1010COPPERPLATE

IN THISISSUE:

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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T A Y S I D E P O L I C E | S T A F F N E W S L E T T E R

www.tayside.police.uk

The Tayside Police Clay Shooting sectionenjoyed their best results to date inthe 2009 season. For the fi rst timetwo teams from Tayside contested theScottish police championships, andin another fi rst for the section the Ateam (front l-r) of Jimmy Wright, CyrilDyson, Dean Morris, Jim Johnston and Dan Neale won a team event in theSporting discipline. Not to be outdone,the B team of Gordon Peebles, Frank Donald, Jim Pentley, Craig Robertsonand Jim Milne achieved third place in the sporting discipline. The individualawards saw Tayside competitors taking1st, 2nd and 3rd equal in the Sportingevent, 3rd place in the skeet discipline, 3rd in the Down The Line, and 2nd

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

For the 2010 season, the sectionwill hold their club championshipsat Auchterhouse Country Sports, on Saturday 1st May, followed by the Scottish Championships, hosted byNorthern Constabulary, on Sunday6th June.

Further details of these events, and theteam practise and tuition dates, will beposted on the Police Club bulletin, under Bulletins: Staff Associations: Police Club, on the intranet, or contact Dean Morris at Downfi eld police offi ce.

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

• 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

should be shredded or securelydisposed of as per GPMS.

• Sensitive information displayedon walls, pin boards, wipe boards,etc., should be removed or covered appropriately to ensure it is notviewed by unauthorised persons, i.e. contracts or non departmental staff.

• Shared offi ces should ensure thataccess to sensitive information is controlled and is only made available on a need to know basis.

BAWP PROFESSIONALDEVELOPMENTDAY IN APRILCommunication, creativity and challengeare the three ‘C’s which will form the basis of the next professional development day organised by the British Association forWomen in Policing (BAWP).The event titled ‘Service delivery – are we making the right connections?’, will beheld on April 20 at the Leicester Marriott, and is the fi rst of two such BAWP eventsthis year for police offi cers and staff.The day will start with a welcome by Cambridgeshire Chief Constable and BAWPPresident Julie Spence, followed by atalk from Diane Lowe on how to improveconfi dence to communicate effectively atpresentations and make your voice heard in meetings.Jennifer Brown will outline thechallenges facing women in policing tobe followed by an innovative session from Mouthpiece Productions whose cast will perform a play on developingservices for vulnerable women.After lunch, Mike Alderson will talk on communication, brands and social media - ‘the changing face of communicationand how to use it to maximise yourbrand, service and impact ‘. The lastguest speaker will be Andy Cope, highlyacclaimed at the last PDD, who will sharehis thoughts on The Art of Staying Brilliant.Preceding the PDD on the Mondayevening, BAWP will be recognising outstanding contributions made by women, at its annual award ceremony.BAWP, which was formed in 1987 to raiseawareness and understanding about issues affecting women in the police service, organises two professional developmentdays a year for about 100 attendees.Further information and booking detailscan be found on www.bawpevents.co.uk.

TOP TIPS FOR A CLEAR DESK

www.tayside.police.uk

P02 | COPPERPLATE | MARCH:2010

Do you know what commitment is necessary to be a SpecialConstable? 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 theearliest legislation dating back as far as1831. Volunteers to the Special Constabularydo so for a variety of reasons, but mainlybecause they wish to have a look at the role of a Police Offi cer before committingthemselves to this, or they just wish to put something back into the community. Many current regular offi cers have started as Special Constables and Tayside are keento encourage this to continue. Over the past2 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 thatall staff are aware of the commitmentnecessary to be accepted as a SpecialConstable and the training given prior to being deployed operationally.Entry requirements for Special Constables are identical to that of aregular Offi cer, the only exception being that it is not compulsory that they have afull driving licence.

The recruiting process is the same as for regular offi cers 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 applicantsuccessfully completes these they will go on to a fi tness test, vetting and medical.Once the applicant completes the recruiting process successfully they are invited to attend a 10 week training courseat Baluniefi eld. This comprises of 17 separate inputs, which must be attended,and includes,

Offi cer Safety Training

First Aid

Diversity

Data Protection

Health and Safety

Notebooks and Statement Taking

Airwave Training

Search

Criminal Justice

Crimes

Criminal Law

Investigative Interview Technique

Training

Road Traffi c legislation including

Traffi c Signalling

Skills Development Day

I.T. Training

Knowledge Test

Only if the applicant successfully completesthis 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 offi cers, 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 areon duty. Many Special Constables have gone on togive years of valuable service to the Force. Any queries in relation to Special Constables should directed to Michelle Grier,Recruitment Offi cer, or Peter Dickemann,Force Special Constable Co-ordinator.

