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September 2012

POLICING WITH THE COMMUNITY

A follow-up review of inspection recommendations

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POLICING WITH THE COMMUNITYA follow-up review of inspection recommendations

September 2012

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Contents

List of abbreviations iv

Chief Inspector’s Foreword v

Executive Summary vi

Section 1: Follow-up Review

Chapter 1 Three years of progress? 3

Chapter 2 Progress on recommendations 7

Chapter 3 Progress on suggestions for improvement 15

Section 2: Appendix

Appendix 1 The PSNI 2020 Strategy 24

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List of abbreviations

ACPO Association of Chief Police Officers

ASB Anti-social behaviour

CEC Community Engagement Committee (in Northern Ireland Policing Board)

CJI Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland

DPP(s) District Policing Partnership(s)

HMIC Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary

IPR Individual Performance Review

NHP Neighbourhood Police and/or Policing

NIM National Intelligence Model

NIPB Northern Ireland Policing Board

NMP Neighbourhood Management Programme (in PSNI)

PCSO(s) Police Community Support Officer(s)

PCSP(s) Policing and Community Safety Partnership(s)

PSNI Police Service of Northern Ireland

PWC Policing with the Community

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Chief Inspector’s Foreword

Since the report of the Independent Commission on Policing (the Patten Report) had placed Policing withthe Community (PWC) squarely at the core of any future police service, there had been unprecedentedchanges to how policing is delivered in Northern Ireland. In particular over the last three years, togetherwith community partners and in the context of a persistent threat, the Police Service of Northern Ireland(PSNI) had aligned strategies and policies to deliver the Chief Constable’s vision of a personal, protectiveand professional policing service.

This is a follow-up review into the findings of our report ‘Policing with the Community’ (published in April2009) which found that ‘much work remains to be done to fully embed policing with the community as the core function of the [PSNI]’ and made several recommendations and suggestions to support progress. This review reports significant progress towards embedding a community policing ethos throughout the PSNI and improving the visibility and accessibility of Police Officers.

The three strategic recommendations within the specific remit of the PSNI had shown substantialprogress, and most elements only required completion of deployment arrangements to achieve fullimplementation. Some elements of the recommendations such as that pertaining to recruitment anddeployment of Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) had been superseded by economicconstraints and were no longer valid.

Structures and resources had been better aligned to deliver the PWC 2020 Strategy and the provision of 700 dedicated Neighbourhood Officers had made a positive contribution to improved service delivery.Sustaining these resources into the future remained a significant risk, and if PWC is to continue as thecore function of the PSNI, a way needs to be found to protect those resources.

Recommendations to provide more flexibility in the composition of the Police Service and the establishmentof Policing and Community Safety Partnerships (PCSPs) had been achieved. It is particularly creditable that partnership working had continued despite risks posed by elements against the policing arrangements.It is essential that this important work continues to be further developed and refined to ensure thatcommunity partnerships are effective in enabling the delivery of the 2020 Strategy.

The overall picture is of a positive direction of travel towards fully embedding the ethos of communitypolicing throughout every aspect of the PSNI. To maintain the improvements into the future will requirefortitude and an imaginative use of resources that places PWC at the core of service delivery.

This follow-up review was undertaken by William Priestley and Rachel Lindsay of CJI, with assistanceprovided by colleagues from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC). I would like to thank allthose involved in the inspection process.

BRENDAN McGUIGANActing Chief Inspector of Criminal Justicein Northern IrelandSeptember 2012

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Executive Summary

Introduction

The Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland (CJI) report into PWC had been published in April 2009.It made three strategic recommendations specific to the PSNI and three other recommendations, as wellas 12 suggestions for improvement directed specifically at the police. Whilst CJI had not inspected theNorthern Ireland Policing Board (NIPB), the report made two further suggestions for improvement to beconsidered by the NIPB.

The fieldwork for this follow-up review had been conducted over two years following the publication ofthe original report, and evidence had been collected during fieldwork from other inspection activity up tothe end of March 2012. This had enabled the collection of evidence from multiple sources includingcommunity representatives, a wide spectrum of Police Officers and some short observation periods ofNeighbourhood and Response Officers whilst on patrol.

This summary sets out Inspectors’ findings with regard to the three strategic recommendations and threeother recommendations made in the CJI report of April 2009. Of the three strategic recommendationsmade for the PSNI to progress, all had been assessed as partly achieved. There had been substantialprogress with each of these recommendations. Two of the other recommendations had been assessed ashaving been achieved whilst the remaining recommendation were partly achieved.

Further detail of the evidence gathered during inspection fieldwork underpinning these findings is set outin Chapter 2. Progress with the suggestions made for improvement is set out in detail in Chapter 3, andan appendix to this report contains the PSNI 2020 Strategy.

Findings

Strategic Recommendation 1 (specific to the PSNI)Inspectors recommend that PSNI implement a revised PWC strategy in line with it being placed at the core of thepolicing function and embedded in every policy and process. The strategy should be founded on a clear corporatevision of PWC and should raise and support its status within the organisation. Partly achieved.

