police staff information pack band e – communications · pdf file ·...

Metropolitan Police Service (MPS)

Police Staff

Information pack

Band E – Communications Officer

Origins

Founded by Sir Robert Peel in 1829, the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) is one of the oldest police services in the world. The original Metropolitan Police District (MPD) covered a seven mile radius from Charing Cross containing a population of less than two million. This was policed by 1,000 officers.

Today, the MPS is made up of 50,000 officers and staff, which includes over 5,000 volunteer police officers from the Metropolitan Special Constabulary (MSC). The current MPS includes the whole of the Greater London Area (excluding the City Of London which has its own police service) covering 620 square miles and over 8.3 million people. Since April 2000, the boundaries of the MPS have mirrored the 32 London boroughs as shown below.

ABOUT THE METROPOLITAN POLICE SERVICE

Organisation

The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) now employs over 36,000 police officers plus 12,000 police staff who carry out over 200 roles from IT, forensics, finance, HR and administration. From the beginning, the purpose of the MPS has been to serve and protect the people of London by providing a professional police service; this remains our purpose.

The Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis is appointed by the Queen, in consultation with the Home Secretary. The Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) supervises the police service and publishes an annual policing plan, including performance targets. It reports back to the Mayor, the London Assembly and the community and has a role in the appointment, and if necessary, discipline and removal of senior police officers.

The MPS has an annual net budget of £3.6 billion – more than 25% of the total police budget for England and Wales. It is one of the largest employers in London and South East of England.

The Commissioner has outlined his vision of Total Policing with a total war on crime, total care for victims and total professionalism from our staff at its core. We delivered a safe and secure Olympic and Paralympic Games and continue to achieve the right balance between our local, pan-London, national and international priorities.

The Service is committed to delivering excellent policing from tackling anti-social behaviour and other crime in neighbourhoods, through to dealing with terrorists and the most serious criminals often ‘behind the scenes’. We rely on the work of warranted officers, police community support officers (PCSOs), special constables and police staff to tackle the range of policing challenges facing London.


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The following chart shows how the MPS is structured.

MPS Values, Mission and Priorities

Our success depends on us all working towards the same goals. Our strategy, led by the Police Commissioner, Bernard Hogan-Howe, is called Total Policing. It consists of a set of priorities, set out below, supported by key values. Total Policing aims to take the initiative back from the criminal, taking them on and putting them on the back foot. Where new techniques or new technology can help in that war, we will maximise use of it. Total Policing also means Total Care for victims – preventing people from becoming victims in the first place where possible but, where we have victims, ensuring that the MPS gives the best possible support. And we will do that with Total Professionalism, so that the MPS continues to foster the support and trust of law-abiding Londoners, while ensuring that it is an organisation that all criminals fear. All of this will be based on the simple but important values of humility, transparency and integrity.

Total War on Crime

We are crime fighters. This is a vital part of policing. Tackling crime, arresting criminals and bringing them before a court is the core of what we do, doing whatever we can to arrest criminals and stop crime as long as it is legal and ethical.

Total Victim Care

It is important that when a victim reports a crime that we tell them how that crime is being progressed and that they have confidence in those dealing with their case. We also need to ask ourselves are we sensitive to the victim’s needs, what is unique about them and how do we tailor our service to meet their needs? We must always remember that we have a duty of care to our victims.

Total Professionalism

How we will achieve Total Policing as a whole is through Total Professionalism. Whatever we do, even where we have to be assertive, we do it professionally, courteously and, most importantly, we do it effectively. Setting standards and maintaining these standards across the organisation day in day out. We expect the highest standards from staff across the MPS and rightly so, the work of police is closely scrutinised. Likewise when officers and staff do an outstanding job they should know how much it is valued by the rest of the MPS, and no doubt the Londoners we serve. To make the MPS the best police service, everyone has an important role to play.


BACKGROUND TO THE METCC (COMMAND AND CONTROL)

MetCC (Command and Control) - (MetCC) is the largest Operational Command Unit in the United Kingdom.

