4th September 2014

Report of the Police & Crime Commissioner

Priority Update – ‘Provide a Visible and Accessible Neighbourhood Policing Style’

1.Purpose of the Report

On 26th September 2013, the Police and Crime Panel received the Police and Crime Commissioner’s (PCC) initial priority update report on providing a visible and accessible neighbourhood policing style. The report provided panel members with progress to date against this key priority.

The purpose of this report is to provide members of the Panel with a further update on the PCC’spriority to provide a visible and accessible neighbourhood policing style.

2.Recommendations

The Panel is asked to note the contents of this report.

3.Background

3.1The Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 places a statutory duty on PCCs to issue a Police and Crime Plan for their police area. One of the main purposes of the Police and Crime Plan is to set out the PCC’s police and crime objectives. Consequently, the PCC has issued the Police and Crime Plan and set the following key priorities;-

(i)Reducing Crime and Anti-Social Behaviour;

(ii)Provide a Visible and Accessible Neighbourhood Policing Style;

(iii)Tackling Serious and Organised Crime;

(iv)Maintaining Public Safety; and

(v)Take Effective Action Against all forms of Hate Crime.

3.2The Police and Crime Plan also defines the short, medium and long term outcomes that will be considered by the PCC when reviewing progress against the plan.

3.3This update report focuses on progress to date against the medium term outcomes on providing a visible and accessible neighbourhood policing style.

4.Provide a Visible and Accessible Neighbourhood Policing StyleOutcomes

4.1In respect of the key priority to ‘provide a visible and accessible neighbourhood policing stylethe outcomes that will be considered by the PCC when reviewing progress of this priority are as follows:-

Short Term

  • Provide a visible and accessible policing presence.
  • Maintain the high levels of satisfaction with the service providedto victims of

crime and ASB.

  • Attend 90% of emergency calls within 10 minutes.

Medium Term

  • Prioritise ‘troubled families’ that have a disproportionate impact on criminality

and ASB.

  • Develop and support the contribution to neighbourhood policing by the

extended police family.

  • Gather information and intelligence to ensure resources are focused on those

causing most risk or harm to the community.

Long Term

  • Maintain public confidence in Merseyside Police.
  • Reduce crime and ASB in communities that experience disproportionately high

levels.

5.Progress Against Medium Term Outcomes

5.1Short term outcomes for the neighbourhood policing objective provide reassurance around police presence, response times and attendance. The medium term outcomes have a different focus with outcomes on police and partnership work around troubled families, the wider policing family and ensuring the police gather and use intelligence to inform decisions around resources.

6.Troubled Families

6.1As stated within the Police and Crime Plan, Troubled Families forms part of the PCC’s objective to deliver neighbourhood policing across Merseyside. Troubled families are those that have problems and cause problems to the community around them, putting high costs on the public sector. The national Troubled Families programme is working towards the overall aims of the programme to get children back into school, put adults on the path back to work, reduce crime and anti-social behaviour, and reduce costs to the public sector.

6.2Each local authority in Merseyside has signed up to the approach and has a dedicated team working to achieve the targets identified and to improve outcomes for those families. These dedicated teams work in partnership with partners from each local authority Community Safety Partnership and third sector organisations. A key outcome for each team is to reduce youth crime and anti-social behaviour.

6.3The table below outlines the number of families identified in each local authority area and the percentage of those families who have been ‘turned around’.

LA Area / No. Identified / % Turned Around
Liverpool / 2,105 / 75%
St Helens / 520 / 28%
Knowsley / 620 / 60%
Wirral / 910 / 41%
Sefton / 650 / 44%

6.4PCC Community Engagement Officers have established links with each of the Troubled Families teams in their designated areas. This ensures a good understanding of the programme across Merseyside and provides timely updates regarding performance and the progress of the programme.

6.5A recent example of good practice is shown in the Wirral. Earlier this year, Wirral Council asked all partners including the Police and Crime Commissioner, Merseyside Police and Wirral Clinical Commissioning Group to sign a pledge to demonstrate their commitment to a Targeted Early Help approach for all families across Wirral. Going forward, all partners who have signed up to the pledge will sit on a Steering Group to ensure that, as far as possible, this approach is adopted in all areas of their work. The PCC will be represented on this meeting by the Wirral Community Engagement Officer.

7.Develop and support the contribution to neighbourhood policing by the extended police family

7.1A further element of the neighbourhood policing objective relates to developing the extended police family to enhance neighbourhood policing. To date work to extend the police family has included:

Police Support Volunteers

•There are currently 140 active Police Support Volunteers (PSVs). During the financial year April 2013 – March 2014 PSVs performed 13,739 hours equating to £187,812.13 added value to Merseyside Police (The figure attached is ‘Added Value’ to the force. In 2011 a piece of work was conducted by the National lead for Volunteers. As part of that piece of work, they calculated the value of a Volunteering hour in each region. This value for Merseyside was £13.67 per volunteer hour).

