Having now been in exile from the island for some two-and-a-half years, I still keep up to date with events in the one place I truly call home.

I find however that my frustrations with the place are no less diminished now that I am living in the UK.

Over here, it is a complete and utter mess, with inertia, stagnation and no real plan.

I can to a degree forgive this in a kingdom with a population of some sixty million. It is more difficult to do so where just 85,000 reside, autonomy provides opportunity and you can see one end to the other on a clear day.

Public services remain in disarray in the island despite the sterling efforts of many good front-line people. It was therefore with interest I read the recent inspection report on the constabulary published by HMICFRS.

At the outset, I was rather amused by the comments of the Minister for Home Affairs that it was frustrating how long they had waited for the report.

It is ironic that this was the first outside scrutiny that the constabulary had received from a professional perspective for well over 15 years. The DHA’s failure to commission that insight lies squarely at their door.

I am now a university lecturer in policing, and as such am exposed to large amounts of academic and professional research on the subject.

Reading the report, I found that there were undercurrents that were all too familiar from my time with the force; lack of investment, lack of wider exposure to the bigger picture, and lack of an organisational memory.

In the first instance, the Isle of Man Government needs to understand that the key public services cannot be done on the cheap.

Policing is becoming increasingly complex, and the leadership need to have the resources to hand to achieve their mission statement of ‘keeping people safe’.

A clear example is the ‘no funding’ issue around the integration of mental health nurses into the operational capability of the force.

Although in the UK, forces are now strongly stepping back from the attendance of mental health crises, finally refusing to fill the gaps in other services, it has to be recognised that the inertia I mention is likely to mean that change is still some way off in terms of the island.

When something works, and makes for better outcomes for the public, the silo mentality of retreating to barracks and not persisting with partnership working is difficult to reconcile.

It was further apparent that HMICFRS recognised that training and development was sliding.

Whether this was properly equipping staff in the Emergency Services Joint Control Room with the key skills of triage and recognising vulnerability, or the enhanced training detective officers require, the persistence in under-funding prevails.

I recall from my own time in the constabulary having bids for staff development being refused, even though failing to provide it presented clear organisational risks.

Again, this fault lies at the door of the DHA, in failing to secure the monies required to allow the force to keep pace with the 21st century.

In a force where such a high number of officers are very young in service, this extends to the need for meaningful leadership development to ensure those in charge can achieve the very best for their people.

The continued importation of officers at chief inspector and above, and the lack of a credible candidate to take the rank of chief constable is an indictment of this very issue.

This is but one area where that lack of an organisational memory prevails; it should never happen, and the reasons that it does seem to be forgotten each and every time.

There are good people in the constabulary, who with the right leadership development and coaching are more than capable of occupying those positions.

The report should stand as a very useful base for Russ Foster’s ‘first hundred days’ of office. Regrettably, it is not the best of reading as a legacy for the outgoing chief constable.

Derek Flint

Lytham

Lancashire

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