Community Engagement

and

Consultation Joint Strategy

DRAFT

Document information
Document Status & Version / Review Draft version 2
Version Date / April 2008
Owner / Community Affairs Committee
Equality Impact Assessment / Date: April 2008
Review / April 2008 – next due April 2009

Contents: Page

1. / Introduction / 2
2. / Definition of Community Engagement / 2
3. / Definition of Community / 3
4. / Definition of Consultation / 4
5. / Purpose and benefits of engagement / 4
6. / Principles / 5
7. / Hampshire Police Authority’s consultation process / 6
8. / Monitoring and evaluation / 6
9. / Appendices:
Appendix A – Joint Protocol
Appendix B – Terms of Reference
Appendix C – Consultation Objectives
Appendix D – Consultation Programme / i
ii
iii
iv

Further information about Hampshire Police Authority, its members, committees and Police Authority publications can be found at If you do not have access to the internet or require information in an alternative format, such as Braille, large print or audio, please contact us in one of the following ways:

Hampshire Police Authority

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Winchester

SO23 8AW

01962 871595

01962 851697

1. Introduction

The purpose of this strategy is to document how Hampshire Police Authority and Hampshire Constabulary intend to engage and consult with communities and individuals across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

Consultation with local communities is an important part of policing in England and Wales. The requirement for Police Authorities to consult with their communities was first included in legislation under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) (1984) (Section 106).

Hampshire Police Authority is committed to a programme of consultation. Policing by consent of the public is paramount to the successful operation of the police service, within the resources available.

Hampshire Constabulary also conducts consultation and engagement with the communities of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. The constabulary’s consultation and engagement work includes Safer Neighbourhoods, Victims of Crime and formulation of policy and procedures.

To ensure that the Police Authority and Constabulary have appropriate mechanisms in place to share information and avoid duplication a protocol was approved in February 2007[1]. This can be found at Appendix A.

2. Definition of Community Engagement

Community engagement is all about involving the community in the decisions that are made about the services that are provided for them.

The Community Engagement Guide - August 2005 defines community engagement as:

“The process of working collaboratively with and through groups of people affiliated by geographical proximity, special interest, or similar situations to address issues that affect them.

Engagement involves a continuous dialogue and a two-way flow of information and views, together with opportunities to get involved.”

Effective community engagement helps to make sure that:

  • Public services reflect and respond to the views and concerns of local people andbusinesses
  • People within a community feel involved in, supported and responsible for improving their quality of life, and
  • Solutions work over the long term

The diagram that follows is a typical model showing the different reasons for engagement. Moving from the bottom to the top reflects an increase in the extent to which individuals are directly involved in decision-making.

Ladder of Participation
Supporting / community-based responses and actions
Devolving / responsibility for decision-making to communities
Involving / communities in decision-making
Consulting / over proposals
Researching / needs, priorities and attitudes
Informing / people

Implemented effectively, consultation and community engagement has strong strategic benefits for the Authority by enabling the community to inform and shape their local policing priorities without duplicating effort of the Authority’s partners or causing consultation fatigue.

3. Definition of Community

Many slightly different definitions exist for the term community, but generally, it includes the suggestion that a community is a group of people who all hold something in common.

Community tends to be associated with two key aspects:

  • People who share locality (geography)
  • People who share commonality (interests or characteristics)

Communities of interest are groups of people who share an identity, for example centred on ethnicity, religion or sexuality; or those who share an experience, such as carers. People often belong to more than one community and communities are nearly always very diverse.

Some people may be unable, or unwilling, to identify with any community at all.

Within each community there are likely already to be:

  • Community groups – Neighbourhood Forums, pressure groups, residents groups, age groups, business groups, ethnic groups etc.
  • Community influencers – People within the community who are seen as influencers of the wider community audience e.g. local councillors, local MPs, faith group leaders.

4. Definition of Consultation

In its simplest form, consultation is a communication process that informs decision-making. This communication may be facilitated in different ways depending on the level of involvement required.

Consultation and engagement is more than simply asking people what they expect or their opinions on services. It involves a two-way process by which Hampshire Police Authority and Hampshire Constabulary can inform and learn from members of the public, irrespective of the amount of contact they have with the police as well as from those who use police services. The level of involvement and the techniques used may differ and will largely be dependent on the aims and objectives of the specific consultation process.

5. Purpose and benefits

Community engagement produces a number of benefits:

  • To enable individuals and communities to contribute to the policing of their area and the prevention of crime and disorder;
  • To provide the public with the opportunity to influence key corporate and service delivery activities;
  • To gather perceptions of how far the service being delivered by Hampshire Constabulary meets the needs of communities and individuals, and ways in which the service can be improved;
  • To raise awareness of the work of the police, forthcoming legislation, crime prevention issues, etc. so that people can be better able to comment on needs, concerns and priorities.
  • To secure cooperation of communities in the furtherance of Safer Neighbourhoods and reduction of crime, disorder and anti-social behaviour

6. Principles

To achieve effective and efficient community engagement, it is essential to develop a set of principles that must be adopted by all those involved in the process.