•PSVs perform functions within departments and neighbourhoods to assist core staff and release them to frontline duties. One example is the High Tech Crime Unit. Since the introduction of PSVs in the unit, along with some other changes, the waiting time for evidence from computers has reduced from 18-19 months to 5 months on average. PSVs in this unit conduct the time consuming task of abstracting data from the computers, leaving more time for officers to analyse data, gather evidence for criminal investigations andthus speeding up the criminal justice process.

Home Watch and Neighbourhood Watch

•Home Watch volunteers support the Home Watch movement across Merseyside, and enhance the relationship and communication between both organisations.

•Following a review in 2013, a number of steps have been taken to enhance the partnership between Home Watch and Merseyside Police, to increase effectiveness and security in communities.

•Following the deletion of Home Office information, a new Crime Prevention booklet has been produced with up to date information on security standards and how to keep yourself and your property safe.

•A monthly Force newsletter has been introduced which is sent out to all leaders and contains information on current crime trends, crime prevention advice and projects for Home Watch leaders toparticipate in.

•Each Basic Command Unit (BCU) has been tasked with identifying hard to reach communities, and engaging with them to develop new Home Watch schemes. A number of new schemes have been developed, including areas such as Kensington and Birkenhead. Some of these schemes do not wish to use the Home Watch branding for fear of reprisals; therefore, they are either operating covertly, or under the tenants and residents association names.

•Each BCU now hold meetings with Home Watch members on a quarterly basis. Information from these meetings will be brought to the Force meetings, where good practice and potential funding pots will be shared.

Community Safety Accreditation Scheme (CSAS)

•41 Traffic Management operatives from Cash and Traffic Management have been accredited with traffic management powers under the CSAS scheme. These operatives were deployed as part of the Open Golf tournament in July 2014, releasing police officers and PCSOs to core duties, minimising the impact on police resources during this competition. This is the first private sector accreditation for the Force.

Special Constabulary

•The Special Constabulary is currently subject to a review. The aim of the review is to provide a flexible, dependable and competent operational resource, which is integrated into the Force and actively delivers on community priorities. An example includes ensuring the current training model does not preclude people from joining e.g. teachers who cannot attend training midweek due to school commitments.

•BCU Commanders have been empowered with posting Special Constables to wherever they deem is beneficial based on threat, harm, risk and community needs. Special Constables will provide a visible front line resource alongside neighbourhood officers and PCSOs.

•A three year plan is in place to increase the Special Constabulary from 400 to 600 officers.Marketing and recruiting processes are being put in place to attract not only individuals that want to join the Force but also those who wish to become career specials. Marketing and recruitment will also be targeted to ensure that the Special Constabulary represents the community it serves.

Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs)

•As reported in the PCC’s initial Neighbourhood Policing priority update, under phase 2 of the Sustaining Excellence Programme,PCSOs were designated with a number of additional powers to enhance their skill base and support neighbourhood policing. Three of these powers required local authority designation – power to issue a Fixed Penalty Notice for littering, fly posting or graffiti. Work is on-going to secure this secondary authority, all local authorities have agreed the memorandum of understand and a meeting is scheduled to finalise this arrangement. PCSOs will receive full training in advance of new powers coming into effect.

7.2By ensuring there is a commitment to extending the policing family the PCC and Chief Constable aim to provide a visible and accessible neighbourhood policing style through a variety of mechanisms both traditional and contemporary. Initiativesincluding Home Watch and PSVs free up officer time, which can then be spent ensuring a dedicated, visible and accessible neighbourhood level service is available to the public.

7.3Since November 2013, when phase 2 of the Sustaining Excellence Programme review was initiated, there have been no further losses of officers or PCS0Os from neighbourhood policing. There has been some movement of officers and staff between neighbourhood sections to manage demand. This again represents the PCC’s commitment to providing neighbourhood policing.

8.Gather information and intelligence to ensure resources are focused on those causing most risk or harm to the community

8.1Information and intelligence gathered by neighbourhood officers from the community is vital to tackling the wider objectives referred to in the PCC’s Police and Crime Plan, especially information relating to serious and organised crime. To date, work to ensure the Force gather information and intelligence and use this information to inform decisions around resources has included:

  • The Chief Constable established the ‘Just Trilogy’ comprising ‘Just Talk’, ‘Just Think’ and ‘Just Lead’. This emphasised the importance of the role and responsibilities of each and every Merseyside police officer speaking with people in our communities to understand local issues of concern and ensure that information is properly assessed and responded to. Building on the success of JUST, Merseyside Police introduced an Intelligence Improvement Initiative in October 2013 (TRIPLE I) aimed at improving:-

i)A substantial increase in intelligence contribution from all police officers, police staff colleagues and partner agencies into the intelligence system. This has involved a marketing campaign, seminars, partnership briefingsand training sessions for Special Constabulary colleagues.

ii)Increasing the number of ways intelligence can be submitted into the intelligence system, which has included a 24 hour helpdesk, over 300 intelligence champions and an automated telephone system which is also due to be rolled out to key partner agencies.