MetCC provides London with its police response service by handling emergency and non emergency calls into the MPS and despatching police officers to deal with incidents across the capital. It also provides specialist police communications support for the many large-scale public occasions and events that take place in Europe’s largest city.

MetCC employs over 2000 staff at its three centres within London located at Lambeth, (South East London) Hendon (North London) and Bow (East London). The centres provide a range of benefits and have specialised operational floors equipped with the latest communications technology, which helps our operational teams to deliver an improved service to people in London.

London is a major international city, and with that status comes a great demand for an efficient and effective police service for people in London. MetCC is designed to be able to deal with current and future demand for emergency and non emergency response. Mobile communications have made it easier to contact the police. MetCC is therefore crucial in tying the different parts of the MPS together and providing an efficient, consistent and robust communications service to the whole of London, meeting the demands and needs of our citizens. MetCC is resourced largely with police staff and a limited number of police officers.

First Contact

First Contact is the department where emergency and non-emergency calls are received by Communications Officers from members of the public, external agencies and other police constabularies.

The MPS receives the largest number of calls to police daily within the UK. The months of June and July are often the busiest months with up to 10,000 emergency calls handled daily.

The role of a First Contact Operator

First Contact operators are highly skilled and highly trained people with the ability to deal with all kinds of emergency calls from members of the public. They are also experienced in handling non-emergency calls from the public and external stakeholders.

The skills of First Contact operators ensure that the MPS provides a high quality service to the public at the first point of contact. They deal with a mixture of emergency and non-emergency calls during their shift, often dealing with demanding and stressful situations. First Contact operators will question the caller to obtain all relevant information, classify the call according to national standards and then pass to despatch for operational deployment when necessary.

Improving Victim Care

MetCC uses a telephone interpreting service to assist with callers who speak little or no English. In a typical month, MetCC will handle over 1,200 calls using telephone interpreters. By providing this service to the public, we have saved lives and continue to build trust and increase the confidence with London’s multicultural communities.

Despatch

Despatch Communications Officers arrange the necessary police attendance to incidents reported to First Contact by members of the public.

All incidents reported are classified by the First Contact Operator in terms of the level of police response needed. Details of the incidents requiring police response are passed to Despatch, where operators will look to assign appropriate police resources dependent on the nature of each incident.

Despatch is configured into borough “pods” which are aligned to London’s 32 boroughs. These pods provide support for police response units to incidents within each borough. Operators on each borough pod are briefed on issues and crime hot-spots relating to the borough for which they are responsible.

In addition to assigning appropriate police resources to incidents, Despatch Operators perform a range of other support functions in order to assist front-line colleagues.

• Co-ordinating other emergency response units such as the London Ambulance Service and London Fire Brigade, as well as pan-London police units such as the Air Support Unit, specialist firearms units and police dog units

• Calling a victim/victim’s family/next of kin to gain vital intelligence needed by the officers at the scene

• Carrying out Police National Computer (PNC) enquiries on behalf of officers, such as vehicle and name enquiries.

Inside the technology

The MPS uses two call handling systems CAD (Computer Aided Despatch) and CHS (Call Handling System). The systems include comprehensive geographic information systems, and allow the operator to log calls, record the information and utilise the latest mapping systems to locate the nearest resource, or see the destination.


Special Operations Room

The Special Operations Room is the central control room that provides communications support to the command of all pre-planned or spontaneous major incidents and events occurring throughout the Metropolitan Police’s jurisdiction.

Such events include:

• Marches and Demonstrations

• Ceremonial Occasions

• Major Sporting Events

• Major Incidents

Every year the Special Operations Room controls the policing of around 500 events.

Case Study

Notting Hill Carnival

The Notting Hill Carnival is the largest festival in Europe. It has attracted up to 1.5 million visitors and requires a large scale and fully co-ordinated policing operation to ensure that the event runs smoothly.

The Special Operations Room plays a vital role during the carnival. Operators constantly monitor CCTV feeds of the carnival routes and surrounding areas, quickly identifying problem areas or potential flashpoints. They also co-ordinate police responses and deploy appropriate resources to the required areas in the most efficient and effective way possible.


