Policing in schools

Report: 11
Date: 8 December 2005
By: Commissioner

Summary

The Safer Schools Partnership (SSP) was set up in response to the Prime Minister’s Street Crime Action Group initiative to combat youth crime and has been in operation since April 2002. To date, there are currently 167 Safer School Partnership (SSP) officers working in 280 schools across London under the banner of SSP. This report highlights current developments within the SSP and how police community support officers (PCSOs) and police officers within Safer Neighbourhood teams are linking with SSP officers.

A. Recommendation

That members continue to support the work being carried out by the school officers.

B. Supporting information

1. With the inception of the Safer Neighbourhoods Programme and the formation of a Safer Neighbourhood Team on each neighbourhood / council ward within the Metropolitan Police District, by April 2007, the visible presence and reassurance afforded by the Safer Neighbourhood Teams should decrease street crime and provide a significant deterrent to potential perpetrators. This will impact on the schools within the neighbourhoods, reassuring young people with an increased police presence at times of the day when street crime involving young people is most prevalent.

2. The linking of SSP and Safer Neighbourhood officers, both police officers and PCSOs, on boroughs with secondary schools on neighbourhoods already in receipt of a Safer Neighbourhoods Team has resulted in increased support for the SSP officers and the facility to problem solve on a Neighbourhood basis rather than just a school and separate local community. The close links will result in increased intelligence being gathered and disseminated and problems solved in a more timely fashion. The satisfaction obtained by local residents from the close links enjoyed by the officers will increase when all Neighbourhoods are in receipt of a Safer Neighbourhoods team.

3. It was identified that young persons were less likely to be involved in street crime, anti-social behaviour and other offences if they had access to a role model at an early age. To assist with the primary/secondary transition period and maintain contact with primary schools Safer Neighbourhood officers are encouraged to contact their neighbourhood primary schools, introduce themselves to head teachers and assist with projects within their remit. PCSOs and constables are reassuring school staff, parents and children by their presence, gaining intelligence, preventing crime and taking ownership of primary schools within their Neighbourhoods and providing themselves as an essential role model to the school community. Greenwich police have posted two PCSOs to work with their primary schools within their schools programme and are obtaining encouraging results from the regular contact. Key areas in which the Safer Neighbourhood officers can excel are tackling truancy, safer routes to school and anti-social behaviour.

4. Currently the Safer Neighbourhoods Youth Team is starting an audit of the citizenship programmes available that are sponsored by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS). This will entail partnership working with the Department for Education and Skills to establish from the Physical Health and Social Education coordinators what citizenship packages are required, and what effect they are having. This will assist the MPS to direct their resources and support in a directed manner products that are wanted, effective and that deliver the required outcomes.

5. The Safer School Partnerships have been extremely well received by head teachers of secondary schools that have been allocated an individual officer or a part share in an officer. However, measuring the success of the system (highlighted by the KPMG evaluation in November 2004) has been a considerable problem.

6. A project being developed on Westminster borough, the Truancy, Exclusion and Anti-Social Behaviour project; has developed a set of pilot performance indicators that directly link to the Every Child Matters Outcome Framework and the Safer School Partnership objectives. The Performance Indicators have been deliberately simplified so that police officers can directly attribute the work they are doing to a particular outcome. See Appendix 1.

7. The results achieved in the Westminster pilot will be evaluated at the end of the financial year by a team led by Professor Peter Newby from Middlesex University.

8. The current work being undertaken around policing in schools is firstly of consolidation. The Citizenship Programme and associated packages are the subject of audit. Performance indicators are being piloted in the borough of Westminster. Both subjects have already been discussed above.

9. The introduction of Safer Neighbourhood’s officers into primary schools is an exciting project. PCSOs are particularly keen to become involved with schools and a training package has been devised for Safer Neighbourhood officers to assist them practically when inducting them into schools. Many Safer Neighbourhood officers are already inducted into schools and are eager to participate more fully.

