Cheshire Constabulary - Baseline Assessment October 2006 Cheshire Constabulary Baseline Assessment October 2006 Page 1 Cheshire Constabulary - Baseline Assessment October 2006 ISBN-13: 978-1-84726-018-5 ISBN-10: 1-84726-018-7 CROWN COPYRIGHT FIRST PUBLISHED 2006 Page 2 Cheshire Constabulary - Baseline Assessment October 2006 Contents Introduction to Baseline Assessment Force Overview and Context Findings Summary of Judgements 1 Citizen Focus (Domain A) Fairness and Equality in Service Delivery Neighbourhood Policing and Problem Solving Customer Service and Accessibility Professional Standards 2 Reducing Crime (Domain 1) Volume Crime Reduction 3 Investigating Crime (Domain 2) Managing Critical Incidents and Major Crime Tackling Serious and Organised Criminality Volume Crime Investigation Improving Forensic Performance Criminal Justice Processes 4 Promoting Safety (Domain 3) Reducing Anti-Social Behaviour Protecting Vulnerable People 5 Providing Assistance (Domain 4) Contact Management Providing Specialist Operational Support Strategic Roads Policing 6 Resource Use (Domain B) Human Resource Management Training, Development and Organisational Learning Race and Diversity Managing Financial and Physical Resources Information Management National Intelligence Model 7 Leadership and Direction Leadership Performance Management and Continuous Improvement Appendix 1 Glossary of Terms and Abbreviations Page 3 Cheshire Constabulary - Baseline Assessment October 2006 Baseline Assessment 2006 Frameworks 1 Citizen Focus (PPAF Domain A) 1A Fairness and 1B Neighbourhood 1C Customer Service 1D Professional Equality in Service Policing and Problem and Accessibility Standards Delivery Solving • Quality of service to • Investigation of • Equality of service • Effective victims and public complaints delivery mechanisms for witnesses • Improving • Community obtaining community • Customer care professional cohesion views • Responding to standards • Engaging with • Responding to local customer needs • Combating minority groups priorities • Accessibility of corruption and • Hate-crime reduction • Effective policing services promoting ethical and investigation interventions and behaviour problem solving with • Reducing complaints partners and and learning lessons communities • Operational activity to reassure communities • Use of media to market success • Uniformed patrol and visibility • Extended police family • Performance in reducing fear of crime 2 Reducing Crime (PPAF Domain 1) 2A Volume Crime Reduction • Crime strategy • Performance in reducing volume crime • Levels of crime compared with peers • Problem solving • National Crime Recording Standard (NCRS) compliance Page 4 Cheshire Constabulary - Baseline Assessment October 2006 3 Investigating Crime (PPAF Domain 2) 3A Managing Critical Incidents 3B Tackling Serious and 3C Volume Crime Investigation and Major Crime Organised Criminality • Crime strategy • Detection rates for murder, • Crime that crosses basic • Crime recording rape and other serious crime command unit (BCU) and/or • Investigative skills, eg • Integration with overall crime force boundaries interviewing strategy • Support for regional • Automatic number plate • Compliance with Association intelligence and operations recognition (ANPR) of Chief Police Officers • Asset recovery (Proceeds of • Detection performance (ACPO) murder manual Crime Act – POCA) • Early identification of critical • Effective targeted operations incidents that may escalate • Quality packages with the into major inquiries Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) 3D Improving Forensic 3E Criminal Justice Processes Performance • Quality and timeliness of case • Specialist scientific support files • Use of National Automated • Custody management/ Fingerprint Identification prisoner handing System (NAFIS), DNA, etc • Youth justice • Integrated management of • Police National Computer processes (PNC) compliance • Performance in forensic identification and detection 4 Promoting Safety (PPAF Domain 3) 4A Reducing Anti-Social 4B Protecting Vulnerable Behaviour (ASB) People • Non-crime activities of crime • Child abuse and disorder reduction • Domestic violence partnerships (CDRPs) and • Multi-agency public protection other partnerships arrangements (MAPPA)/sex • Use of ASB legislation, tools, offender management etc • Missing persons 5 Providing Assistance (PPAF Domain 4) 5A Contact Management 5B Providing Specialist 5C Strategic Roads Policing Operational Support • All aspects of call handling • Effectiveness of and call management • Management of central arrangements for roads • Initial incident response operational support policing • Early identification of critical • Police use of firearms • Integration/support for other incidents • Capability for