Policing green paper "From the neighbourhood to the national: policing our communities together"

13/08
22 July 2008
MPA briefing paper

Author: Siobhan Coldwell, MPA

This briefing paper has been prepared to inform members and staff. It is not a committee report and no decisions are required.

Background

The Govt launched its Green Paper – From the Neighbourhood to the National: Policing our Communities together - on 17 July. The attached report aims to give an initial overview of the proposals, recommendations and commitments it contains. Whilst the Green paper clearly states that there are no proposals to change police authority arrangements in London, other proposals could have wide reaching implications that will impact on policing in London. A response to the Green Paper will need to be be prepared and submitted.

The Green paper makes specific reference and draws heavily on Sir Ronnie Flanagan’s Review of Policing and the report by Louise Casey – Engaging Communities in Fighting Crime. The paper also references a number of other initiatives and strategies for example the youth crime action plan, crime strategy and so on. Work is underway over the next few weeks to analyse these reports and other relevant documents. These will then be considered alongside the policy priorities of the new Chair of the Police Authority to provide a strategic framework that will inform our longer term strategic and financial planning.

Summary

The paper is presented by the Home Secretary as the next stage of police reform. It is a consultation document inviting feedback by 10 October 2008. Consultation questions are outlined in each section. The MPA will be providing a formal response. Officers are proposing to submit a draft response to COP on 4 September 2008 for Member comment. This paper outlines the content of the green paper. At this point, its only aim is to update members on the content, a further paper on implications for the MPA will be provided in due course.

There are four key themes in the green paper:

• Creating a new policing pledge with both national and local elements, clarifying what people should expect from the police service and ensuring that people’s voices are heard in setting priorities and setting targets
• Moving away from centralised performance management and setting only one top down national target for police forces – to deliver improved levels of public confidence
• Strengthening the democratic link between the public and the people who hold the police to account including the introduction of directly elected ‘crime and policing representatives’
• Clarifying who is responsible for what – nationally, regionally and locally (including being clearer about what each of the key partners are for and how their roles complement each other).

It reflects the findings of the Flanagan Review and the Casey Review, both published earlier this year.

Overall, there is much to be welcomed in the paper, but it also presents a series of risks. Much of the content can be implemented without the need for legislation, indeed there are timelines attached to some on the ideas, for example the policing pledge. The paper being prepared for September COP will outline this in more detail and consider the role of the Authority in implementing change. The Government is publishing further details of its plans in the autumn (including a timeline for the legislative changes).

Empowering Citizens

1. Improving the connections between the public and the police

Summary

People have reasonable expectations about the service the police should provide and know what they want from the police locally so the green paper proposes the implementation of clear service standards and make it easier for them to influence the setting of local priorities through:

• the police commitment to introduce a new policing pledge
• embedding neighbourhood policing in to the broader management of local neighbourhoods and
• being able to directly elect the individuals that will both chair their local CDRP and form the majority on their police authority. NB this proposal does not apply to London – there are no plans to change the make up of the police authority but the Home Office are inviting views on whether the CDRPs should be chaired by directly elected individuals.

In detail:

The green paper uses the model outlined in the Flanagan Review to define how it wants to improve the connection between the police and the public – answerability, responsiveness and structural accountability.

Answerability

• Neighbourhood policing – reinforcing the need for local flexibility to meet local need, but with a drive towards more consistency in order to build confidence in local policing. Greater consistency around terminology, role of PCSOs, involvement of local government and other criminal justice agencies.
• Commitment to neighbourhood policing as the bedrock for local policing and confirmation that ring-fenced funding for neighbourhood policing will continue for 3 years.
• PCSOs – roles, powers, training, uniforms all to be looked at. Powers will be subject to formal evaluation and public consultation.
• Integration of local neighbourhood management – better co-ordination of local services to create safe, strong communities – good practice on what this looks like yet to be defined but core principles to include strong local strategic leadership, clearly defined and agreed neighbourhoods, shared publicly negotiated local community safety priorities, shared information feedback and communication processes, multi-disciplinary teams (co-located where possible), evidence based deployment of resources, nominated officers to act as contact points on joint action who will also drive integration of engagement and service delivery, neighbourhood leads and strong joined up community engagement building on the success of PACT meetings (Police and Communities Together).
• Participatory budgeting will be trialled with volunteer forces. Consideration is also being given as to whether the principles of participatory budgeting should be applied to POCA proceeds.
• Neighbourhood Crime and Justice Advisors to be introduced to take forward the community crime fighter programme and Crime Watch programmes (these are information packs for each household outlining what they can do to make their communities safer).
• CDRPs to be expanded to include probation as a responsible body and to extend statutory duties to include reducing reoffending.
• Community payback schemes to be developed.
• Reinforcing the role of neighbourhoods in the PREVENT agenda.