iii)A streamlining of all intelligence systems and processes to ensure expedited action to intelligence provided particularly in relation to risk and harm facing the community.

iv)An improved systematic approach to filling intelligence gaps against threats, harm and risk facing the communities of Merseyside. The aim is to understand threat, harm and risk as much as we can to enable the right resources to be put in to the right place at the right time. Below are some examples of work being undertaken:-

  • Development of intelligence sharing agreements with public sector organisations such as the Security Industry Authority, Department for Work and Pensions, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency, Trading Standards and the Health and Safety Executive. This approach forms part of the National Crime Agency’s Serious and Organised Crime Strategy.
  • Development of intelligence sharing agreements with private sector organisations, such as insurance companies, hire car companies, who are able to provide intelligence on individuals involved in serious and organised crime. Again, this approach is recognised within the National Crime Agency’s Serious and Organised Crime Strategy.
  • Recommendations made in the April 2014 Her Majesty’s Inspectorate Constabulary Strategic Policing Requirement report focus particularly on increasing capacity around cyber-crime and sharing intelligence with the National Crime Agency. HMIC recommendations have been taken into account following the publication of this national report. For example, the Force has invested in cyber capability to develop intelligence gathering opportunities within the Open Source environment. This has allowed greater tasking opportunities for frontline staff and has offered an improved intelligence picture, particularly against organised crime groups.
  • Use of Covert Human Intelligence Sources tasked in relation to area and Force priorities. Merseyside Police have also invested in a source recruitment team to identify, recruit and develop human intelligence sources aimed at improving our knowledge of strategic threats and improve geographical intelligence coverage and, therefore, focus on priority threat, harm and risk.
  • The threat, harm and risk process is a daily event reviewing intelligence and incidents in order that we highlight threats for tasking and response.
  • There is also a weekly Intelligence Operation meeting which ensures all daily overt and covert tasking of police resources is appropriate to the threat posed.
  • Additionally, the most harmful organised crime groups and urban street gangs are allocated for action under the tiered response of organised crime group management, which may involve intelligence gathering or disruption by local officers or a full covert investigation with various police resources attached. This is achieved through patrol activity, operations, covert activity and working with partners. Plan owners are held to account by Local Responsible Officers, usually a Superintendent and then the action undertaken is monitored by a Force Tasking and Co-ordination Governance meeting chaired by an Assistant Chief Constable.
  • Use of Crimestoppers and press office in appeals for information and intelligence around critical events.
  • Use of covert policing tactics targeted against harmful organised crime groupsand individuals.
  • Established the regional Prison Intelligence unit to maximise as a source of information.
  • Regionalisation of Confidential Unit to ensure maximisation of intelligence product.

8.2One way in which the Police can collate valuable intelligence form the neighbourhoods they serve is via the regular Have Your Say meetings held in each BCU. These meetings are advertised in police leaflets and on the Force website. The Commissioner attends a number of Have Your Say meetings and her office assists in the promotion of these meetings to maximise public attendance. These meetings serve as a valuable tool for collating neighbourhood intelligence and provide an effective mechanism for reporting back to the public the results of how the intelligence they share with the Force is used to capture and convict criminals. An example of this work includes police requests to the public around the inappropriate use of scrambler bikes across Merseyside, which has seen the Force acting upon community intelligence to help tackle this problem.

9.Performance Monitoring Group

9.1The Performance Monitoring Group provides the Commissioner with reassurance around all Police and Crime Plan objectives (see appendix A for data).

9.2Most notably, year-end data linked to the neighbourhood policing objective indicates a 31% increase in calls to Crimestoppers compared to the same period the previous year. This resulted in more than 200 individuals being arrested, charged or cautioned during 2013/14.

10.Victims of Crime and Anti-social Behaviour

10.1As highlighted within the Police and Crime Plan, where appropriate, victims will be given the opportunity to have a say in determining how offenders should make amends for their actions. Work to ensure victims’ voices are heard is on-going with the introduction of the new anti-social behaviour legislation. This new legislation, which comes into effect in October 2014, places a duty on PCCs to create a Community Remedy document.

10.2The Community Remedy will provide victims of anti-social behaviour and low level crime with the opportunity to select from a list of appropriate punishments for the perpetrator to undertake. Punishments must either be punitive, rehabilitative, reparative or a combination of these factors.

10.3Once in place, remedies will help ensure victims are heard and can have an input in the punishment an offender faces when caught by the police. This work will be overseen by the Deputy PCC Ann O’Byrne as part of her role as victims’ champion.

11.Conclusion

11.1The PCC has identified providing a visible and accessible neighbourhood policing style as one of her Police and Crime Plan objectives. Following a review of how neighbourhood policing is delivered due to budget constraints, progress to date has been encouraging and the Commissioner will continue to hold the Chief Constable and Force to account via the Performance Monitoring Group.