March 2010

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S T A F F

N E W S L E T T E R

COPPERPLATE www.tayside.police.uk

The Tayside Police Clay Shooting section enjoyed their best results to date in the 2009 season. For the first time two teams from Tayside contested the Scottish police championships, and in another first for the section the A team (front l-r) of Jimmy Wright, Cyril Dyson, Dean Morris, Jim Johnston and Dan Neale won a team event in the Sporting discipline. Not to be outdone, the B team of Gordon Peebles, Frank Donald, Jim Pentley, Craig Robertson and Jim Milne achieved third place in the sporting discipline. The individual awards saw Tayside competitors taking 1st, 2nd and 3rd equal in the Sporting event, 3rd place in the skeet discipline, 3rd in the Down The Line, and 2nd

overall. The Tayside A team then went on to the British Championships 2009, posting their highest team placings to date against over 60 UK police teams.

For the 2010 season, the section will hold their club championships at Auchterhouse Country Sports, on Saturday 1st May, followed by the Scottish Championships, hosted by Northern Constabulary, on Sunday 6th June.

Further details of these events, and the team practise and tuition dates, will be posted on the Police Club bulletin, under Bulletins: Staff Associations: Police Club, on the intranet, or contact Dean Morris at Downfield police office.

TOP TIPS FOR A CLEAR DESK

Tayside Police has a clear desk policy. Here are a few tips to help you adhere to the Force policy.

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Any protectively marked information should be locked away at the end of the working day or when not in use.

Computer screens should be sited where possible to reduce illicit viewing i.e. overlooking Your desk should remain tidy and information, when no longer, needed

IN THIS ISSUE:

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should be shredded or securely disposed of as per GPMS. Sensitive information displayed on walls, pin boards, wipe boards, etc., should be removed or covered appropriately to ensure it is not viewed by unauthorised persons, i.e. contracts or non departmental staff.

Shared offices should ensure that access to sensitive information is controlled and is only made available on a need to know basis.

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BAWP PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DAY IN APRIL

Communication, creativity and challenge are the three ‘C’s which will form the basis of the next professional development day organised by the British Association for Women in Policing (BAWP).

The event titled ‘Service delivery – are we making the right connections?’, will be held on April 20 at the Leicester Marriott, and is the first of two such BAWP events this year for police officers and staff.

The day will start with a welcome by Cambridgeshire Chief Constable and BAWP President Julie Spence, followed by a talk from Diane Lowe on how to improve confidence to communicate effectively at presentations and make your voice heard in meetings.

Jennifer Brown will outline the challenges facing women in policing to be followed by an innovative session from Mouthpiece Productions whose cast will perform a play on developing services for vulnerable women.

After lunch, Mike Alderson will talk on communication, brands and social media - ‘the changing face of communication and how to use it to maximise your brand, service and impact ‘. The last guest speaker will be Andy Cope, highly acclaimed at the last PDD, who will share his thoughts on The Art of Staying Brilliant.

Preceding the PDD on the Monday evening, BAWP will be recognising outstanding contributions made by women, at its annual award ceremony.

BAWP, which was formed in 1987 to raise awareness and understanding about issues affecting women in the police service, organises two professional development days a year for about 100 attendees.

Further information and booking details can be found on www.bawpevents.co.uk.

WHAT IT TAKES TO BE A SPECIAL CONSTABLE • GOING.....GOING....GONE • RUNNING FOR CHARITY • DON’T GET CAUGHT IN THE ‘NET’ • MARATHON MOTORCYCLE TREK • REDUCTION IN FORCE ABSENCE RATE PRAISED • IMPROVEMENT FOCUS GROUPS – LISTENING TO YOU

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WHAT IT TAKES TO BE A SPECIAL CONSTABLE Do you know what commitment is necessary to be a Special Constable? Do you know what training they get prior to, and after, being deployed operationally?

Special Constables have been part of the Police Service for many years with the earliest legislation dating back as far as 1831. Volunteers to the Special Constabulary do so for a variety of reasons, but mainly because they wish to have a look at the role of a Police Officer before committing themselves to this, or they just wish to put something back into the community.

Many current regular officers have started as Special Constables and Tayside are keen to encourage this to continue. Over the past 2 years, 30 Special Constables have been successful in transferring to the regulars.

Tayside’s current establishment of Special Constables is 192 and it is important that all staff are aware of the commitment necessary to be accepted as a Special Constable and the training given prior to being deployed operationally.

Entry requirements for Special Constables are identical to that of a regular Officer, the only exception being that it is not compulsory that they have a full driving licence.