JOB DESCRIPTION FOR THE COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER ROLE

Key Responsibilities

Work Involves:

• The receipt and prioritisation of emergency and non emergency telephone calls into the MPS

• Delivery of a high quality service to all customers according to their individual needs

• The prioritisation and timely despatch of response and specialist units to emergency calls and to provide support to response officers.

Successful candidates should have the ability to:

• Assess and process information quickly and accurately

• Make effective use of MPS ICT (Information and Communication Technology) to achieve policing objectives

• Multi-task and manage multiple activities

• Identify the needs of customers and respond to their needs in the most appropriate way

• Make effective deployment decisions based on all available information and intelligence.

ROLE PROFILE FOR THE COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER ROLE

KEY DRIVERS

Driver 1 – Operational Effectiveness

• Delivers quality outcomes to meet objectives

• Uses specialist knowledge and skills to support the delivery of relevant objectives

• Ensures a high quality service, balancing the needs of customers and stakeholders Manages a range of tasks, delivering to time and quality

• Adapts and responds to shifting priorities

• Deals with challenges and generates solutions.

Manages work through informed and reliable judgement

• Uses specialist knowledge and skills to inform decision-making, and minimise risk where appropriate

• Provides guidance and support, seeking it where appropriate

• Promotes continuous improvement proactively by identifying, sharing and applying lessons learnt.


Driver 2 – Organisational Influence

Acts with Professionalism

• Behaves appropriately, taking personal responsibility for own actions and setting a good example for other colleagues

• Actively demonstrates the promotion of equality and valuing of diversity and helps others to do so

• Develops from own experience and supports the development of others where relevant

• Takes account of how own behaviour affects others.

Maintains a current understanding of specialist area

• Shows initiative, personal resilience and motivation to deliver a quality service

• Upholds legislation, regulations and policy, acting with integrity and challenging those who do not.

Develops effective communications and working relationships

• Builds effective relationships with customers, colleagues and stakeholders

• Communicates effectively and inclusively with customers, senior managers and team members

• Ensures clear, two-way communication through listening and responding appropriately, learning and sharing information

• Upholds organisational reputation.


Driver 3 – Resource Management

• Manages own time and relevant resources efficiently and effectively

• Prioritises work and use of resources to meet relevant objectives

• Ensures time and resources are used in a way that best meets customer and MPS needs

• Uses MPS resources efficiently, ethically and appropriately

• Shows support for efficient working.


