South Yorkshire PEEL 2018

South Yorkshire Police is good at assessing and understanding current demand. It has extended its understanding to include hidden demand. The force takes into consideration public expectations when deciding how to provide its services. It works well with partner organisations to understand and reduce demand. This helps it provide a better quality of service to the public and offer better value for money.

The force has a culture of learning and innovation and wants to improve. It tries out new ideas and is investing sensibly in technology. The force makes sound investment decisions based on its priorities and public expectations. It has made required savings and its financial and workforce plans are linked to its new operating model. The force is managing substantial costs linked to legacy issues, which are hindering its ambitions for service improvements. The force has a good understanding of the cost of its services and provides value for money. It has redesigned its services to reduce demand and puts its resources where they are most needed. But it doesn’t have enough resources to respond to all demand promptly. It will take some time to see the positive results from the new force operating model.

The force understands the skills and capabilities that it needs now and for the future. It monitors changes to make sure they help reduce demand and provide the expected benefits.

The force’s collaboration effectiveness framework is positive practice and provides the force with a rigorous assessment of its collaborations. The framework asks questions about the objective of the collaboration, its structure and the value expected from the arrangement. It also identifies where there are gaps.

The force tracks improvements from its change programme effectively. The benefits realisation dashboard brings together several measures, including financial, quantitative and qualitative performance, to enable the force to determine the effect of change. The information on the dashboard is considered at the force’s change governance meetings.

South Yorkshire Police has been instrumental in forming the first national benefits realisation practitioners working group to support the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC). Although this initially just supported the police, it is not restricted to police forces. The group met for the first time in October 2018 and exists to share best practice.

The force has improved its understanding of how demand might change in the future. It uses new techniques to predict how this might affect the force, which in turn informs its plans for future service provision. In some areas, the force has re-aligned its current resources to help it prepare for future changes. It consults the public to help it understand future expectations.

The force understands the potential needs of its future workforce and has good plans in place. These include a workforce plan and a financial plan, which are linked to the force’s overall strategy. Its workforce plan takes account of gaps in skills and capabilities. It is also developing a more diverse workforce.

The force has made reasonable budget assumptions. Its financial strategy includes future changes to services. The force has substantial costs to meet from its historic inquiries. The force receives central support with these costs, however it is still required to fund a proportion of the costs itself.

The force develops its workforce and leaders well. It has good leadership and professional development programmes in place and continues to have a formal succession plan for senior leaders. It has career pathways that allow officers and staff to specialise. The force challenges itself to develop diverse leadership teams and it supports its workforce to develop and progress.

The force has the ambition to improve its services to the public. Its change programme is linked to its plans and supports continuous improvement. It plans to continue working with other organisations where it is beneficial to do so.