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On 7 September 2004, a final conference of the Phare twinning project, ”Introduction of the EFQM (European Foundation for Quality Management) model within the Czech Police”, was held. The participants included officials of the Czech Ministry of Interior, the Czech Police, the Dutch partners, a representative of the Czech Society for Quality, and representatives of the private sector - STEM/MARK a.s. and Hewlett-Packard.
The Interior Minister, Mgr. František Bublan, pointed out that the implementation of the model within the Czech Police should result in the satisfaction of both Police members, who will enjoy their work more, and the public. The Head of the Representation of the European Commission in the Czech Republic, Christian Bourgin, spoke of the significance of the consolidation of Police standards and international Police co-operation within the European Union. The presentation by the Director of the Prime Minister’s Cabinet, PhDr. Zdeněk Doležel Ph.D, summed up the significance of the introduction of the EFQM model within the whole system of the Czech Ministry of Interior.
Police President, genpor. JUDr. Jiří Kolář, informed the participants about the output data of the first self-assessment process on the basis of which, and in accordance with the EFQM model standards, both the strong and weak points of the Police were defined. These are the crucial factors for the determination of the Czech Police’s new priorities (see below). The Czech Police intend to change the concept of their work to become a service for the public, i.e. to provide ”community policing” as today’s Police forces say, rather than the previous ”traditional” service for the state. Pre-accession Adviser, Rudy van Leussen, summed up his almost two-year secondment to the Czech Police which resulted in the successful implementation of the EFQM Excellence model in the Czech Police, as well as a strong relationship with the Dutch partners and the continuing collaboration in both Police work and Police education. The President of the Czech Society for Quality, ing. Alena Plášková, CSc, highlighted the primacy of the Czech Police in the application of the EFQM Excellence model in the public sector.
Further contributions from the officials of the East Bohemia Headquarters, North Moravia Headquarters and Děčín District Directorate focused on the partnership between the Czech Police and the public, the model’s benefit for the future of the Czech Police, and the consequences of the first series of self-assessment process for the district management. Kpt. Bc. Radek Galaš, Member of the Quality Support Team, gave a presentation on the beginnings, current work and the future of the Team, while the morning part of the conference was closed by ing. Jan Tuček, Managing Director of STEM/MARK a.s., who informed the participants about the methods and results of the public satisfaction survey.
Following an hour lunch break, the conference continued with a presentation by dr. Alexander Huňát, a Czech Society for Quality expert in the EFQM Excellence model, on the measurement of efficiency in the new priorities implementation process. Presentations by the two chiefs of the Czech Police Local Stations (Brno-střed and Ústí nad Labem) concerned the practical experience of the pilot Local Stations. The contribution of PhDr. Danica Kubešová of Hewlett Packard concerned corporate culture and customer focus as part of EFQM. Deputy Police President, plk. Mgr. Vladislav Husák, emphasised the importance of the Czech Police image presentation.
The concluding words of the final conference were uttered by Deputy Police President, plk. Mgr. Oldřich Martinů, who envisaged a second series of self-assessment process (by 2007), highlighted the significance of the model implementation in the Czech Police, and thanked everyone for their collaboration on the EFQM model.
Within the province of the Czech Ministry of Interior, in particular the Czech Police, the CZ01/IB/JH/04 Phare project ”Introduction of the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) model in the Czech Police” is of high historical significance. In the next few years, a historical change in the concept of Police work will occur as a result of the model implementation, i.e. the Police will provide ”community policing” as today’s Police forces say, rather than the previous ”traditional” service for the state. By implementing the EFQM Excellence management quality model in the Czech Police, the provision of professional and customer/public friendly services, one of the strategic visions of the Police top management, is gradually being accomplished. For the Czech Police to achieve such a set goal, the Czech Police top management made the decision that Police work should continue to become ever more transparent (the Czech Police intend to provide more information to the public about their work, results, costs, efficiency, success and, also, failures). The EFQM model is also primarily based on the criteria of transparency and critical self-assessment. According to the Ministry of Interior, the aim of the quality model implementation is to attain and sustain to a high degree the public and other customers’ satisfaction with Police work, i.e. to make the public feel safer and improve the image of the Czech Police.
