About
Independence
The Civil Nuclear Police Authority is independent of the Constabulary and consists of seven members; all are appointed by the Secretary of State for Energy & Climate Change.
The Chairman, an independent member and a Police Advisor member are selected after application and interview with four members being recommended by the nuclear industry operating companies.
Unusually for a police authority, the Civil Nuclear Police Authority is the employer of all Constabulary personnel, both police officers and police staff. All legal transactions involving the Constabulary are carried out in the Civil Nuclear Police Authority's name and under contracts and arrangements made by it.
Accountability
The Civil Nuclear Police Authority is primarily in place to ensure that the Constabulary polices effectively, efficiently and is responsive to the needs and priorities of the stakeholders they serve. The key responsibilities of the Civil Nuclear Police Authority therefore are to:
- set the strategic direction for the Constabulary
- ensure that the Constabulary has sufficient resources to carry out its functions in accordance with that strategic direction and
- hold the Constabulary to account for the way in which it carries out those functions
We have put these building blocks of accountability - to the public and the government - at the foundations of our Annual Report.
Policing Strategy
Each year, we approve a Policing Plan produced by the Chief Constable setting out priorities, objectives and targets for the Constabulary over the coming year. This plan reflects both national policing and local priorities, identified through analysis of stakeholder requirements obtained after full consultation - including consultation with local stakeholder groups in areas where there is a relevant nuclear site. Operational Units and departments also develop plans on an annual basis outlining how they will contribute to the priorities, objectives and targets in the agreed Policing Plan.
Further information about these areas can be found on the Constabulary's website.
The Police Authority publishes this three year Policing Plan which identifies what we intend to achieve over the next three years, including a full explanation of the strategic planning framework.
If you want to take an active part in stakeholder consultation, or would like further information about the work of the Police Authority, please contact the Executive Director at:
Civil Nuclear Police Authority
H280 Hinton House
Birchwood Park Avenue
Risley
Warrington
Cheshire
WA3 6GR
How it works
As a statutory public body entrusted with significant resources and responsibilities, the Police Authority has a duty of 'stewardship', not only of public money, but also in relation to relevant sites and assets within our communities.
In discharging this duty we have a strong sense of how the Police Authority must carry out its work and the things that matter in discharging its key functions.
To this end we have identified a series of key principles:
Key Principles of the Authority:
- We have the confidence and active support of all stakeholders including the Government, the nuclear operating companies, our staff and the general public to whom we are responsible and accountable
- We maintain total security in accordance with our responsibilities
- We ensure that the Constabulary delivers a policing service that is effective and efficient, ethical and professional, responsive to the needs of all our stakeholders
- We adequately resource the Constabulary, taking into account the current and anticipated needs of stakeholders
- We are positive about diversity and aim to maximise the contributions of all employees.
- We aim to build a Constabulary that resembles the communities that it polices and one that is free from racism, sexism and any other form of discrimination
- We ensure that the Constabulary recognises the rights and fundamental freedoms of individuals and communities, aiming at all times to act proportionately, reasonably and in a way that is justified by the circumstances
- We exercise strong corporate governance, scrutinising performance and striving continually for self improvement, learning from past experience and incorporating good practice from elsewhere
In embedding these key principles we aim to ensure that:
- Strategic plans for governance and accountability are in place
- We are visible to, and effectively engage with, stakeholders
- We have effective, regular collaboration with all stakeholders to ensure we respond to their changing needs
- We have a rigorous scrutiny system in place to hold the Chief Constable and Constabulary to account
- We maximise efficiency and improve effectiveness
The Police Authority has started with the basics, establishing rigorous control mechanisms for the proper management of resources and governance of the Constabulary. Installing audit and risk management structures to provide internal checks that complement those outside the organisation, we have worked to ensure that any expenditure is reasonable, necessary and ultimately makes a positive contribution to the operational policing service provided by the Constabulary.
In the years that follow we will continue to build on this firm foundation and establish more refined processes and ways of working to maximise efficiency and effectiveness, demonstrating good employment practice and strong corporate governance.
What Next?
The previous sections have looked back over the past 12 months and highlighted things that have been achieved or established. However, as the strategic responsibility of the Civil Nuclear Police Authority involves an ongoing cycle, this retrospective assessment is only part of the job.
Taking the past year into account, it is necessary to look ahead at those areas of planned activity that will continue to keep the Authority and the Constabulary focused on the longer-term direction and objectives.
There are many things already on the strategic 'horizon', some of which include:
- Review of practices and policy in light of the matters raised in Her Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary's baseline assessment;
- Instigation of rigorous Best Value Reviews of the Constabulary Headquarters and Training functions to identify efficiency gains and maximisation of resource allocation;
- A strategic conference in the autumn, looking ahead in light of the government's energy review findings and its implications for the long-term future and
- Consideration of the Workforce Modernisation Programme and its potential application to the Constabulary.