Target %Actual %

20/05/2013 1 Week 1 19:00 07:00 R D R D R D 07:00 17:00 08:00 17:00 R D 31:0027/05/2013 8 Week 2 09:30 21:00 15:00 23:00 R D R D R D R D 08:00 16:00 27:3003/06/2013 15 Week 3 08:00 18:00 16:30 00:30 17:30 02:30 18:30 06:00 19:00 07:00 R D R D 50:3010/06/2013 22 Week 4 R D 07:00 17:00 07:30 18:00 09:00 19:00 09:30 21:30 19:00 03:00 R D 50:3017/06/2013 29 Week 5 R D R D R D 07:00 17:00 07:30 18:00 18:00 03:00 19:00 04:30 39:0024/06/2013 36 Week 6 18:00 05:00 19:00 07:00 R D R D R D 07:00 15:00 11:00 19:00 39:0001/07/2013 43 Week 7 09:00 19:00 10:00 21:30 15:30 00:00 R D R D R D R D 30:0008/07/2013 50 Week 8 07:00 17:30 08:30 18:30 16:30 01:30 18:00 04:00 18:30 06:30 21:30 07:00 R D 61:0015/07/2013 57 Week 9 R D R D 07:00 17:00 08:30 18:30 08:30 19:00 16:30 01:00 15:00 23:00 47:0022/07/2013 64 Week 10 R D R D R D R D 07:00 17:30 09:00 18:00 17:00 02:00 28:3029/07/2013 71 Week 11 17:00 01:30 18:30 05:00 19:00 07:00 R D R D R D 07:00 15:00 39:0005/08/2013 78 Week 12 08:30 18:30 09:00 19:00 09:30 21:00 11:00 23:00 R D R D R D 43:3012/08/2013 85 Week 13 R D 07:00 17:30 08:30 18:30 17:00 01:00 17:00 04:30 23:00 07:00 R D 48:0019/08/2013 92 Week 14 R D R D R D 07:00 17:30 08:00 18:30 10:30 18:30 15:30 00:30 38:0026/08/2013 99 Week 15 12:00 23:30 R D R D R D R D 07:30 19:00 09:00 17:00 31:0002/09/2013 106 Week 16 16:00 00:00 17:00 01:00 15:30 03:30 19:00 07:00 R D R D R D 40:0009/09/2013 113 Week 17 07:00 17:00 08:00 18:00 09:00 19:00 09:30 20:30 11:00 23:00 R D R D 53:0016/09/2013 120 Week 18 R D R D 07:00 16:30 07:30 18:00 16:00 03:00 18:00 04:00 23:00 07:00 49:0023/09/2013 127 Week 19 19:00 07:00 R D R D R D 07:00 17:00 08:00 17:00 R D 31:0030/09/2013 134 Week 20 09:30 21:00 12:30 22:00 R D R D R D R D 07:30 15:30 29:0007/10/2013 141 Week 21 08:00 18:00 16:00 00:00 17:00 02:00 18:00 02:30 19:00 07:00 R D R D 47:3014/10/2013 148 Week 22 R D 07:00 17:00 07:30 18:00 09:00 19:00 09:30 21:30 15:00 23:00 R D 50:3021/10/2013 155 Week 23 R D R D R D 07:00 17:00 07:30 18:00 17:00 02:00 18:30 03:00 38:0028/10/2013 162 Week 24 18:00 03:30 19:00 07:00 R D R D R D 07:00 15:00 10:30 18:30 37:3004/11/2013 169 Week 25 09:00 19:00 09:30 20:00 11:30 22:30 R D R D R D R D 31:3011/11/2013 176 Week 26 07:00 16:30 08:30 18:30 16:00 01:00 17:30 01:30 18:00 05:30 18:30 06:00 R D 59:3018/11/2013 183 Week 27 R D R D 07:00 17:00 08:30 18:30 08:30 19:00 13:30 21:30 15:00 23:00 46:3025/11/2013 190 Week 28 R D R D R D R D 07:00 16:30 08:30 18:00 16:00 01:00 28:0002/12/2013 197 Week 29 17:30 02:00 16:00 03:30 19:00 07:00 R D R D R D 07:00 15:00 40:0009/12/2013 204 Week 30 08:30 18:30 09:00 19:00 09:30 21:00 15:00 23:30 R D R D R D 40:0016/12/2013 211 Week 31 R D 07:00 16:30 08:30 18:30 16:30 00:30 17:00 04:00 23:00 07:00 R D 46:3023/12/2013 218 Week 32 R D R D R D 07:00 15:00 08:00 18:30 10:00 18:30 12:30 23:30 38:0030/12/2013 225 Week 33 11:00 22:30 23:00 07:00 R D R D R D 07:00 16:30 09:30 19:30 39:0006/01/2014 232 Week 34 16:30 01:00 17:30 02:00 18:00 05:00 19:00 07:00 R D R D R D 40:0013/01/2014 239 Week 35 07:00 17:00 08:00 18:00 09:00 19:00 10:00 21:00 14:30 01:00 R D R D 51:3020/01/2014 246 Week 36 R D R D 07:00 17:30 07:30 18:00 16:30 02:00 18:30 05:00 23:00 07:00 49:0027/01/2014 253 Week 37 19:00 07:00 R D R D R D 07:00 17:00 08:00 17:00 R D 31:0003/02/2014 260 Week 38 09:30 21:00 15:00 23:00 R D R D R D R D 08:00 16:00 27:3010/02/2014 267 Week 39 08:00 18:00 16:30 00:30 17:30 02:30 18:30 06:00 19:00 07:00 R D R D 50:3017/02/2014 274 Week 40 R D 07:00 17:00 07:30 18:00 09:00 19:00 09:30 21:30 15:00 23:00 R D 50:3024/02/2014 281 Week 41 R D R D R D 07:00 17:00 07:30 18:00 18:00 03:00 19:00 04:30 39:0003/03/2014 288 Week 42 17:00 05:00 19:00 07:00 R D R D R D 07:00 15:00 11:00 19:00 40:0010/03/2014 295 Week 43 09:00 19:00 10:00 21:30 15:30 00:00 R D R D R D R D 30:0017/03/2014 302 Week 44 07:00 17:30 08:30 18:30 16:30 01:30 18:00 04:00 18:30 06:30 21:30 07:00 R D 61:0024/03/2014 309 Week 45 R D R D 07:00 17:00 08:30 18:30 08:30 19:00 16:30 01:00 15:00 23:00 47:0031/03/2014 316 Week 46 R D R D R D R D 07:00 17:30 09:00 18:00 17:00 02:00 28:3007/04/2014 323 Week 47 17:00 01:30 17:00 05:00 19:00 07:00 R D R D R D 07:00 15:00 40:3014/04/2014 330 Week 48 08:30 18:30 09:00 19:00 09:30 21:00 11:00 23:00 R D R D R D 43:3021/04/2014 337 Week 49 R D 07:00 17:30 08:30 18:30 17:00 01:00 17:00 04:30 23:00 07:00 R D 48:0028/04/2014 344 Week 50 R D R D R D 07:00 17:30 08:00 18:30 10:30 18:30 15:30 00:30 38:0005/05/2014 351 Week 51 12:00 23:30 R D R D R D R D 07:30 19:00 09:00 17:00 31:0012/05/2014 358 Week 52 16:00 00:00 17:00 01:00 18:00 03:30 19:00 07:00 R D R D R D 37:30