This strategy intends to achieve the following:

  1. Promote diversity amongst local communities, recognising the barriers prohibiting or diminishing engagement with certain groups and seeking ways of removing such barriers and tailoring the engagement methods accordingly.
  2. Work with people rather than for them.
  3. Value and respect the contributions that local people can make.
  4. Give sufficient support to ensure good engagement happens from officer and resources appropriate to each event, to Member responsibility.
  5. Ensure that the purpose of engagement is made clear and agreed from the outset.
  6. Commit to try new and innovative techniques of engagement and consultation.
  7. Feedback on the progress and results of community engagement and provide feedback to all those involved and affected by subsequent decisions.
  8. Learn from past community engagement projects and seek best practice from elsewhere.

Equality and diversity are two key principles of community engagement. They are principles that must underpin any engagement activity. Hampshire Police Authority is committed to ensuring equality and diversity in the provision of its services to all people and communities.

7. Hampshire Police Authority’s consultation process

To ensure that the Authority has appropriate mechanisms in place to seek the views and opinions of the communities of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, the Authority has delegated its consultation process to the Community Affairs Committee.

The Community Affairs Committee meets four times a year in public. The Committee sets the Consultation Objectives for the coming year and agrees the Consultation Programme of activity.

The Committee reviews annually its Terms of Reference, The Consultation Objectives and Consultation Programme of activity, (usually at its meeting held in April).

Please see Appendices B, C and D, for the current:

  • Community Affairs Committee Terms of Reference;
  • Police Authority Community Consultation Objectives; and
  • Police Authority Community Consultation Programme.

8. Monitoring and evaluation

The Community Affairs Committee considers the following queries, to ensure the effectiveness of any engagement or consultation activity:

  • Were the consultation objectives clear and understood by everyone involved?
  • Were resources used appropriately?
  • Was a representative sample used (where appropriate) and were all views collected, including negative views?
  • Was the exercise successful in reaching minority groups and other members of the community?
  • Were the consultation methods used appropriate for the objectives?
  • Are any follow-up events necessary?
  • Was the consultation exercise deemed an appropriate use of resources?

The Community Affairs Committee monitors and, where appropriate, challenges the Constabulary on its responses to issues arising from consultation activities.

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Supporting Appendices

9. Appendix A – Joint Protocol

Joint protocol between Hampshire Constabulary and Hampshire Police Authority in relation to consultation and research with residents, businesses and partner organisations within Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

  1. The Policy and Engagement Manager from Hampshire Police Authority and the Consultation and Research Manager from the Constabulary will meet on a monthly basis to ensure that both organisations are made aware of all ongoing and planned / proposed work. The primary purpose of this is to prevent duplication of effort and assist in reducing over consultation of the public.
  1. Hampshire Constabulary will publish the results of all residents’ surveys and research involving members of the public on its internal intranet site to which the community consultation officer for Hampshire Police Authority has access. Summary results of all public facing research and consultations will be presented by the Constabulary at the earliest opportunity to the Hampshire Police Authority through its Community Affairs Committee.
  1. Hampshire Police Authority will make available the results of all consultations undertaken, through the Community Affairs Committee of the Authority.
  1. Results from both the Constabulary and Authority consultations will be fed into the strategic and local planning processes, to inform corporate documents such as the local policing plan.

Created: December 2006

Adopted: February 2007

Reviewed: February 2008

Appendix B –Terms of Reference

COMMUNITY AFFAIRS COMMITTEE

MEMBERSHIP

Mr. R. Palmer - Chairman

Councillor P. Mason – Vice Chairman

Councillor M. Andrewes

Mrs. F.E. Hoare JP

Mrs. V. Kingsland

Councillor Mrs. M. Snaith

Councillor Mrs. D. Tuson JP

TERMS OF REFERENCE

  1. To set annual objectives for the Authority’s consultation programme.
  1. To engage with and consult the communities of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight about policing and related issues, taking account of the advice of the Consultation Officer and the views of the Chief Constable, and working in conjunction with partnership agencies.
  1. To ensure that the opinions of the communities of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight arising from the Authority’s consultation activities are fed back into those communities.
  1. To ensure that the opinions of the communities of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight are reflected in the future plans of the Authority and of the Constabulary.
  1. To monitor and, as appropriate, challenge the Constabulary on its responses to issues arising from the Authority’s consultation activities.
  1. To oversee the drafting and production of the Authority’s Policing Plan, Local Policing Summary and Annual Report.
  1. To receive and scrutinise reports to the Committee on issues relating to, or arising from, consultation, including consultation undertaken by the Constabulary, and to report to the full Authority as appropriate.
  1. To monitor the effectiveness of the Authority’s partnership role, such as Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships, Operational Command Unit Link Members.

(Review to be conducted at the meeting of the Community Affairs Committee April 2008 – if amendments are requested it will be subject to the approval of the Full Authority at its meeting in June 2008, whereby this page will be updated)

Appendix C – Consultation Objectives

Police Authority Community Consultation Objectives 2008/09

The Police Authority Community Consultation Programme for 2008/09 will be governed by the following objectives:

  • To facilitate better understanding by the communities in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight of the role of Hampshire Police Authority.
  • To consult the communities in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, to provide sufficient and reliable qualitative and quantitative information to inform the Policing Plan for 2009 -12.
  • To consult the communities in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight on general and specific issues, asadvised by the Policy and Engagement Manager in communication with the Members of the Committee.
  • Tolisten to the needs of the communities in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, to monitor and as appropriate, challenge the Constabulary on its response to issues raised through the consultation process.

Appendix D – Consultation Programme

Please see item 10 Consultation Programme for 2008/09.

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[1] The protocol was reviewed by the Community Affairs Committee at its meeting in February 2008