Best value review of managing demand

Report: 12
Date: 16 January 2007
By: AC Territorial Policing on behalf of the Commissioner

Summary

This report:

• Provides an update on the Demand Management Best Value Review (DMBVR) implementation plan, detailing the progress that has been made and the ongoing work still required to complete the recommendations.
• Suggests that, given the progress in dealing with almost all of the seventeen recommendations to date, that an alternative reporting process be used for the remainder.

A. Recommendation

That

1. members agree the completion of recommendations 10, 15 & 16; and
2. approve the closure of the DMBVR report.

B. Supporting information

1. The Demand Management Best Value Review examined the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) response to demand from the customer’s perspective. The progress of each of the seventeen recommendations has been managed through the project board with regular updates being made to the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) PPRC.

2. The main piece of work remaining is on Front Counters. This has its own workgroup and should report to the MPA through an appropriate forum.

3. Hence, the PPRC is invited to close reporting into Best Value Review of Demand Management.

Recommendation updates

Note: Recommendations 2 to 9, 11 to 14 and 17 were agreed as completed at the May 2005, Dec 2005 and June 2006 PPRC reviews and are summarised in Appendix 1 of this report.

Recommendation 1: To improve customer satisfaction by better matching police station front counter services to demand (e.g. opening hours, self reporting, internet telephone access and triage).

4. Management Board agreed the Front Counter Project aims in June 2006. There are three strands to the project, Buildings, People and Processes. The strategic intention is to modernise the current process of delivering front counter services to reflect a ‘citizen focused’ approach. This will be achieved by segregating the elements of enforcement, reception and victim focus to allow for a more appropriate approach to the needs and demand of our customers. Conflicts arise through the need to undertake reception, enforcement and victim focus functions within one station office. This segregation will allow for an enhanced service to all categories of customer.

5. Overall, the programme to bring about these changes has the following strategic intentions:

• All front counter functions be reviewed to address capacity and demand through the analysis and redesign of existing business processes to achieve breakthrough improvements in performance.

6. This will produce a corporate framework for effectively meeting the demand on front counters through the development of efficient business processes to manage demand and better meet customer needs.

• To modify and synchronise front counters with the MPS Estate Modernisation Programme and the Safer Neighbourhood roll out to provide a customer interface point on each ward.

7. This will increase the provision of police services to the community, through front counters, contact points or, an alternative style of delivery thereby providing reassurance and a visible increase in the profile of policing in communities.

• Front counter services to be delivered by extending the role of the Police Community Support Officers (PCSO) to the role of Station Reception Officer (SRO), thereby creating the new post of Station Community Support Officers (SCSO).

8. This will:

• release approximately 300 police officers each day from front counter duty for redeployment to front line policing duties;
• complement the principles of the role of the PCSO i.e. visibility and community reassurance;
• support the aims of the SN initiative; and
• improve and sustain the professionalisation of the role delivering front counter services.

Additional progress to date

People

9. SROs will be able to remain in their role with their terms and conditions from April 2007 for a transitional period. The role of Station Community Support Officer (SCSO) will be introduced from April 2007. How this will be achieved is still subject of on-going discussion with PCS and other staff associations, whom continue to assist in this programme of change.

10. A recruitment campaign for SCSOs is planned for the New Year. Work is in progress to design the training programme, which is intended to commence in April 2007.

Processes

11. Existing processes are being reviewed to assist in the forthcoming training programme. A process guidance manual has been updated to assist in the course development.

12. In the New Year, the next stage will be to consider how key areas can be improved. Some information has been gathered to identify workload relating to crime recording and other front counter functions.