41:002132:002132:00

Name: FC Team 4 Leave line B Police Staff

Skills: BHL in this period 8Pay number: Centre Lambeth

14.74 14.3 14.34 14.54 15.43 14.51 12.14Hours per week15.92% 13.44% 10.39%15.38% 15.29% 14.85% 15.92%

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

FTE 100.00% Annual hoursContract hours

Bank holidays27/05/201326/08/201325/12/201326/12/201301/01/201418/04/201421/04/201405/05/2014

Working day

BHL

Adjusted shifts

Extra Duty

Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun TotalET 5 6 8 8 9 6 4 46Day 11 9 7 6 6 9 7 55Late 6 6 4 5 4 3 5 33Night 10 12 12 12 12 14 10 82 38.0%

RD/WF 20 19 21 21 21 20 26 148

Spread of shifts

Shift allowance

20% Annual Hours 1872:00Weekly Hours 36:00

An example shift pattern

RD = rest day

On appointment of your standard contract, you will receive a starting salary of £21,709 gross per annum. In addition, you will receive a ‘cost of living’ increase, negotiated annually and payable from August of each year and a London Location Allowance of £3,501 (Zone 1 Lambeth (Priority Centre) & Bow CCC) or Zone 2 (Hendon CCC) £1,902.

In addition, you will receive, upon successful completion of the mandatory training courses, a 10% flexibility allowance and a shift allowance of up to 20%.

Please note that this is a full-time 24/7 shift based role.

Annual incremental spine points will achieve progression from minimum to maximum of the pay scale.

You will be posted to a Centre according to business needs.

YOUR REWARDS

For further information regarding the eligibility criteria for joining the MPS, please refer to the guidance notes available on the MPS Careers website or contained in the application.

The MPS is committed to safeguarding the welfare of children and vulnerable adults. As part of these safeguards, the MPS adopts a consistent and thorough process of safe recruitment in order to ensure that all MPS staff and volunteers are suitable.

Posts that involve a high level of contact with children and vulnerable adults will additionally require a Criminal Record Bureau (CRB) check. You will be required to wear a uniform, this will be provided by the MPS.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

We hope that you complete the application form you will have received with this information pack (for guidance on completing the application form, please refer to Annex A).