). Within the EU alone, the quality management model is employed, in various forms, by more than 20,000 top companies, such as Phillips, Toyota, T-Mobile, Škoda Mladá Boleslav, and, moreover, by state and public administration bodies. Among the leaders in the application of the quality management model within the Police rank the Police forces of the Netherlands, Great Britain and some federal states of FRG. As a result of the project implementation during which the Czech Police was granted collective membership in EFQM, the Czech Police has joined this group of European Police corps managed in a modern style.On 20 March 2003, the Police President issued Order No. 40 to organise a competitive hiring for ”Young Progressive Police Officers”, a specialised work team. Based on the results of the procedure, a Quality Support Team of 31 members was formed. A group of 26 Team members who represent the entire organisational structure of the Czech Police includes pairs representing 8 regional Police HQs, while a further 9 Team members were selected from the units under the charge of the three Deputy Police Presidents. A further 5 members represent the Police education system – 3 represent the Police high schools (Police High Schools attached to the Ministry of Interior – in Prague, Brno and Holešov) and 2 are from the Czech Police Academy. By Order of the Police President No. 110 dated 17 September 2003, the Team was created and acquired its legal status.
The primary task of the Team was to analyse the current internal situation of the Czech Police in line with the principles of the EFQM Excellence model and, based on the results of this analysis, propose a continuous mode for the model application within the Czech Police, including organisational, personnel and material solutions. Further tasks of the Team included the support of the EFQM Excellence model implementation and information activities, i.e. to inform the Police and the general public about the principles and philosophy of the quality model.
All Team members, save for three co-ordinators employed by the Czech Police Presidium, performed the activities following from the Team’s set tasks concurrently with their routine work. Such practice proved it necessary that in the future this work will have to be stand-alone. This gave rise to the proposal that the management of each Police region have a quality co-ordinator to provide the management with services on its way towards excellence. (As follows from the originally set and expected results of the project, such offices were to be established in the organisation up to the level of District Directorates of the Czech Police. This was, however, found to be useless during the project implementation.)
From the beginning of the project, the Quality Support Team (originally called ”Young Progressive Police Officers”) has been designated as the essence of the entire project due to the fact that its members had participated in the majority of activities related to the now-ending PHARE project. In the future, they are to collaborate again with the management on the creation of an effective system to improve the quality of Police work. The Quality Support Team will also actively participate in another EU project – ”Strengthening of crime prevention and the introduction of community policing in Police work”. Again, this new project is being prepared by the Personnel Department. The partners in the new project, likely to be launched in January 2005, will be the Netherlands and Great Britain.
Under the above Order of the Police President, the Quality Support Team is only to work in its current form until the end of 2004. Therefore, since the Quality Support Offices are being established at individual Czech Police HQs, Directorates of the Foreign and Border Police and the Czech Police Presidium, as set out by Order of the Police President No. 100/2004 dated 25 August, the posts of co-ordinator could be filled by Team members. Should, for some reason, this not become the case, it is necessary that all those who have been active in the Team up until now are allowed to participate actively in the work related to further implementation of the quality model within the Police. Thus, they will form a base of personnel who may be invited by the management to join various groups dealing with specific issues and tasks to be encountered on the way towards excellence. Such groups would not only begin to work on or complete specific current tasks, but also form permanent work teams/commissions to provide the management, in accordance with the ”PDCA cycle” (Plan – Do – Check - Act), with feedback gained as a result of intensive work on action plans arising from new priorities (as a result of a review and, as the case may be, a subsequent improvement proposal). Specifically, a commission for ethics would be established to inspect, in certain time intervals, the upcoming Code of Ethics, and a commission for terminology to review regularly the terminology in use and, if need be, explain individual expressions.