The recruiting process is the same as for regular officers where an application form is submitted and it is processed in the same manner. The applicant for the role of Special Constable has to participate in an assessment day which includes a critical thinking test, written exercise, group exercises and interviews. If the applicant successfully completes these they will go on to a fitness test, vetting and medical.

Once the applicant completes the recruiting process successfully they are invited to attend a 10 week training course at Baluniefield. This comprises of 17 separate inputs, which must be attended, and includes,

Officer Safety Training First Aid Diversity Data Protection Health and Safety Notebooks and Statement Taking Airwave Training Search Criminal Justice

Criminal Law Investigative Interview Technique Training Road Traffic legislation including Traffic Signalling Skills Development Day I.T. Training Knowledge Test Only if the applicant successfully completes this training will they be offered the post of Special Constable.

Further training of Special Constables includes one evening a month and an annual weekend at the Scottish Police College.

However, like regular officers, many of the core skills are learned ‘on the job’, and whilst Special Constables are keen to acquire these, the opportunity to do so is limited to the occasions where they are on duty.

Many Special Constables have gone on to give years of valuable service to the Force.

Any queries in relation to Special Constables should directed to Michelle Grier, Recruitment Officer, or Peter Dickemann, Force Special Constable Co-ordinator.

Crimes

GOING.....GOING....GONE

After 23 years of sporting his trademark moustache, Tayside Police Inspector Ali Black decided that the only way he would part with his beloved ‘caterpillar’ was to try and raise funds for charity in the process.

Ali’s wife has been receiving treatment for cancer over the course of the last year so he chose to try and raise £200 for the Christie Hospital. However, thanks to the enormous generosity of colleagues from throughout the Force a staggering £1100 was raised.

Well done Ali and thanks to all who contributed to this very worthwhile cause. www.tayside.police.uk

MARCH:2010 | COPPERPLATE | P03

RUNNING FOR CHARITY DON’T GET CAUGHT IN THE ‘NET’

Tayside Police, like any other large forward thinking organisation, recognised some time ago that the internet can powerfully leverage the ability of its staff to find, manage and share information.

As a global system of interconnected computer networks that serves billions of users worldwide, the internet carries a vast array of information resources and services as well as providing the infrastructure to support electronic mail. The opportunities that the internet can provide are boundless and without doubt it is a valuable resource which the force is keen for its staff to exploit in order to provide the high standards of service that it aspires to.

However, with such a powerful business tool comes associated dangers including inappropriate use of the internet by members of staff, which in turn can lead to attacks by malware in the form of viruses and trojans.

Inappropriate internet use can lead to; • Increased threat of security risks to our computer systems • Potentially degrades the service for other legitimate users (i.e. slows the internet service down) • Highly ineffective use of working time which puts additional pressure on our colleagues.

C Constable bl Gordon G d Middleton, Middl a Community C i Officer based b d at Lochee Police Station in Dundee, is running the London Marathon on 25 April 2010 to raise funds and awareness of the COPS charity - Care of Police Survivors.

It is a charity which provides support and guidance for the families of police officers who are killed on duty.

Gordon is working closely with the COPS co-ordinator for Tayside area, Georgine Whigham. Her husband, Malcolm, was a serving Tayside officer who was killed on duty in 2007.

This is a charity that should be close to all our hearts. Donations can be made via the Just Giving website at the following web address, or just contact Gordon personally.

If you would like to sponsor Gordon please visit his donation web-site at: www.justgiving.com/gordonmiddleton

On 15 January 2010, the Deputy Chief Constable reaffirmed the Force’s desire to maintain internet access for business purposes only via a force bulletin entry and that desire remains the same. The force will continue to monitor all users of the internet and breaches will be reported to Professional Standards Department for further consideration by the Deputy Chief Constable.

Remember, the internet is a valuable tool with the potential to help us do our jobs better, so we should exploit this opportunity when we can in line with the terms laid down by the organisation. It is provided to us by the force to do our jobs and for that purpose only. Don’t put yourself or the force at risk by using it for any other purpose.

Further information can be obtained by accessing Policy & Guidance document “Email & Internet” or the Tayside Police Information Security Handbook which can both be found on the intranet.

MARATHON MOTORCYCLE TREK A group of Tayside Police officers are taking part in a 1000 mile, 24 hour motorbike ride to raise money for the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal.

Constables Paul Thomson, Bob Cowan, Dave Farr, Ewan Murdoch, Steve Brown and Force driver Robin Cumming will join hundreds of other motorbike enthusiasts at Squires Café in Leeds on 19 June, the designated starting and finishing point for the event.