For your information, when we receive your application form, the following will happen:

• Your application form will be initially sifted against MPS criteria such as convictions and nationality. Please ensure all parts of the application are completed and remember to include photos of tattoos or copies of passport if applicable

• Following the initial sift your application will be assessed against the advert criteria and the information supplied about the role within this pack

• If successful at this stage we will contact you regarding a call handling/typing test. If successful at this stage, you will undertake an interview which is likely to be on the same day

• The interview will be a competency-based interview and questions will be posed around the criteria identified for the role in question as detailed in the advert and information pack

• If successful at interview, you will be invited to attend a medical. If you pass this, we will send you the initial provisional offer of employment with details of ‘what happens next’

• If unsuccessful we will also advise you in writing but will be unable to offer feedback

• The next stage of the process is to complete references and vetting checks

• Subject to all checks coming back satisfactory, you would then be allocated a training course

• There are usually a limited number of course places each month, so you will be held in a pool until a place becomes available. First Contact training is five weeks in duration followed by a six week coaching period

• Please note that the appointment of any applicant into the role of Communications Officer is dependant on the successful completion of both the training and coaching. Failure to pass either would result in the termination of employment. No annual leave is permitted during the first 11 weeks of employment

• Previous candidates who have applied for this role can only re-apply for the same role six months after the receipt of their rejection letter

MAKING AN APPLICATION AND THE SELECTION PROCESS

Please complete the application form and the equal opportunities monitoring form.

Please send your application by e-mail to [email protected]

By 4pm on Friday 30th May 2014. Please note that we will only accept the first 1000 applications received.

The above e-mail address should not be used for general enquiries. Please visit www.metpolicecareers.co.uk, which includes an ‘answering your questions’ section or contact the HR Advisory Centre on 0845 727 2212 from Monday - Friday 8:30am - 4:30pm.

• The recruitment process is thorough and consequently can be quite lengthy We ask you for your continued patience

• Short listing and interviews will be based on the criteria listed

• Until an offer of appointment is confirmed in writing, you should not assume your application has been successful.

WHAT TO DO NEXT

ANNEX A

Advice to candidates when completing the section relating to knowledge, skills and experience

Study carefully the job description and role profile that are specific to the process to which you are applying. Ensure your application form shows evidence for each of the three Driver areas and that you have completed it in the format as instructed.

Write clearly

Ensure your evidence is written clearly and avoid excessive jargon. Be sure to explain your example(s) so that the detail and its importance can be understood.

Structure your evidence

Ensure with each example that you are providing your assessor with an account of your involvement and achievement, and that is as comprehensive as possible. For example, you are advised to explain the situation, your objectives, your behaviours (what you did) and what happened as a result. It would be extremely difficult to cover every area of each Driver in sufficient detail within a reasonable length of application form, or within a one-hour interview. When using the form for selection, look at which behaviours (within the framework) best support the essential activities, skills and knowledge within the job description and/or role profile for the role or level being selected for. The number of examples you provide will depend on your role. You may have one, broad, detailed example which covers the scope of a Driver area, or it may be that you have worked on narrower or more specific pieces of work and may better cover the scope of the Driver using two examples. Also consider the space provided and the guidance for that particular process. When structuring each example a useful model to remember is ‘SOAR’. This model is shown overleaf. The use of the SOAR model is not essential but is likely to help you describe more clearly your competency relevant evidence. Please note that how you use the SOAR model will depend on your evidence.

Demonstrate the depth of each Driver by providing specific details and explaining how. Assessors will look for ‘depth’. Depth is the extent to which the Driver is evidenced. The greater the detail and quality of the specifics (how and why you did what you did), the greater the depth of the evidence. The key advice here is to ensure you are explaining not just what you did, but how you did it. Assessors do understand that you are provided with a limited space in which to present your evidence. However, the more detail you are able to convey, the stronger the depth will be. Use the space wisely.

ANNEX A

The ‘SOAR’ model

Situation

Explain the situation and context of your example, briefly.

Objective

Explain your aims, briefly. What were you trying to achieve and why?

Action

This is the key area which will provide the most competency-relevant evidence. What did you do and how did you do it? Why? What was your exact role? Who/what else was involved?

Result

Explain the positive outcomes. Were your objectives achieved? How do you know it was due to your actions? The results in Operational Effectiveness and Resource Management are very important.

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