policing major operational activity • Performance in answering events/incidents • Road safety partnerships and responding to public calls Page 5 Cheshire Constabulary - Baseline Assessment October 2006 6 Resource Use (PPAF Domain B) 6A Human Resource (HR) 6B Training, Development and 6C Race and Diversity Management Organisational Learning • Action to promote fairness in • HR strategy and costed plan • Costed training strategy and relation to race, gender, faith, • Key HR issues not covered in delivery plan age, sexual orientation and 6B or 6C • Key training and development disability • Health and safety issues • Performance in meeting key • Performance in key HR targets indicators 6D Managing Financial and 6E Information Management 6F National Intelligence Model Physical Resources (NIM) • Information systems/ • Resource availability information technology (IS/IT) • Extent to which structures, • Effective use of resources to strategy and its processes and products meet support front-line activity implementation NIM standards • Devolved budgets • Programme and project • Integration of NIM with force • Finance, estates, management planning and performance procurement and fleet • Customer service management management functions • Adequacy of key systems • Use of community intelligence • Demand management • Business continuity/disaster • Application of NIM to non- recovery crime areas 7 Leadership and Direction 7A Leadership 7B Performance Management and Continuous Improvement • Extent to which the chief officer team is visible and • Effective performance dynamic, sets and upholds a management structures and vision, values and standards, processes at all levels promotes a learning culture, • Quality and timeliness of and sustains a well-motivated performance/management workforce information • Effectiveness of succession • Internal inspection/audit/ planning quality assurance (QA) • Promotion of corporacy systems • Effectiveness of joint force/PA best value reviews (BVRs) Page 6 Cheshire Constabulary - Baseline Assessment October 2006 Introduction to Baseline Assessment Since March 2004, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) has conducted a periodic, strategic-level performance review of each Home Office police force in England and Wales. For a range of policing activities, forces are assessed as delivering performance that is Excellent, Good, Fair or Poor. The process is known as baseline assessment (BA) and this report covers the assessment for the financial year 2005/06; performance outside this period is not taken into account in determining grades. The assessments focus on the high-level processes of police forces and their results. The assessments are undertaken by regional HM Inspectors, supported by experienced police officers and police staff on secondment. BA is designed primarily as a self-assessment, with the degree of validation/reality-checking undertaken by HMIC dependent on a force’s overall performance and the rigour of its internal assessment processes. It is important to recognise that BA is not a traditional inspection; rather, it helps HMIC focus its inspection effort where it is most needed. A formal statutory inspection may still be necessary where there is evidence of systemic underperformance and poor leadership. In addition to the qualitative assessments contained in this report, force performance is also measured by a series of key quantitative indicators. The most important indicators are statutory performance indicators (SPIs), which are determined each year by the Home Secretary and which Police Authorities/forces must report to the Home Office. Examples of SPIs include crime incidence and detection rates, as well as relevant management information such as sickness absence and ethnic recruitment rates. Results for these SPIs are also graded using the Excellent, Good, Fair and Poor categories. These SPI grades are added to HMIC BA grades to provide a fuller picture of police performance; the joint results are published annually in October and can be found on the internet at police.homeoffice.gov.uk/performance Policing has undergone significant changes in recent years as the country adapts to new forms of terrorism and criminality. As policing is dynamic, so also must be the form of assessment. Dominating much of HMIC’s recent thinking is the need for the service to modernise its workforce while providing better ‘protective services’, as identified in the Closing the Gap report published in 2005. On-site activity for the 2005/06 baseline concentrated on these areas, but could not – given ministerial priorities – ignore volume crime and the roll-out of neighbourhood policing. As forces and Police Authorities consider options for change to meet new challenges with constrained resources,