As part of the Phare 2001 project, the self-assessment under EFQM was carried out at ”pilot stations”. A cross-section of all units of the Czech Police was addressed and thereafter 14 stations voluntarily joined the EFQM project (originally, only 10 units were requested to do so with a view to the instructor capacity).
After the training of selected staff from the pilot stations, data collection was carried out and EFQM self-assessment reports were drawn up. The reports became the basis for an Analysis of the Internal Situation of the Czech Police which was used by the Quality Support Team, assisted by lecturers from the Czech Society for Quality, to produce an assessment by way of the RADAR card (similarly as in the case of all the other self-assessment reports). After the completion of the assessment, 5 new priorities were presented by the Quality Support Team to the top management of the Czech Police who amended and, on 14 July 2004, approved them. This crucial decision constituted the grounds for the initiation of work on new action plans that are currently being completed by the Quality Support Team with the assistance of lecturers from the Czech Society for Quality (www.csq.cz).
I was invited by mjr. Bc. Stanislav Krajčovič to the opening of the transformed premises of the Local Police Station in Ústí n. L. – město held on Friday, 2 April 2004. This Police Station has been modified to meet the requirements of our customers – the citizens. Upon the entrance you will find yourselves in a reception area where you are welcomed by a policeman ready to answer your queries and help with any difficulties. The place is decorated with flowers, a bowl of sweets labelled with the logo of the Czech Police, and you can have a cup of coffee from the machine. If you have to wait for a policeman who is busy at that moment, you can take a seat. The Chief of the Local Police Station has further ideas for the future regarding the improvement of the environment to satisfy the public.
This Police Station was added to other Police Stations (there was always one representing each Regional HQs) as part of the Phare 2001 project – The introduction of the EFQM Excellence model in the Czech Police – namely the project’s Component 6, i.e. pilot Police Stations. The project funds were designed to help mainly in the field of theory: how to bring the service closer to the public (trainings, materials). Other activities were performed out of the personal interest of the Local Station’s management with the help of its staff in making the alterations to the premises of the Station. Naturally, some problems occurred, and some persist (it is necessary to alter a ”second” entrance for persons detained and brought to the Station, to procure a suitable counter, etc.), but this example still shows clearly that if there is willingness, a CHANGE can be reached with one’s own strength.
The service for the public also includes the collection of information – feedback – from citizens (as to their satisfaction with the services or, as the case may be, proposals for improvement). The project officials have supplied a questionnaire based on the experience of the Dutch Police. Its graphics and contents are of high quality. (Copies of the questionnaire can be ordered from any member of the Quality Support Team.) The opening of the Police Station was attended by journalists who took notes of every detail and interviewed the Station’s Chief about the way he makes the customers feel they are in close contact with the Police. I was asked more general questions concerning the project and its impact on the whole of our organisation. Similar events help our organisation show that the Police perform quality work, care for citizens and their opinions and comments. After all, it is we who are here for our customers, rather than our customers for us.
In addition to the system changes the public will notice within a few years to come, the Czech Police have begun to deal with concrete changes to be made in the Police Stations involving elements of an open reception for the public and staffed by receptionists (civilians). Eight Police Stations, so far, have been gradually developing presentable reception premises for their customers and, at the same time, creating conditions for the work of specially trained receptionists (both policemen and civil staff). The aim of this effort is, in the first place, to reduce the waiting time of crime victims, crime informants and other clients to just a few minutes maximum, and to improve the quality of service standards observed by the Police staff when receiving citizens at the Local Stations. Upon the introduction of the receptionists, the policemen who have so far performed reception duties in addition to their regular work, will then be released therefrom and carry out their own professional Police activities. (According to the experience of the Dutch twinning partner, a receptionist alone can handle up to 20% of citizens’ queries. If it is necessary that a citizen is attended by a policeman then, in the meantime, the receptionist, a graduate from a basic course in behavioural psychology, can receive the customer, who is often stressed by his/her recent experience with crime, and help him/her calm down.) The post of civilian receptionist provides an issue to be considered by the Police and public in the future: that is, the hiring of disabled people.
