Developing Our Strategy

In developing our priorities for 2009-12 we have taken into account national and local influences, local partnership commitments, the views of our communities and any recommendations made resulting from external assessments of our performance.

National influences

Public Service Agreements (PSAs)

As part of its 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) the Government has set out the top national priorities for community safety for the next three financial years. Those that relate directly to the police service are:

• Make communities safer (PSA 23)
• Deliver a more effective, transparent and responsive criminal justice system for victims and the public (PSA 24)
• Reduce the harm caused by alcohol and drugs (PSA 25)
• Reduce the risk to the UK and its interests overseas from international terrorism (PSA 26)

Home Secretary’s Strategic Policing Priorities for the Police Service in 2009/10

1. Continue to increase public confidence in the police through tackling local priorities; also to reduce and prevent crime and anti-social behaviour and help tackle the problems caused by drug and alcohol misuse, in line with PSAs 23 and 25, and in a coordinated approach with other CJS (Criminal Justice System) partners deliver an effective criminal justice response in line with PSA 24
2. Work jointly with police forces and other agencies, such as SOCA (Serious Organised Crime Agency) and UKBA (UK Border Agency), to ensure that the capability and capacity exists across England and Wales to deliver effective protective services, including tackling serious and organised crime
3. Work with and through partners and local communities to tackle terrorism and violent extremism in line with the counter terrorism strategy (CONTEST) and PSA 26
4. Work in all of the above, in line with the Efficiency and Productivity Strategy for the Police Service, to ensure the best use of resources to deliver: significant cashable improvements; more effective deployment of the workforce; and to realise benefits of new technology

Recent and current Government strategies/papers

• Home Office Crime Reduction Strategy 2008-11
• Criminal Justice Strategy 2008-11
• Three-year plan for tackling violence “Saving Lives, Reducing Harm, Protecting the Public”
• Policing Green paper
• Policing Pledge
• Single top-down target to improve the public’s confidence that the crime and anti-social behaviour issues that matter locally are being tackled

Local influences

Satisfaction and confidence

User Satisfaction Surveys

We want to provide the best service we can to our communities and understand the positive affect providing a good quality of service has on peoples’ feelings of trust and confidence in their local police service. We carry out surveys of victims of crime on a regular basis. The vast majority of people are very pleased with the service they received but this is not the case on every occasion. Listening to people’s views helps us identify what lessons we can learn and how we can continually aim to do things better. It also enables us to give good feedback to officers and other staff when people have been particularly pleased with the service.

Crime and Safety Partnership Survey

This annual survey was posted to 58,267 West Mercia residents in 2008 and 14,805 people responded, giving a 25% response rate. The survey findings show that the following issues are perceived to be the biggest problem in respondents’ neighbourhoods:

1. Speeding traffic (70%*)
2. Groups loitering (66%)
3. Under-age drinking (65%)
4. Rubbish / litter (56%)
5. People being drunk / rowdy in public places (56%)

* % agree is a problem

When respondents were asked which issue needed to be addressed as a priority, the top five issues were as follows:

1. Speeding traffic (35%)
2. Groups loitering (24%)
3. Under-age drinking (21%)
4. Cars parked illegally, dangerously or inconveniently (17%)
5. Drug dealing (15%) 

A Young People’s Crime and Safety Survey was conducted in Worcestershire and Telford in October 2008. In total, over 3,500 young people aged 10-16 completed the survey. The five issues which young people most frequently reported were problems in the area where they live or go to school were as follows:

• Groups of people hanging around in public places
• Under-age drinking
• Vandalism/graffiti
• Drunk people causing problems in public places
• Being pestered / shouted at by strangers in public places

We are conducting similar consultation exercises jointly with our partner organisations in the remaining West Mercia counties.

Partners and Communities Together (PACT)

The most frequently raised PACT priorities from January 2008 - January 2009 were:

1. Speeding traffic
2. Cars parked illegally/inconveniently
3. Anti-social behaviour - inappropriate gathering/loitering/nuisance (youth related)

Particularly noteworthy in terms of local issues is speeding, which features prominently both in the Crime and Safety Partnership Survey and PACT. One of our key priorities for 2009/10 is a reduction in speeding and anti-social driving. West Mercia Police also works with thirteen other public authorities in the Safer Roads Partnership, with the aim of making the roads in our region safer for all users.

Local area agreements

Local Area Agreements are three-year agreements, negotiated between Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs) and central government which describe how local priorities will be met by delivering local solutions. There are four LSPs in West Mercia covering Herefordshire, Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin and Worcestershire. The table below lists where West Mercia Police and/or the Police Authority are, either as named partners or part of a partnership, working to deliver improvements against the indicators.

* = lead partner
LI = Local Indicator

Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs)

There are eleven Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (also known as Community Safety Partnerships) within West Mercia. Each CDRP focuses on local crime and disorder issues, common themes across all the CDRPs in West Mercia are:

• Drug and alcohol issues
• Anti-social behaviour
• Feelings of safety

The Local Criminal Justice Board

The West Mercia Local Criminal Justice Board (LCJB) is responsible for the local delivery of national criminal justice system targets and priorities. The Board is made up of senior officers from each of the criminal justice statutory agencies (Police, Crown Prosecution Service, Her Majesty’s Courts Service, Probation, Prison Service, Youth Justice Board) together with representatives from the Legal Services Commission, Victim Support, the CDRP network and the criminal defence community.

In 2009/10 the Board will focus on the national PSA target 24 to “Deliver a more effective, transparent and responsive criminal justice system for victims and the public" by:

• Increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of the criminal justice system in bringing offenders to justice
• Increasing public confidence in the fairness and effectiveness of the criminal justice system
• Increasing victim and witness satisfaction with the criminal justice system
• Identifying and addressing race disproportionality at key stages in the criminal justice system
• Increasing the quantity of criminal assets recovered
• Ensuring compliance with and enforcement of court orders and warrants.

Policing Matters Groups

Newly established during 2008, these public meetings provide residents with the opportunity to meet their Divisional Police Commander, Police Authority members and partner agencies to give their opinion on more strategic policing issues in their area.

Consultation Events

In developing the 2009/10 Policing Plan, we circulated the broad principles of the plan to partners, business and community representatives and invited individuals to attend either of two consultation events.

Audit and Inspections

As a result of Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary Inspection of Major Crime in West Mercia, one recommendation was made:

“Urgent steps should be taken to ensure that victims of rape and serious sexual assault have acceptable and timely access to trained officers at the time of initial reporting, and effective co-ordination and supervision of SOLOs (sexual offences liaison officers) should be implemented.”

To address this recommendation we have developed a model of Specially Trained Officers (STOs) who will be available 24 hours a day to deal with reports of rape. Each of our five Divisions has identified and trained a minimum of 8 STOs who will be supported, evaluated and monitored by designated divisional coordinators as well as the force Rape Steering Group.

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