Responsiveness

• Introduction of a policing pledge setting out what people should expect from the police, underpinned by a set of local priorities agreed by people in each neighbourhood (expectation that this will be in place by the end of the year). This includes publicising contact details and there will be expectations of what this should look like.
• NPIA asked to do a review of ‘soft skills’ such as victim and witness care and contact with the public.

Strengthening local accountability

• There are several proposals about changing the make up of CDRPs so that they are chaired by a directly elected representative. However, these proposals do not apply to London.
• A community safety fund will be available to these representatives (similar to the BCU fund) (not clear if this will be available to London).

Local information

• More information to be made available including monthly performance information and contact details. Crime mapping expected to be in place by December 2008.

Professionalising and freeing up the police

2 Reducing bureaucracy and developing technologies

Summary

Combating red tape and ensuring the police have access to top quality IT systems in order to take the paper work out of policing. Police officers being given discretion to tackle problems for the public, and a more strategic role for the government with an independent person to drive this work (Jan Berry is in the frame).

In detail:

• Recognition that performance targets can provide a perverse incentive.
• APACS, LAAs and PSAs remain – but with a clear message that these provide flexibility to the police and local areas to decide local priorities.
• Focus on seriousness and harm but no change to the range of violent crimes covered in the TNO list (the Flanagan review recommended this was looked at)
• Alignment of CPS and police targets to remove tensions (see chapter 7 for more detail on performance management)
• Streamlining processes and forms – pilots are underway to test ways of reducing the amount of information that officers collect when recording crime and on scrapping the stop and search form in favour of recording information by radio. If successful, full roll out is expected. Tsar to be appointed to look for further opportunities.
• Efficiency and productivity strategy to be implemented
• Criminal justice productivity and improvement programmes to be rolled out.
• More effective use of IT, including more money for mobile data devices. NPIA to take the national leadership role in this area and to lead the development of two major work programmes – a common operating environment for police (see Flanagan for more detail) and to create innovative information services for the public and partners.

3 Defining roles and leadership in the police

Summary

Workforce modernisation and better definition of roles between officers, PCSOs and police staff. Better leadership and improvements to the process for developing senior staff and front-line leaders.

Detail:

Police pay

• Preference for multi-year pay deals allowing time for the tripartite leadership and staff-side to consider whether any potential structural reforms to police pay scales might better support a better service for the public.

The Office of Constable

• Office of constable remains at the core of policing and only holders of that office should have wide ranging coercive powers applicable in the community at large. Commitment to police officers maintaining broad professional knowledge but there is an need for officers to understand the contribution the wider police family makes to delivering improved public confidence.
• The green paper also acknowledges the need to ensure appropriate specialist police skills are developed and maintained. NPIA to work with the tripartite leadership and staff associations to identify how best to do this.
• Police officer must start at constable in order to understand fully frontline policing. NPIA to work with the tripartite leadership and staff associations to identify how new PCs should be deployed in early years of their service so that they are gaining the right experience.

PCSOs – see chapter 1 above.
 

Police staff

• Police staff play a key role and increasingly they have operational roles. Police Reform Act 2002 increased the numbers of operational roles available but there has been inconsistent take up, so scope for improvement. PACE review likely to identify further opportunities.
• The Green paper retreats from provisions that allow the custody sergeant role to be undertaken by police staff. Statutory provisions will be repealed.

Specials

• Further funding will be provided to maintain momentum in increasing Special Constabulary numbers.

