During my recent discussions with the Service in order to re-energise the introduction of the Met wide ‘On Duty‘ DI Roster the subject  of the Late Senior Duty Officer (LSDO) experiment was raised.

From the feedback I received from those Chief inspectors who had the dubious pleasure of performing that role the common cause of complaint was a lack of clarity over what were their responsibilities whilst so employed and in fairness it appears  that this uncertainty  as to purpose was not confined to them.

The LSDO was initially meant to work in liaison with the On Duty out of hours Superintendent and then in a later guise at the direction of the CCCIR to be the Commissioners ‘Eyes and Ears’ at Serious, Critical or Major Incidents. Sadly neither of these lines of supervision was able to add clarity, or provide a meaningful purpose, to the role and it will therefore come as no surprise when I reveal to you that I was told during my discussions that the LSDO experiment in its current format was not going to be proceeded with.

But – and isn’t there always a ‘But’- the MPS are committed to utilising the Chief inspector rank to make a positive impact upon their ‘Presence’ objective in the same way as the Out of hours Superintendent roster and the On duty DI’s roster seek to increase the level of visible supervision throughout the Met 24-7.

The concerns about the role and responsibilities still need to be resolved though. So to assist me in future discussions on whatever will be introduced to replace LSDO I would genuinely like to hear from any of you who have thoughts as to how the skills and experience of those within the Chief Inspector rank can be best utilised to add value to the ‘Presence’ programme. Please use the e-mail link at the conclusion of this item or speak to your local Inspectors Fed rep and ask them to represent your view.

Whatever ‘new’ system is brought in – like the systems for Superintendents and DI’s, it will be in addition to, and I earnestly hope instead of, the ad-hoc local systems that all too often seem to involve the thorny and unauthorised practice of officers being placed ‘On-Call’.  You should not need reminding, but I will do so anyway, you cannot be placed against your wishes onto a On Call rota. The MPS policy on this topic is unequivocal- an officer can only be placed ‘On-Call‘ if they volunteer to be so encumbered.

So LSDO versions 1 & 2 are, or soon will be no more but version 3 is being worked upon as I write and I need your help to try and make sure that whatever is implemented not only provides the Service with a more effective response to its meet its needs but that it also provides those officers performing the role with a more worthwhile and rewarding experience.