The past decade has witnessed major developments in public service management thinking on issues such as delegation, accountability and the best means to deliver service improvement. For the police, the greater emphasis now given to local problem solving is encapsulated in the establishment of statutory partnerships under the 1998 Crime and Disorder Act. And, from April 2001, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) will carry out inspections of BCUs as well as force-wide reviews. Against the backdrop of local performance focus, this paper explores the role of HQ in managing and supporting BCUs.
BCUs are geographical service delivery units within police forces. While BCUs deliver the majority of day-to-day policing services, force headquarters (HQ) retains a vital role in two broad areas:
- strategic management and leadership, including negotiating trade-offs between competing risks and resource demands
- the provision of specialist and support services
This paper suggests ways in which forces can improve those activities that support frontline policing delivered by BCUs, and can strengthen performance management within a culture of devolved responsibility. It also flags up wider questions about how policing services are organised that need to be addressed through further research and debate.
Included in this management paper:
- an overview of the roles of headquarters and basic command units
- strengthening the performance management framework
- aligning resources with need
- improving support to basic command units
- increasing collaboration between forces