Leadership

• The recently agreed Leadership Strategy is to be implemented and the paper makes the case for reviewing the chief officer appointments process. This will include SAP becoming more proactive in succession planning and appointments and developing strategy for management of the overall pool of resources at the top of the police service (including providing advice when performance of a force becomes an issue, rather than (as it does now) looking at individual appointments. There will be better co-ordination between PAs in advertising posts. The role of HMIC on SAP will change. The role of SAP will change.
• Policy and process around developing police leaders will change and there is a commitment to developing a national police leadership college within the auspices of NPIA.
• The Commissioner’s PDR will be written by the Chair of the Police Authority and the HMI and PAs must have a formal role in contributing to chief officer assessments and to the assessment of those officers who seek promotion to chief officer ranks.

Front-Line Supervision

• Recent HMIC report endorsed by the green paper and the NPIA tasked to take forward the recommendations aimed at national level including consistent definition of national standards for the role of Sergeant, provision of accreditation for sergeants and front line sergeants, reviewing the promotion process from sergeant.
• PAs and forces are asked to consider how to respond to several of the recommendations in the report including how they translate key strategic objectives, support and development for sergeants. The service and authorities are also being to undertake the ‘snapshot’ review document provided by HMIC by Oct 2008.

4 Focusing on Development and Deployment

Summary

The workforce is the most important part of any public service organisation. In order to deliver the best service possible development and deployment of the workforces needs to be looked at in order to ensure it delivers for all communities, individuals and the public in general.

In detail:

• HMIC to inspect all authorities and services in 2010 to assess progress on the programme outlined in this chapter. The inspection will focus on enabling officers and staff to improve customer service, take up of Operation Quest (a Home Office programme aimed at improving performance and productivity), adoption and implementation of equality standards, deployment of officers and staff in relation to demand, achievement of a workforce mix that maximises delivery for the public, development of the role of sergeant.
• PCs to be trained in customer service – NPIA to be asked to see how they can build this into training for new constables.
• Forces to work with front line staff to improve services and implement Operation Quest
• The green paper recognises the improvements made in achieving more diversity within the police service but believes there is more to do and to this end the Home Office will be developing a new three year equality, diversity and human rights strategy. It will include minimum equality standards, active talent management and continued support for staff associations. The police service will be subject to the provisions of the proposed new Equality Bill, if enacted. NPIA will provide practical support for implementation.
• 80% of police resources spent on the workforce, so building better business management skills are important.
• Efficiency and Productivity Strategy identifies improved matching of deployment to demand as an area requiring development. This will be a key feature of the HMIC inspection in 2010, with an expectation that forces and authorities will be able to demonstrate a good understanding of their supply and demand profiles and the link to deployment decisions.
• Chief officers should exercise professional judgement to determine workforce mix. Police authorities should set out the needs of their area and provide proper scrutiny and oversight.
• The numbers of police officers in administrative or back office roles should be kept as low as possible.
• Getting the best workforce mix will need to include how to use administrative staff to best support the front line.
• Authorities and services to pay due regard to the learning from the NPIA workforce modernisation programme and benchmarking information they have been asked to produce.

Strategic Role for Government

5 Co-ordinating change in policing

Summary

The public want the police to have freedom to deliver locally and the Government to support them nationally. This requires a clear framework that ensures decisions are made at the right levels. The Home Office will take a more strategic role but will help ensure effective local delivery through a set of minimum national standards and national leadership in dealing with strategic challenges and ensuring the delivery of value for money. There will be a stronger role for the national policing board in shaping decisions.

In detail

• There have been significant changes at a national level including the establishment of the national policing board as the national forum for tripartite discussions on policing.
• The NPB needs a new approach to decision making based on an agreed set of principles. There will be consultation on what these should be.
• Decision making needs to be at the right level (national, regional, local) and there will be central mandation if required and if there are clear operational and business imperatives to do so.

6 Reinforcing collaboration between Forces

Summary

Police authorities and services expected to work regionally and nationally to tackle serious crime and terrorism.