WHAT IT TAKES TO BE A SPECIAL CONSTABLE

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 theForce 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

Constable Gordon Middleton, a Community Offi cer based

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 familiesof police offi cers 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 offi cer 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, orjust contact Gordon personally.

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

RUNNING FOR CHARITY

C bl G d Middl C i Offi b d

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 fi nd, manage and

share information.

As a global system of interconnected computer networksthat serves billions of users worldwide, the internet carriesa vast array of information resources and services aswell as providing the infrastructure to support electronicmail. 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 toprovide the high standards of service that it aspires to.

However, with such a powerful business tool comesassociated dangers including inappropriate use of theinternet 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 putsadditional pressure on our colleagues.

On 15 January 2010, the Deputy Chief Constable re-affi rmed the Force’s desire to maintain internet accessfor business purposes only via a force bulletin entry andthat desire remains the same. The force will continue to monitor all users of the internet and breaches will bereported to Professional Standards Department for furtherconsideration by the Deputy Chief Constable.

Remember, the internet is a valuable tool with the potentialto 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 doour 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 befound on the intranet.

DON’T GET CAUGHT IN THE ‘NET’

A group of Tayside Police offi cers 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 othermotorbike enthusiasts at Squires Café in Leedson 19 June, the designated starting and fi nishing 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 theevent 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 Baluniefi eld Police Station onExt: 1877.

MARATHON MOTORCYCLE TREK

P04 | COPPERPLATE | MARCH:2010

www.tayside.police.uk DESIGNED & PRODUCED BY: hbrutherford

Copperplate is a staff magazine – whether you u ara e tat f

a police offi cer or member of support staff, your

opinions count. That is why we would like to hear

from you with any news, views or suggestions that

you would like to see published in Copperplate.

If you have a story idea, please contact Sarah

or Damon in the Corporate Communications

Department on;

Telephone: Sarah (01382) 596730

E-Mail: sarah.craig@tayside.pnn.police.uk

Telephone: Damon (01382) 596731

E-Mail: damon.rhind.@tayside.pnn.police.uk

“Mystic Meg had put on a few pounds since hercrystal ball went missing.- Lochee Police Team.“Tommy Cooper justwasn’t the same without his fez.” - Lochee Police Team.“The Superintendent demonstrates his new drowning technique.”–Lochee Police Team.“The Convenor was unimpressed by Superintendent TonksTommy Cooper impersonation.” – Inspector Ray Cuthill.“Superintendent Tonks keeps a careful hold of next yearsFCC budget.” – Inspector Ray Cuthill.

Here are some of the captions we received for the

photograph that appeared in the January edition of

Copperplate.

For the next edition of

Copperplate we’d like

some suitable captions

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

Communications

Department.

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e

REDUCTION IN FORCE ABSENCE RATE PRAISED

.”

rowning technique”

Tayside Police continues to make consistent reductionsin respect of police offi cer and staff absence.

For the last quarter of 2009 (October 1 to December 31) police offi cer attendance improved by an overall total of 147 working days when comparedto the same quarter in 2008. Police staff absence was reduced by 28 working days in the same comparable time frames.Presenting detailed information on offi cer 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 ofattendance 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 signifi cant 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 pastyear coincides with an excellent year in terms of Tayside Police’s performance. This is heartening because a full complement of staff increases effi ciency, effectiveness and ultimately quality of service to the public.Tayside Joint Police Board Vice-Convener, George Regan, echoed the opinionsof fellow members, when he said the Force deserved credit for its concerted efforts in reducing sickness absence.

IMPROVEMENT FOCUS GROUPS – LISTENING TO YOUTayside Police invited staff from across the Force toparticipate in a survey that ran from 3 August to 4 September 2009. Results from this staff survey were communicatedacross 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 offi cers and police staff to examine theirarea’s results in more detail and to identify specifi c strengths andopportunities requiring further attention. Over the course of 22 workshops, the thoughts and concerns of nearly 150 police offi cers andpolice 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 havenoticed a genuine intent among their leaders to promote improvementsin organisational culture and management style. Although each divisionand 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 careerdevelopment. Summaries of these meetings have been provided to Divisional Commanders and Heads of Departments and an overall reportis to be presented to the Force Leadership Team in April with subsequentpresentation to the Police Board.With the completion of these meetings, the challenge now becomes sustaining momentum for improvement through action to resolvestaff 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-termplanning and intervention. More detailed updates will be provided as work progresses.