Additional
Leadership and governance
Craig Naylor is the current HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary in Scotland (HMCICS). He was appointed by Royal Warrant for a term of three years and is completely independent of government and policing bodies. He is responsible for the strategic leadership of HMICS and accountable for our activities.
Our corporate plan 2021-2024 clearly sets out our strategic direction and our approach to scrutiny.
Planning and processes
We seek to have effective processes for key areas of our activity. These include our scrutiny risk assessments, scrutiny framework and the introduction of an inspection framework. Through various methods for organisational continual improvement we will seek to enhance our effectiveness, efficiency and economy. We intensively debrief our activities, seek feedback from those we scrutinise, partners and others and use this to enhance our processes and approach. This has resulted in a refreshed complaints handling process and a revitalised communications and engagement plan.
Our people
HMICS is located within St Andrew’s House, Edinburgh.
HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary (HMCIC) is head of HMICS through appointment by Royal Warrant. HMCIC is supported by an Assistant Inspector of Constabulary (AIC) who is a seconded chief superintendent from Police Scotland responsible for the day-to-day operation of HMICS.
The team has three full time and two part time lead inspectors who have a wide range of relevant professional experience gained from backgrounds in policing and the public sector. They play a crucial role in leading and planning of inspections in accordance with our inspection framework and published scrutiny plan.
Our Improvement and Scrutiny Programme Coordinator oversees the work of our inspection support team which consists of two support inspectors; a business support manager; a PA and business support officer and two inspection support and design managers. This small team provides administration function encompassing executive support, budget and expenditure management, freedom of information requests, risk management, inspection support and project management, and design, formatting, and publishing capabilities.
We have recruited a cadre of associate inspectors, each with a broad range of professional experience in both the public and private sectors. One of those associates is our media and communications officer who is responsible for managing and conveying information on the work of HMICS to the public, media, and other stakeholders.
Our partnerships
We engage with over 100 differing stakeholder groups in the course of our activities. Our principal partners include Scottish Government, the Police Investigations & Review Commissioner, the Scottish Institute for Policing Research and a range of other audit and inspection/improvement bodies. We engage at varying levels with many stakeholders nationally, regionally and locally and also seek feedback through a wide range of channels, including social media.
Our resources
Details of the HMICS budget are contained within our annual reports.
Outcomes
We will add value through the work we do, highlighting good practice and making recommendations that drive improvement in policing for the communities of Scotland. We will do this in a proportionate manner and work collaboratively to minimise our scrutiny footprint. We will monitor our work to ensure it is adding value and will continually improve to ensure what we do it is relevant, up to date and timely. We will work to our values and inspect using the principles of our framework to ensure transparency.