10. The move towards linking Safer School Partnership officers and Safer Neighbourhoods Teams has assisted in a regular flow of intelligence and information we are receiving from schools, parents and other key partners about the effectiveness of school-based police officers within the school community. There continues to be a growing body of evidence that the activities of SSPs in partnership with the school is having a dramatic effect on truancy, bullying, exclusions, anti social behaviour and the fear of crime particularly to and from school.

11. A barrier to the success of the Safer School Partnerships is the problem of recruitment and retention of school based officers. The roll out of Safer Neighbourhood teams in the next financial year will place stress on the human resource allocation on boroughs. The Safer Neighbourhood and SSP officers originate from the same pool of resources and it is a Home Office requirement that all neighbourhoods receive a Safer Neighbourhoods team by April 2007. This may result in insufficient numbers of police officers being available to fill vacancies within schools teams.

C. Race and equality impact

Through the modular training programme and schools conferences, Safer School Partnership officers are receiving inputs on areas such as identifying young people at risk, supporting victims and witnesses of crime and dealing with anti-social behaviour as well as race relations training. Such training is enabling officers to gain a better understanding of how to work and interact with young people and understand how young people view the world, in particular those from minority ethnic backgrounds. A good example of this is the package ‘Fix Up. Look Sharp’ completed by officers in Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark that involved young people from Pupil Referral Units acting out roles that include domestic violence, knife and gun crime.

D. Financial implications

Local training within the MPS has been delivered through partner agencies within the existing schools budget. This modular training has replaced the traditional weeklong course run by local colleges, which were based on delivering educational inputs in the classroom. There is no cost to the school in setting up a Safer School Partnership. The cost to the MPS is one of human resources and equates to 167 police constables: £ 45,524.36 x 167 = £ 7,602,568.12 (including pension costs).

Schools have in practice provided a room and a phone for the officer, which he/she shares with key personnel such as Connexions, drug workers, mentors etc. Officers are commonly working flexible hours to undertake their duties at the schools as well as any extended duties such as Safer Routes patrols, arrests, crime reports, extended school activities including breakfast clubs, diversionary projects or restorative justice conferences.

E. Background papers

None

F. Contact details

Report author: Commander James Smith, Territorial Policing Headquarters

For more information contact:

MPA general: 020 7202 0202
Media enquiries: 020 7202 0217/18

List of abbreviations

• MPS – Metropolitan Police Service
• PCSO – Police and Community Support Officer
• SSP- Safer Schools Partnership

Appendix 1: Pilot PIs for Safer Schools

These are draft performance indicators have been developed for the Safer Schools Partnership through the Westminster Truancy Exclusion and Anti Social Behaviour pilot. They will be piloted as part of the schools based ASB Invest to Save Pilot. All of the performance indicators are taken from the Every Child Matters Outcome Framework.

Reduction in crime

How will we measure it?

• Reports in schools
• Borough figures

What activities would support it?

• Presence and patrols
• School gate activities
• Safety advice
• Property marking
• Intelligence gathering
• RJ conferences

Reduction in fear of crime and ASB by pupils

How will we measure it?

• Viewpoint
• CDRP survey work

What activities would support it?

• Patrolling presence
• School gate work
• Crime Prevention Survey (Identifying Poor Design) advice
• Safety advice
• Citizenship classes
• Liaison with Neighbourhood Police

Reduction in reported levels of bullying

How would we measure it?

• School records
• Survey work
• Viewpoint (or MPS system being piloted in Lambeth)

What activities would support it?

• Crime Prevention Survey (Identifying Poor Design)
• Patrolling presence
• Citizenship classes
• Work with primary transition classes
• Building trust
• School gate work

Reduction in half days missed through absence

How would we measure it?

• Existing systems

What activities would support it?

• Truancy patrols
• Support to ESWs
• Patrolling presence (perimeter and hot spots i.e. parks)
• Advising parents

Reductions in permanent and fixed term exclusions

How would we measure it?

• Existing systems
• What activities would support it?
• Attending case conferences
• Presence patrolling
• Restorative justice (formal and informal)
• Early parental contact
• Effective role model
• Advising parents
• Challenging poor behaviour

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