickshire police forces, which were ending a strategic collaboration at the time, we found that their collaboration agreement wasn’t detailed enough for either of the leadership teams to make fully informed decisions.

“The generic template West Mercia and Warwickshire police forces used to create their collaboration agreement includes references to reasonable costs the withdrawing force is meeting. But the template was not precise enough. This made the costs difficult to assess with any accuracy, particularly when collaborating forces operated under contrasting budgets and faced different funding difficulties.”

Subsidising

The agreement, which started in 2012 was finally ended in March this year after West Mercia agreed to pay £10.5 million to Warwickshire.

The alliance had been ended by West Mercia’s Police and Crime Commissioner John Campion in 2018, who said that his force was effectively subsidising the smaller Warwickshire neighbours.

However, the lack of a mutual agreement on the terms of the breakup led to a Home Office ordered delay in it being implemented.

In a statement Mr Campion and West Mercia Chief Constable Anthony Bangham said: "The decision to end the strategic alliance was given great consideration, with a number of discussions as to the best approach, taking place prior to notice being served. It was identified that the arrangement wasn’t working and a new approach was required.

"Both the West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable lived and breathed the process, fighting for the best possible outcomes for the communities involved. The decision was not made in haste and will ensure communities benefit from a police service that had the opportunity to deliver improvements in efficiency and effectiveness.

"All the appropriate assessments around the ending of the alliance were carried out, and West Mercia Police demonstrated due diligence throughout, with the Home Office ultimately stepping in and confirming the fact that West Mercia Police had been subsidising Warwickshire Police."

Efficiency

HM Inspector of Constabulary Matt Parr said: “Nationally forces are spending over a quarter of a billion pounds on collaboration every year.

“Collaboration done well can save money, reduce bureaucracy and improve efficiency and effectiveness.

“It also allows forces to club together to provide specialist services that they couldn’t provide individually, and they help forces to learn from best practice.

“Ultimately, collaborations can improve the service that forces give to the public.

“But too many police collaborations are failing, or not giving the results they should, costing forces money, time and effort. In this report we make recommendations about what forces can do to collaborate successfully and productively.

“We have also made recommendations to national organisations to improve the support given to police forces as they collaborate.

“We urge forces and the national organisations that support their vital work to reflect on these recommendations and put them into action to improve police efficiency and effectiveness.”

The report is based on findings HMIC inspections from 2018-19. It examines six case studies covering 27 forces across England and Wales.