Chief Constables having to be ‘target driven’

SENIOR police leaders are being forced to be too target driven says Essex Police Federation Chairman Steve Taylor.

He believes the recent HMICFRS annual policing report, which criticised police leaders for poor planning, is part of the issue as it requires too much form filling and box ticking by police chiefs.

The report, overseen by HMICFRS Chief Inspector Sir Tom Winsor, suggested that officers’ drive and determination to get the job done was covering up the planning failings.

“I have sympathy with Chief Constables,” Steve said.

“And our Chief Officer team spend a lot of time dancing to the HMICFRS tune, ticking boxes, dotting the Is and crossing the Ts of what they want to see from the force.

“Sir Tom has led the regime that’s introduced this framework and way of working for forces and Chief Constables and arguably, in the latest report, he’s criticising them for spending too much time on giving him what he wants.”

It’s something which mustn’t be applied to the way the force and officers work, Steve added.

“Give people targets and they’ll make sure they can hit those targets,” he said.

“We’ve seen on a local level the damage that focus led policing can have in terms of our internal processes, having a target led culture can be so harmful.

“Thankfully we are moving away from that so why can’t HMICFRS see this in the demands they are placing on Chief Constables?

“It means they are having to focus on areas to please the inspectorate, because a bad review, a bad write up from them can be so damaging to chief officers, their careers and public confidence in what we do.

“That confidence shouldn’t be ebbed away by unnecessary target driven processes which the rest of us in the real world of policing can see is so dangerous.”