The ride is organised by the British Legion Riders branch who have staged the event for the last two years. In 2009 162 riders and nine pillion passengers, a European record, completed the event and raised £33,000 for the Poppy Appeal.

If you would like to sponsor the team from Tayside Police please get in touch with Constable Paul Thomson at Baluniefield Police Station on Ext: 1877.

www.tayside.police.uk

P04 | COPPERPLATE | MARCH:2010

REDUCTION IN FORCE ABSENCE RATE PRAISED Tayside Police continues to make consistent reductions in respect of police officer and staff absence.

For the last quarter of 2009 (October 1 to December 31) police officer attendance improved by an overall total of 147 working days when compared to the same quarter in 2008. Police staff absence was reduced by 28 working days in the same comparable time frames.

Presenting detailed information on officer and staff attendance management to the Tayside Joint Police Board, Mrs Moira Docherty, Tayside Police’s Director of Personnel and Development, said the management and maximising of attendance continued to be a key focus for all staff.

Mrs Docherty noted the recent publication of an attendance management thematic inspection by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary for Scotland of Scottish Forces in 2009 and emphasised that further significant improvement had been made since the time frame of that report. ‘‘The current picture is one of continuous improvement. The hard work that the Force has put in to attendance management and employee management is paying dividends year on year.’’

Encouragingly, overall sustained improvement in attendance over the past year coincides with an excellent year in terms of Tayside Police’s performance.

This is heartening because a full complement of staff increases efficiency, effectiveness and ultimately quality of service to the public.

Tayside Joint Police Board Vice-Convener, George Regan, echoed the opinions of fellow members, when he said the Force deserved credit for its concerted efforts in reducing sickness absence.

IMPROVEMENT FOCUS GROUPS – LISTENING TO YOU

Tayside Police invited staff from across the Force to participate in a survey that ran from 3 August to 4 September 2009. Results from this staff survey were communicated across the Force in the November issue of Copperplate and a larger report was posted on the Force Intranet.

Since December, divisions and departments have held improvement focus groups among police officers and police staff to examine their area’s results in more detail and to identify specific strengths and opportunities requiring further attention. Over the course of 22 workshops, the thoughts and concerns of nearly 150 police officers and police staff have been recorded.

Other staff not directly participating in these meetings had their voice heard by providing comments which were presented on their behalf.

In some cases, the results themselves may have been enough to stimulate welcome changes and many people commented that they have noticed a genuine intent among their leaders to promote improvements in organisational culture and management style. Although each division and department took a slightly different approach in the topics examined or the number of focus groups held, there were frequently common threads of discussion that examined leadership, communication, motivation and recognition, resource allocation, training and career development. Summaries of these meetings have been provided to Divisional Commanders and Heads of Departments and an overall report is to be presented to the Force Leadership Team in April with subsequent presentation to the Police Board.

With the completion of these meetings, the challenge now becomes sustaining momentum for improvement through action to resolve staff concerns. Leaders among all levels of management can use the focus group discussions to understand the collective voice of their staff, prioritising some issues, and incorporating actions into their improvement planning. Some of the recommendations can be quickly resolved through informal channels and others require longer-term planning and intervention. More detailed updates will be provided as work progresses. www.tayside.police.uk

Here are some of the captions we received for the photograph that appeared in the January edition of Copperplate.

“Mystic Meg had put on a few pounds since her crystal ball went missing..”

- Lochee Police Team.

“Tommy Cooper just wasn’t the same without his fez.” - Lochee Police Team.

“The Superintendent demonstrates his new drowning rowning technique” technique.”

–Lochee Police Team.

“The Convenor was unimpressed by Superintendent Tonks Tommy Cooper impersonation.” – Inspector Ray Cuthill.

“Superintendent Tonks keeps a careful hold of next years FCC budget.” – Inspector Ray Cuthill.

For the next edition of Copperplate we’d like some suitable captionss for this photograph of Constable Rory Duncan who seems to have shrunk his police dog in the wash. E-Mail your caption suggestions to Sarah Craig or Damon Rhind in the Corporate e Communications Department.

ae ar t fff magazine – whether youu ta Copperplate is a sta support staff, your a police officer or member of would like to hear opinions count. That is why we or suggestions that from you with any news, views ed in Copperplate. you would like to see publish contact Sarah If you have a story idea, please unications mm or Damon in the Corporate Co Department on; ) 596730 Telephone: Sarah (01382 e.pnn.police.uk E-Mail: sarah.craig@taysid ) 596731 Telephone: Damon (01382 side.pnn.police.uk E-Mail: damon.rhind.@tay

DESIGNED & PRODUCED BY:

hbrutherford