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Open All Hours – Open A thematic inspection report on the role of police visibility and accessibility in public reassurance OPEN ALL HOURS A thematic inspection report on the role of police visibility and accessibility in public reassurance Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary Sir Keith Povey QPM BA(Law) OPEN ALL HOURS A thematic inspection report on the role of police visibility and accessibility in public reassurance Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary Sir Keith Povey QPM BA(Law) Acknowledgements Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary would like to take this opportunity to thank all forces and other organisations who contributed to the inspection, either through direct discussions or by responding to questionnaires. He is also grateful to the many parties who supplied helpful comments as critical readers of the emerging draft. © Crown Copyright Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary First published in December 2001 by HMIC 50 Queen Anne’s Gate, London SW1H 9AT ISBN 1-84082-760-2 This report can also be viewed on the Home Office website www.homeoffice.gov.uk Contents Preface vi Executive Summary viii Section 1 – Introduction Scope 16 Strategic Framework and Tactical Options 16 Vision 17 Report Structure 17 Background 18 Trends in Crime and Reassurance 19 What do we Mean by Reassurance? 20 Perception of Disorder 20 Confidence in Policing 20 Police Visibility – the ‘Bobby on the Beat’ 21 An Integrated Approach – Visibility, Accessibility and Familiarity 23 Section ll – National Framework Introduction 25 Funding Regime 26 Overarching Aims and Objectives 27 Performance Measurement 28 BVPIs 28 The Legislative Framework 30 ACPO’s Committee Structure 31 Centres of Excellence 31 Force and BCU Frameworks 32 Vision Statements 32 CDRPs 35 Summary 35 Section lll – Visible Street Presence Introduction 37 Trends in Police Numbers 37 How Patrol Officers are Deployed 38 Maximising the Visible Street Presence to Enhance Reassurance 40 Better Management of Patrol Officers 52 Mobilise External Resources 61 Visibility Framework 68 iii Section lV – Patrol Deployment Introduction 70 Response Teams 71 Special Constables 72 Community Officers 72 Community Governance 76 The Role of Intelligence in Reassurance 78 Strategic Audit 80 Deployment Tactics 82 Visibility as a Tactic to Reassure 83 Enhancing Support and Supervision for Patrol Officers 88 Summary 96 Section V – Police/Public Interface Points Introduction 98 Strategy and Policy – Supporting Accessibility 98 Service Delivery and the Implications of the DDA, 1995 101 Optimising Service Delivery to the Public 104 National Standards 111 Section Vl – Media, Public Relations and Marketing Introduction 113 How does the Public find out about Policing? 114 The Media’s Impact on Reassurance 116 The Role of Media and Marketing at National and Force Level 117 The National and Force Levels 118 Media, PR and Marketing Expertise at BCU and Partnership Level 119 Training 120 Performance Measurement 121 The Role of Marketing in Promoting Reassurance 122 Local Consultation 124 Segmentation 125 Positioning 125 Using Advertising to Increase the Accessibility of the Police 130 Internal Marketing 131 Summary 132 Section Vll – Call Handling Introduction 133 National Strategy 133 Processes 134 Human Resources 150 Summary 154 iv Section Vlll – E-Policing Introduction 155 National Strategy 156 Force Strategies 158 E-Policing Initiatives 159 Learning from the Private Sector 163 Programme Valiant 163 Mobile Data Terminals and Airwave 164 Summary 165 Section lX – The Way Forward Conclusion 167 Strategic Framework 168 Tactical Options 171 Appendices Appendix A – Methodology 175 Appendix B – HMIC Review of British Crime Survey and Associated Research Studies 178 Appendix C – Developing a Model for Public Reassurance 182 Appendix D – Variation in Ratio of Number of Special Constables per 100 Officers 186 Appendix E – Ratio of Support Staff to Police Officers, 1981 to 2001 188 Appendix F – Case Study of a Simple Arrest 189 Appendix G – Glossary of Abbreviations 191 v Preface In line with the priorities set by Government, police activity over recent years has focused on bringing down crime and putting offenders before the courts. Working closely with partners, commendable successes have been achieved and recorded crime has fallen in seven out of the last eight years. However, much remains to be done, not only to maintain this downward pressure but to secure corresponding reductions in the type of non-criminal behaviour that does so much to degrade people’s quality of life. Evidence suggests that levels of public reassurance, and confidence in policing and the criminal justice system, have not risen in the way that might be expected. Indeed, the British Crime Survey suggests that, counter-intuitively, confidence in policing and the courts has been falling as forces have turned the tide on crime. This is a matter of concern, given the essential contribution of the public to the effective working of the criminal justice system as witnesses, victims, jurors and informants. It was against this backdrop of