POLICE staff were pressured to end calls quickly and used "scribble pads" to log cases, a major review into the 999 service has revealed.

The findings of the probe, which were released today, also identified inconsistencies in the way incidents are handled.

HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland carried out the investigation following the deaths of young couple, John Yuill and Lamara Bell, in a crash on the M9.

The couple lay undiscovered for days after a crash on the M9 near Stirling despite a sighting of their wrecked car being reported to a police control room.

A raft of problems has been identified with the 999 service and HMICS has made 30 recommendations for improvements to be addressed "as a priority".

The HMICS review was ordered by the Scottish Government.

It has reported weaknesses in Police Scotland's approach to implementing its new national call handling system, which has seen a number of control rooms closed.

HM Inspector of Constabulary Derek Penman said: "The oversight of this project has been inadequate with key risks and other issues not being identified or highlighted to senior managers.

"There was an initial focus on meeting deadlines and increased productivity rather than a well-managed project with a focus on customer service, good staff relations and thorough process design."

An HMICS audit of calls provided assurance over the accuracy of information being recorded on systems, but it also highlighted inconsistencies in the way incidents are handled.

It found examples of call handlers being under pressure to end calls quickly and grading of calls being dependent on resources available.

HMICS also found that some staff noted information on scribble pads rather than inputting it directly on to the system, although Police Scotland has recently introduced processes to monitor and manage this.

Mr Penman said staffing levels at Bilston Glen - where the call regarding the M9 crash was received - were insufficient and had resulted in poor call handling performance, although the force has made "considerable efforts to address this".

In an interim report published in September, HMICS urged Police Scotland to suspend the planned closure of call centres in the north and keep them fully staffed until a new area control room is fully operational.

Remaining personnel in the understaffed Aberdeen, Inverness and Dundee call centres are facing ''unacceptably high'' pressures and the practice of diverting overflow calls to the central belt control rooms at Bilston Glen and Govan is creating additional risk to the public, the watchdog concluded.

Its interim recommendation stated that ''the service centres in Dundee, Aberdeen and Inverness should be maintained and staffed appropriately'' until a planned new area control room in Dundee is fully operational.

Scottish Justice Secretary Michael Matheson accepted the recommendation, and announced £1.4 million of funding to recruit and retain call handling staff.

Today's full report makes it clear that the Scottish Police Authority should not approve any further stages of the call handing project until it receives independent assurance that Police Scotland is ready.

Its 30 recommendations include the appointment of "an experienced and qualified programme manager with immediate effect" to manage the remaining stages of the new call handling model, an urgent review and strengthening of the approach to programme governance, and improved financial management and reporting for the call handling project.

Police Scotland should also promote an "improvement culture" where staff are encouraged to report adverse incidents or "near misses", and introduce processes as soon as possible where these can be recorded, assessed and any improvement identified and implemented.

The review focused broadly on all call handling procedures and was ordered in addition to the continuing independent inquiry specifically into the M9 incident by the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner.

Mr Matheson will make a statement to the Scottish Parliament later detailing the Government's response to the review's findings.

Aamer Anwar, solicitor for Kieran Burt, the five-year-old son of Lamara Bell said he has been instructed by Kieran’s father Lee Burt and Grandfather James McMillan to issue a statement on their behalf following the publication of the HMICS report.

He said: “At the heart of this tragedy is Kieran who never stops speaking about his mum.

“Some mornings he will wake up a happy boy because he dreamt of Lamara, but it is heart-breaking when a little boy tells you he misses his mum and the sound of laughter changes to silence.“

He said the family have two primary concerns, the first is that “such a catastrophe should never happen again, but second is the question of accountability”.

Mr Anwar said: “Police Scotland are guilty of failing communities across Scotland, whilst their approach to the complaints of call handlers can be described as at best ‘ad-hoc’ and at worst ‘shambolic’.”

Mr Anwar went on: “Today’s report delivers a damning indictment on Police Scotland’s call handling processes, Lamara Bell was not an isolated incident, despite what they wanted everyone to believe.

“It is clear that Police Scotland was not ready for national changes in call handling but went ahead despite concerns for safety and introduced ‘unacceptably high levels of pressure’ on staff.

“Of course human error is inevitable, but the fact that Police Scotland does not even have ‘systematic processes for recording adverse incidents or near misses’ suggests a dangerously cavalier approach to such incidents.

“Sadly it took Lamara’s death to expose a systemic crisis at the heart of the call handling system.”
Mr Anwar continued: “Today’s report exposes a Police Scotland which took a ‘narrow approach to the scrutiny’; were ‘weak with key risks’ and lacked ‘clarity around the strategic vision….with no alignment to a wider policing strategy’.

“It is unacceptable that ‘some staff occupying key project board roles have limited experience of and training in programme and project management’.

“It is unbelievable that that ‘the current arrangements for risk management within the C3IR project and C3 Division are not robust’ but are described as ‘weak’.

“Police Scotland’s leadership were in a desperate rush to scapegoat individual officers, but at the same time they were in denial about the ‘low morale’ and the immense pressures created for call handlers by centralisation, cutbacks and target times which ultimately created a potential for serious harm or the loss of life.

“This family welcomes HMICS calls for ‘independent scrutiny’ of the processes if ‘public confidence in the service is to be fully re-established’.

“It is a shocking statistic that 93 per cent of police officers and staff have negative views of how calls are handled, graded and dispatched or that only 34 per cent thought something was working well with the non-emergency 101 service.”

Mr Anwar added: “Lives still remain at risk and if the authorities genuinely care about Kieran’s loss and what happened to Lamara, then they must hold to account those in the leadership of Police Scotland who appeared to have had such a reckless disregard for public safety.”