In detail:

• Protective services improvement programme to be continued, with HMIC assessment of progress in 2009.
• Home Office vision is that collaborative solutions are seen as part of mainstream policing. Governance and legal frameworks underpinning joint working require clarity.
• As part of the work around decision making, and as a result of the HMIC protective services inspection in 2009, the Home Office may require further collaboration in some areas where there is an operational and business imperative.
• There is a desire for better collaboration between national agencies but strong leadership and good governance will be required to make it work.
• New legislation is planned to support more extensive asset recovery.
• Collaboration internationally is seen as critical. The UK police are held in high regard internationally, and helping to tackle crime abroad can contribute to improved safety in the UK, so the Home Office are seeking support from police authorities and services to establish an International Police Assistance Board to help c-ordinate and focus activity where it is most in the interests of the UK.
• Better collaboration on procurement and shared services is expected.
• Collaboration between the police service and the UK Borders Agency will improve.

7 Improving Performance in Policing

Summary

The government and its partners in the police service and police authorities share the goals expressed in the PSA – to tackle crime and terrorism, to improve criminal justice and raise confidence. There are strong foundations to build on. The performance regimes will change with less reliance on top down targets, a greater role for local people and police authorities and a sharper role for HMIC. The Home office will be more strategic and the result will be a system that focuses on local ownership of change and more strongly focused on public confidence.

In detail:

• Performance management has improved over the last 10 years, but will need to mature further as a result of the developments proposed by the Green Paper.
• Those PSAs which were seen to have perverse incentives have been replaced and there is a stronger emphasis on prevention. Partnership working is essential and will be incentivised. There is a new PSA on counter-terrorism. There is more space to focus on serious and violent crime and for local priorities tackling low-level disorder which impacts on public confidence.
• The performance management system will be reshaped to reflect the new PSAs and to move to a more self-improving system. This will be a system in which the service is held to account much more at a local level, supported by the policing pled and the publication of local information on crime and police activity.
• Using the improved information, the public will be able to hold their police service to account by being able directly elect representatives to police authorities (NB not MPA)
• The government will work with partners to raise the capacity and influence of police authorities. This will include introducing clear guidance on what capacity is required, improving training and skills development, removing barriers (perceived and real) to exchanging data between force and authority, giving a lead and mandatory role in the Chief Constable PDR (and requiring them to consult the authority on the PDRs for their senior team), providing police authorities with a route to request HMIC to inspect their force, introduction police authority inspection and regulating to address persistent under-performance by a police authority, including where necessary, intervention.
• There are plans to reinforce the focus on partnership working by strengthening joint working at (govt) departmental level, continuing to support CDRPs and DAATs to build capacity as delivery bodies and provide them with the tools to deliver on new priorities.
• With partners and through the government offices, the Home Office will provide support to ensure that the targets local partnerships have agreed on crime, alcohol and drugs through the LAA process are met.
• The Home Office will oversee the shift of the overall system for managing performance of police forces to HMIC, which will be strengthened to performance this task. HMIC’s role will be strengthened and refocused, including exposing underperforming forces and authorities. Forces will be expected to respond more quickly to HMIC reports and to publish action plans.
• The Home Office will become more strategic. NPIA will be expected to provide or commission support for forces responding to HMIC reports. Targets will be set through the LAA process. OSCT will continue to monitor and manage counter-terrorism.
• The way the Home Office shares information with police forces (iQuanta) will be reshaped to avoid the impressing that the relative benchmarks are implicit targets
• With one exception, the Home Office will neither set nor maintain numerical targets for individual forces. The exception is the target outlined in section 1 on public confidence. They intend to use the PSA indicator from the BCS, which asks whether people think that the police and their partners are dealing with the crime and anti-social behaviour issues that matter locally. The baseline will be published in Oct 2008.
• APACS will remain, but will not graded.
• The Home Office will review the amount of data it collects from the police service with a view to reducing it by 50%

Glossary

APACS

Assessments of Policing and Community Safety

BCU

Borough Command Unit

CDRPs

Crime and Reduction Partnerships

CPS

Crime Prosecution Service

DAATs

Drug and Alcohol Action Teams

LAAs

Local Area Agreements

OSCT

Office of Security and Counter-Terrorism

NPIA

National Policing Agency

PAs

police authorities

PACT

Police and Community Together

PDR

Personal and Development Review

POCA

Proceeds of Crime Act

PSAs

Public Service Agreements

SAP

Special Appointments Panel

TNO

total notifiable offences list

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