Inspectors' hours: Recording app is developed
New facility will be available amid ongoing concerns that officers are working over the odds.
Date - 23rd May 2013
By - Cliff Caswell - Police Oracle
By - Cliff Caswell - Police Oracle
A new mobile app for inspectors to record the hours they are working should provide a more accurate picture of workloads in forces, the Police Federation has claimed.
The staff association has confirmed that the app is being developed for smartphones and will enable members of the inspecting ranks to input information on the move before uploading it to force systems.
Alan Ogg, Chairman of the Fed Inspectors’ Central Committee, told PoliceOracle.com that the professional burdens being shouldered by officers were not fully understood.
He added: “We are looking to develop this app to make the recording process easier. When officers are busy, recording hours is something that can easily be forgotten.
“When we recently put in freedom of information requests to forces requesting details on the numbers of hours worked by inspectors, quite a few did not have accurate records.”
The Federation has warned that actual working time must be set down, pointing out that innacurate records could lead to senior officers believing working practices were manageable, when they were not.
As previously reported, the Inspectors’ committee has been engaging with officers across all eight regions of England and Wales following the publication of the Time for Justice report by the Cardiff Business School in 2012, which examined working patterns.
Despite claims of inhibiting workloads, the research found that fewer than half of forces in England and Wales were able to provide the figures on working hours within a one-week time span.
A series of workshops have since been debating the issue with the aim of formulating a solution that will be accepted by all key organisations within the Police Service.
It has been suggested the situation with inspectors’ hours has been compounded as members of the inspecting ranks are not eligible for overtime – which was “bought out” some years ago
But Mr Ogg said: “It should be helpful that we now have Tom Winsor’s Unsocial Hours Allowance – and forces need to have a system so that this is recorded accurately.
“The app will allow you to record and upload your hours when you are able to do so.”
IPSG Comment
We welcome any measure that will assist force's acknowledging and trying to deal with the increasing pressures placed on Inspecting ranks.
There have been similar measures taken previously in the Metropolitan Police but it not known what action was taken as a result of the survey.
We have been involved recently in Humberside Police which is apparent from recent blogs and this is one of the reasons we originally became involved.
The performance culture appears partly to blame for a number of Inspectors becoming ill.
There was also a situation where a Uniform Inspector was thrown in at the deep end having been made a Detective Inspector without any previous detective experience.
We hope the police federation are able to have some positive impact on addressing the present difficult situation.
The staff association has confirmed that the app is being developed for smartphones and will enable members of the inspecting ranks to input information on the move before uploading it to force systems.
Alan Ogg, Chairman of the Fed Inspectors’ Central Committee, told PoliceOracle.com that the professional burdens being shouldered by officers were not fully understood.
He added: “We are looking to develop this app to make the recording process easier. When officers are busy, recording hours is something that can easily be forgotten.
“When we recently put in freedom of information requests to forces requesting details on the numbers of hours worked by inspectors, quite a few did not have accurate records.”
The Federation has warned that actual working time must be set down, pointing out that innacurate records could lead to senior officers believing working practices were manageable, when they were not.
As previously reported, the Inspectors’ committee has been engaging with officers across all eight regions of England and Wales following the publication of the Time for Justice report by the Cardiff Business School in 2012, which examined working patterns.
Despite claims of inhibiting workloads, the research found that fewer than half of forces in England and Wales were able to provide the figures on working hours within a one-week time span.
A series of workshops have since been debating the issue with the aim of formulating a solution that will be accepted by all key organisations within the Police Service.
It has been suggested the situation with inspectors’ hours has been compounded as members of the inspecting ranks are not eligible for overtime – which was “bought out” some years ago
But Mr Ogg said: “It should be helpful that we now have Tom Winsor’s Unsocial Hours Allowance – and forces need to have a system so that this is recorded accurately.
“The app will allow you to record and upload your hours when you are able to do so.”
IPSG Comment
We welcome any measure that will assist force's acknowledging and trying to deal with the increasing pressures placed on Inspecting ranks.
There have been similar measures taken previously in the Metropolitan Police but it not known what action was taken as a result of the survey.
We have been involved recently in Humberside Police which is apparent from recent blogs and this is one of the reasons we originally became involved.
The performance culture appears partly to blame for a number of Inspectors becoming ill.
There was also a situation where a Uniform Inspector was thrown in at the deep end having been made a Detective Inspector without any previous detective experience.
We hope the police federation are able to have some positive impact on addressing the present difficult situation.
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