Buildings

13. The model currently provides for the following:

• One 24-hour counter as a minimum for enforcement, victim care and reception services.
• Additional sites to provide victim care as determined by BOCU, CDRP and partnership discussion. These may be 24 hour if the BOCU determines a need. Such sites could be linked to community centres, for example, and would not deal in enforcement activity.
• Ward Contact points as determined by BOCU and Ward panel negotiation. These would not be 24 hour and may only open on a surgery basis for a few hours on certain days. They would only deal in reception and victim care services. These could take advantage of opportunities presented by shops, benefit offices, and similar buildings where a temporary police/public contact point would be beneficial.
• No existing front counter facility will be closed until alternative local and better-located facilities are operational.

14. Therefore this recommendation remains as work in progress and should report through an appropriate forum

Recommendation 10: To deliver a reduction in the average time taken to attend incidents by introducing new call grading and deployment protocols.

15. The conditional deployment trial at Lewisham has been rolled out to the Boroughs that were included in tranche 1 of the IBO roll out. In addition, the Effective Patrol Framework has been implemented across the MPS and has conditional deployment built in.

16. The MPS has made a strategic decision to move towards average response times and this was approved by PPRC. The MPS are working to deliver this for the next reporting period. The current reporting period will use the 12 min I grade response target.

17. Parallel work on National Call Handling Standards will be joined up to the above process. One piece is to bring the MPS I grade in line with national standards, and will lead to better cross force comparisons. This will also have an effect on the measurement of S calls.

18. In light of conditional deployment being implemented and the move to average response measurement being approved, the PPRC is invited to close this recommendation.

Recommendation 15: To develop a marketing communications strategy that informs the public about the standard of service that can reasonably be provided by the MPS.

Progress to date

19. The Citizen Focus Programme has been active in publicising the standards of service the public can expect and also list the services the MPS provides. This is published as a paper and web document – Quality of Service Commitment, and it submitted that this work addresses the requirements of this recommendation.

20. The PPRC are therefore invited to close this recommendation as complete.

Recommendation 16: The MPS Collaborate with other emergency services on publicity campaigns to reduce inappropriate 999 emergency calls.

Progress to date

21. The Central Communications Command (CCC) has been conducting an intelligence led proactive operation to detect offenders who show high levels of misuse of the 999 system.

22. To date over 100 telephone subscribers have been disconnected working in partnership with service providers and an ongoing investigation has led to the arrest of a person who is suspected of making in excess of 1600 hoax calls on a number of different mobile phones. There are plans within CCC to publicise this and that action would clearly support this recommendation.

23. The MPS has liaised with the other services through the DPA. Other emergency services’ inappropriate 999 calls are significantly different from those of the MPS. The London Fire and Rescue Service has it’s own publicity around hoax calls and the London Ambulance Service has not felt the need to deal with the non-emergency use of the 999 system, as NHS Direct now provides telephone medical advice, the source of many of their problems previously.

24. Although it will be prudent to liaise with the other services during any MPS publicity, there is not planned joint activity and there is little value in keeping this recommendation open.

25. Given that a campaign is unlikely to occur, the PPRC is invited to close this recommendation.

C. Race and equality impact

It is not believed that the proposed actions in this report impact any specific groups or sections within the community to a greater extent than the general population as a whole and therefore there are no associated equality or diversity implications.

D. Financial implications

1. Although completing the recommendations contained within this report has a financial implication for the MPS, most of these initiatives are intrinsically embedded in existing work streams such as C3i, Safer Neighbourhoods and the development of the TP Patrol Policy. It is therefore not possible to identify the specific financial impact the influence of this review has had in these areas.

2. The marketing associated with recommendations 15 and 16 will have specific cost implications and a budget has not yet been identified to scope and cost this marketing requirement.

E. Background papers

• Front Counters – Project Methodology to Determine and Effectively Meet Customer Demand DPMO 0113-1
• Conditional Deployment and Task Management DPMO 0104-3
• Effective Patrolling Framework and guidance notes DPMO 0101-1

F. Contact details

Report author: Superintendent Pat Shiel, Territorial Policing, MPS

For more information contact:

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

Appendix 1

Recommendations agreed as completed

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