Background
Major Investigation Teams contain specialists that play a key role in keeping communities safe.
They include officer and staff roles, which require highly specialised skills and expertise.
Investigation of the most serious offences such as homicide, manslaughter, blackmail and kidnap requires those skills.
Due to the nature of Major Investigations, forces have to cope with demand pressures arising in these areas.
They often have to make specialist skills available whilst creating additional pressure on other areas of policing.
Given the pressures on police budgets, the Evolve Programme seeks to find an affordable way to enhance the resilience and capacity of Major Investigation resource and maximize the return on investment in this specialist area of crime operations.
Underpinning principles
The underpinning principals for developing a Major Investigation Team on a collaborative basis are:
- To maintain, improve or develop the service Forces provide to local people and local communities
- To maintain, improve or develop the service Forces provide to local people and local communities
- To maintain, improve or develop the service Forces provide to local people and local communitie
- To maintain, improve or develop the service Forces provide to local people and local communitie
- To maintain, improve or develop the service Forces provide to local people and local communities
Proposition
A business case explored the viability of an Integrated Major Crime Service to services in Cleveland, Durham and North Yorkshire.
Following consideration by the Parties to the Evolve programme, it is recommended that Cleveland and North Yorkshire implement a two Force Major Investigation Team to service their communities
Preferred option
The preferred option set out within the business case meets the requirements of the Evolve Programme. It provides the best opportunity to;
- ‘Future proof’ major investigations whilst offering the highest potential for long-term financial sustainability
- Ensure the best use of specialist resources by driving out duplication. Also ensuring consistency and support to local policing across the two forces
- Increase the availability across the two forces of investigative and supervisory major investigation resources, providing resilience at times of peak demand
- Enable both Forces to benefit from the creation of a dedicated cold case review function and MIST within this option
- Encourage the use of agile working practices alongside other modern methods of working by developing a virtual hub
- Reduce the space required for the unit. Set-up costs would be kept to a minimum. That’s because there would be sufficient space within the current two force’s estates to house the team
- Develop common working policies, frameworks and reporting arrangements, providing greater transparency of cost and performance and enabling Forces to drive enhanced performance and value
- Increase the number of dedicated officers and staff working within the major investigation functions from 47 to 74, through the use of workforce modernisation and slimmer management structures which concentrate resources to the front end of investigations
Considerations
In making their decision, Commissioners and Chief Constables should note the following:
- The full business case is based on analysis of previous demand, functional leads and area specialist have been engaged in revisiting the existing crime profile and establishing the level and impact of ‘hidden demand’ on any joint unit
- Stakeholders in the key enabling services (HR, Fleet, Estates, Information Technology and Finance) across all three Forces have provided advice on the viability of the Integrated Major Investigation Team model, and have contributed to the business case
- The business case model was developed with, and has the support of, functional leads and area specialists. In line with the Evolve Programme’s standard working practice, expert practitioners helped to design a service specification, setting out the key elements to be provided by a single unit.
Decision Making
On Wednesday 22 July 2015, the Joint Governance Board (JGB) met to consider the Outline Business Case (OBC.) This was in respect of a Cleveland, Durham and North Yorkshire Integrated Service.
The Board having reviewed the OBC, agreed in principle the recommendation. They agreed that a collaborative hub and spoke model would best meet the requirements of a three force model as set out in the agreed service specification.
In addition to the agreement regarding the preferred operating model, the board undertook to review the OBC in more detail. This was in order to determine if and when to progress with the implementation of a collaborative service and to move to a full business case regarding the preferred option as set out in the OBC.
In the view of policing advisors to the Police and Crime Commissioner for Durham, implementation of an IMCS at this time would not allow the force to adequately service local requirements.
While the potential benefits identified in the OBC are recognised, there are local implications. They relate to the consequential impact on other areas of policing. As a result, they make participation in the immediate term unviable.
Following the decision of Durham not to proceed with a collaborative service at this time, a subsequent review was conducted as to the viability of a collaborative unit between Cleveland and North Yorkshire.
The initial proposed model was reviewed to verify the feasibility and associated costs of the proposal based on a two force model and to confirm that the model continued to meet the strategic intent and principles set within the Evolve Programme.
The hub and spoke model remains viable for operational delivery of major crime investigations. However, there were concerns that simply adopting the model with the removal of Durham from the structure could have issues with resilience of the unit.
Amended business case
There was a further business case was prepared. It set out the amended proposal for a collaborative Cleveland and North Yorkshire Major Investigation Team (CNYMIT).
Building on the model presented within the original business case. The Coordination and Delivery Meeting (CDM) considered and agreed the business case for CNYMIT on Thursday 25 February 2016.
Decision 24. Evolve Programme on Major Crime (application, 332kB)