To realise the project’s vision of open receptions it was necessary to issue a rule of internal management to grant an exemption from the service guideline regulating the operation of policing communications centres established, thus far, in two basic units of the Czech Police: the Local Police Stations of Smíchov and Hradec Králové 2. This internal rule was issued on 14 October 2003 and, subsequently, a new system for the classification of posts in the above units, which included 2 posts for civil staff (receptionists), was approved.
Thereafter, one Police unit was selected from each HQs of the Czech Police to be established as a pilot Police Station, but without the service of civilian receptionists.
In May 2004, a series of seminars organised for the Czech Police on the improvement in the quality of contact with the public at Police Stations was completed. These seminars, conducted by Dutch policemen, were attended by about 600 policemen. (The seminars were provided to the staff of all eight Police units chosen as pilot Police Stations and, in addition, to the staff of the Municipal Police Stations of the relevant regions, the Crime Prevention Information Departments of the relevant District Directorates, the members of the Quality Support Team, the Heads of the Order and Railway Police Divisions of Regional HQs, the representatives of the regional Police education centres and all the Chiefs of the Local Police Stations under the local jurisdiction of the North Bohemia HQs of PCR.)
From the construction point of view, only two Police Stations – in Ústí nad Labem and Hradec Králové, have been completed. The pilot Police Station in Prague – Smíchov, that is to be refurbished by the end of this year, has been employing two civilian receptionists since as early as Spring 2004. Construction work on the Brno-střed Police Station will be completed in November 2004. In the other 4 trained Police Stations (the Municipal Directorate of Ostrava Zábřeh 2, the Local Police Station of Třeboň, the Local Police Station of Mladá Boleslav 1, the Local Police Station of Plzeň-jih - Blovice) citizens have so far been received in accordance with the new quality standards, but without any of the necessary construction alterations.
Due to the fact that the implementation of the EFQM model in the Czech Police is a long-term process, the number of basic units where citizens will be received in a decent environment and, at the same time, will not have to come into direct contact with e.g. any offender, will continue to increase. (The ideal project documentation of the construction alterations should include, among other things, two entrances – one for the offenders and suspects and the other for the citizens who require services from the Police.)
Another proof of the fact that the public may be received in such a manner without any permission or order may be found, for instance, at the Local Police Station in Česká Kamenice where the entrance area was modified solely through the initiative of competent and involved persons. The below photographs show the difference in the environment wherein citizens used to be received at the Police Station before and the changed environment now.
One of the main benefits of the EFQM model implementation for the Czech Police was the preparation and realisation of 2 satisfaction surveys. The first survey focused on citizens while the second one focused on staff employed by the Police. The public opinion survey was carried out by STEM/MARK a.s. by means of CATI - Computer Assisted Telephone Interview. A representative sample of the population of individual regions was selected at random so that both nationwide and regionwide analyses could be obtained. The total number of interviews was 6,423. To extend the representative sample, another 2,051 respondents were interviewed in selected pilot venues. The survey was carried out in three phases and focused on the following issues:
The stability of the public’s attitudes indicates that they recognise the position of the Police, including all evident strong and weak points. No longer do the Police hold the status of a purely repressive authority, in fact quite the opposite is true, the Police have been successfully transformed into ”a service for the public”. In the case of processes like this one, the public value the effort made – although they realise the weak points of the work of the Czech Police, they also appreciate the benefits of the work for the common people.
Feeling of safety and the level of public order
More than two thirds of the population feel unsafe and fear crime (more or less strongly). This is very intensely felt by one fourth of the population, while 46% are worried only to a low extent. There is a significant connection between the feelings of threat and danger and the extent of the area where people live – the larger a city is, the stronger such feelings are. What the public fear the most (4/5) are third party fault accidents, followed by vandalism and harm done to a possession of another, pickpocketting and similar crimes.