declining confidence that Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary undertook this inspection. Its examination of mechanisms to enhance reassurance is a key plank of the Government’s programme to reform and modernise policing, initiated by the Rt. Hon. Jack Straw and continued by the present Home Secretary. It is a goal shared by all of the principal stakeholders – Association of Chief Police Officers, police authorities and staff associations – all of whom have made valuable inputs to this thematic. Public reassurance is a complex and multi-faceted concept that extends well beyond the boundaries of police influence. It can rise or fall on the basis of many factors, not simply objective data about crime levels but people’s experiences of disorder such as graffiti, vandalism and noise nuisance. The police response has to reflect this complexity, continuing the focus on reducing crime and disorder – using techniques that are necessarily covert at times – while engaging openly with local people and local problems. In short, police forces need to demonstrate visibility, accessibility and familiarity and these are the main elements of this report. Although much of the effort will occur at the community and partnership level, action is needed at the national level to create the strategic framework for enhanced reassurance. This report identifies the component parts of the framework before outlining a number of tactical options for use at the local level. Clearly, forces and their partners will need to customise their approaches to reflect the local nature of policing – not all of the tactics will work equally well in varying policing environments. Throughout the report, a wealth of good practice is highlighted to show what can be achieved. The breadth and nature of these examples are a credit to the police forces visited during the inspection, and I am indebted to all of those who participated so fully in the process. vi Open All Hours A thematic inspection report on the role of police visibility and accessibility in public reassurance Reassurance is now firmly established as an issue for the police service and this report should be read as a contribution to the reform work being taken forward collaboratively by the Service and the Home Office. I commend the report to you. Sir David O’Dowd CBE, QPM, BA, MSc, CIMgt Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary vii Executive Summary Reassurance in a Policing Context The reduction of high volume crimes such as burglary and car theft has been a principal target of both Conservative and Labour governments in recent years. Working with its partners, the police service has achieved considerable success - notifiable crime has fallen in seven of the last eight years. The reduction in burglary has been particularly dramatic, with a fall of 43% since 1993/94, almost matched by the 35% reduction in motor vehicle crime. Yet, despite the welter of publicity that always attaches to crime and policing, this success has not reached public notice. Surveys reveal that, when asked about crime levels, the majority of respondents believe that they are rising. Even more worrying is the fact that falling crime levels have not been accompanied by increases in public perceptions of safety, or confidence in the police. They remain stubbornly unaffected by the success story of crime reduction partnership work. High levels of confidence in the police are critical in encouraging the public to provide intelligence and act as witnesses, both vital components in the fight against crime. The goal is a ‘virtuous circle’, whereby a reassured and confident citizenry actively support the police, leading to crime and disorder reduction and even greater reassurance. This thematic inspection sought to identify ways in which the police service could help to bridge this reassurance gap. A key first step was to establish what is meant by ‘reassurance’ in the context of police work. Research and fieldwork highlighted two vital factors influencing an individual’s sense of reassurance – the levels of security (personal and property) and order (behavioural and physical) that exist within the local environment. The importance of order is confirmed by Surrey University research, commissioned by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), which points to maintaining order as a key component of any reassurance strategy. An individual’s perception of the extent to which order and security are present in their community is influenced not just by what they see around them but by the press and media, and by factors such as age, race and gender which affect the degree of vulnerability. If we define reassurance as the extent to which individuals perceive that order and security exist within their local environment, we begin to see why impressive falls in crime are not automatically followed by rising public confidence. The British Crime Survey (BCS) paints a disturbing picture of the public’s experience of behavioural and physical disorder. Fortunately, few people are direct victims of crime but almost everyone’s life is touched by problems such as graffiti, vandalism, noise and anti-social behaviour.