Experience of crime
One third of citizens have been victims of a crime (including vandalism) personally, and another fourth have had a similar experience through the people close to them. 3/5 of those who were the victim of a crime last year have reported it. Less than half of the citizens were satisfied with the Police procedure, while only 2/5 were satisfied with both the Police procedure and its results. People are the least content with the way the Police inform them about progress in their work.
Awareness of the work of the Czech Police
The older and more educated a person is, the more interested s/he is in the work of the Police. People are better informed about Police work performed throughout the country (51%) than in the place where they live (36%).
Almost half of the population doubt the objectivity of the media as far as information concerning Police work and criminality are concerned. What the public criticise the most are the lack of openness and the fact that the Police fail to provide timely and current information about their work (63%).
The public are more satisfied with nationwide Police work than local Police work. 2/3 of citizens are satisfied with Police work at the place of their abode, while 3/4 of citizens appreciate Police work as performed nationwide. What is also very positively evaluated are individual aspects of Police work. More than 2/3 of citizens consider the Czech Police to be a trustworthy partner, 68% deem Police work to be performed well and professionally, while 58% are of the opinion that the Police are managed by competent professionals. On the other hand, the public have reservations regarding the unequal approach of policemen to people of diverse social standing and, especially, to the fact that the management do not hold policemen sufficiently liable for administrative delicts they commit.
Negatives in the work of the Czech Police
The corruption rate within the Czech Police is not much different from that of other authorities and institutions. 13% of the population admit that they have had personal experience of Police corruption. However, the survey has proven that the public consider corruption to be a problem of individuals rather than a universal issue of the entire organisation.
Almost one third of the public have had some experience of unsuitable behaviour by or the faulty conduct of policemen. This is most frequent in Prague.
Prevention
3/4 of citizens are of the opinion that the safety and security of their persons and property should be secured by themselves, the Police and local self-government. 4/5 of citizens, save for the fact that they avoid dangerous areas, have already taken some active measures. Most frequently, people (about half of the population) have their windows and doors specially secured. The Czech Police are generally (93%) willing to provide the public with information concerning crimes. Half of the population have had personal experience of a preventative operation by the Czech Police. However, more than half of the population deem prevention of street criminality and juvenile criminality, as well as the fight against prostitution, insufficient.
Following the completion of the public opinion survey, STEM/MARK a.s. carried out four presentations of the research to the top management of the Police, the Quality Support Team and the Crime Prevention Information Department. Subsequently, a press conference was held with the participation of about 25 representatives of the press, radio and television. The Police President, JUDr. Kolář, and the Managing Director of STEM/MARK a.s., ing. Tuček, provided several radio and television interviews (to the following channels: ČRo 1-Radiožurnál 22.7. and 24.7., Rádio Impuls 23.7., BBC 21.7., ČT 1 23.7.). The press continually discussed the survey results. Most frequently, the media discussed the public’s level of satisfaction with Police work, as well as the insufficient communication and the corruption. More detailed data regarding the public’s satisfaction with the work of the Czech Police can be found on the website of the Personnel Department, Personnel Development Section.
Should you have any queries, comments or requests for more detailed information about the ”Introduction of the EFQM (European Foundation for Quality Management) model within the Czech Police” project, please contact the Personnel Department of the Ministry of Interior (PhDr. Jiří Kadlec 974 832 324 george@mvcr.cz or Mgr. Pavel Bezděk 603190 619, phare0@mvcr.cz) or the Quality Support Office attached to the Police Presidium (por. Bc. Veronika Srbová 974 834 385, 603 191 464). For further information concerning the survey of the public’s satisfaction with the work of the Czech Police, please contact kpt. Ing. Anna Vogničová on 974 834 618.
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