A new PWC Strategy had been introduced in March 2011 (the PWC 2020 Strategy) having beendeveloped over a lengthy period involving prolonged consultation. Deployment of the Strategy was in itsearly days and further work in developing delivery guides for all departments was required. At the timeof inspection fieldwork, the individual performance review (IPR) project had not been implemented. Insome, but not all districts, Officers and Supervisors had been linking individual performance to the PWC2020 Strategy in an informal way. In one particular case there had been an attempt to link performance tothe Chief Constable’s vision of a personal, professional and protective police service. However, this hadresulted in performance of Neighbourhood Officers being measured by, for example, the quantity of fixedpenalty notices issued. This is an inappropriate and crude measure of Neighbourhood Officers’ activitieswhich in this particular case had been counter-productive.

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Strategic Recommendation 2 (specific to the PSNI)Inspectors recommend that as a matter of urgency PSNI develop and implement a service-wide call managementstrategy that reflects advances in technology to enable effective call handling in support of the delivery of PWC.Partly achieved.

CJI conducted a specific inspection into contact management arrangements which was published in June2012.

1In summary, the findings of that inspection were that alternative arrangements had been developed

and implemented by the PSNI under the umbrella R42programme. These had only recently been

implemented across the whole organisation but had delivered a more centralised contact managementsystem based in four bespoke centres. Contact management staff had been aware of their responsibilitieswith regard to PWC and how the 2020 Strategy linked to their role. Use of Neighbourhood Police(NHP) Teams in most areas to conduct essential follow-up calls and problem solving activities had beenappropriately directed by the contact management centres.

Strategic Recommendation 3 (specific to the PSNI)Inspectors recommend that PSNI implement policies regarding the recruitment of PCSOs; the measurement andmanagement of performance in PWC; corporate structures to support and sustain PWC; and the allocation ofresources to support and sustain NHP that place PWC as the core policing function. Partly achieved.

The recommendation with regard to PCSOs had been superseded by financial circumstances and was no longer valid. The thrust of Strategic Recommendation 3 had been to ensure that PWC would besupported by organisational structures and the effective management of sustainable resources whichplaced PWC at the core of policing. The inclusion of accountability mechanisms within the PWC 2020Strategy had been a positive step. Monitoring and measurement of departmental and team performancehad been achieved by providing reports to the Service Delivery Excellence Board and to heads ofdepartments. Externally the Policing Board had received quarterly reports on implementation of the 2020 Strategy. Work on the production of delivery guides needed to continue so that every department,their associated teams and individuals are clear what their particular role is with regard to delivering the2020 Strategy.

There had been no specific reference to PWC in District Commanders’ accountability meetings, althoughprogress had been monitored by reference to other metrics. By not specifically identifying the 2020Strategy as a standing item, an opportunity to reinforce its position as central to all policing activities hadbeen missed. Inspectors suggest that specific reference to the 2020 Strategy in accountability meetingswould further enhance its importance (paragraph 2.19).

The allocation of appropriate resources to deliver and sustain PWC had seen substantial progress. NHPTeams had been operating with 700 Officers across the Service compared to 552 Officers in June 2009.However, Inspectors could find no policy that protected the numbers of Officers specifically deployed toNHP Teams and it had been unclear whether pressure to fully staff other elements of policing, such ascrime operations or tactical support groups would negatively impact on the sustainability of NHP Teamsinto the future.

There had been much more awareness of the need to achieve an 80% retention target of NeighbourhoodOfficers on their core duties. However, there had been instances where Neighbourhood Officers hadbeen required to perform duties outside their neighbourhood or to provide cover for court duty andprisoner escort obligations.

1 ‘Answering the call - An inspection of the Police Service of Northern Ireland contact management arrangements’, CJI, June 2012.2 The R4 programme is an organisational change programme designed to deliver the Right people; in the Right place; at the Right time; doing theRight job to make a difference.

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Recommendation 4It would be helpful if arrangements could be developed in Northern Ireland which would enable the compositionof the police service to be set by a tripartite partnership involving the Chief Constable, the Ministry for Policing andJustice, and the NIPB, whenever Policing and Justice is devolved. Achieved.

Since the devolution of policing and justice powers to Northern Ireland there had been more flexibility insetting the composition of the Police Service workforce through a tripartite arrangement of the ChiefConstable, the Minister of Justice and the Policing Board. The effects of the new arrangements form partof the CJI inspection into workforce modernisation which will be published later in 2012.

Recommendation 5Inspectors recommend that legislation is introduced, equivalent to the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, to establishobligatory partnerships so that a more cohesive approach to local policing and community safety strategies can beimplemented. Partly achieved.

Whilst the establishment of PCSPs goes some way to fulfilling this recommendation, the approach inNorthern Ireland stops short of establishing the same type of obligatory partnerships as those establishedby the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 in England and Wales.

Recommendation 6As regards the future relationship between CSPs and DPPs, the optimum position post-RPA would be to have oneoperational community safety/policing tier in each council area. We would recommend policy makers to look againat the vision laid out in the Patten Report and echoed to some extent in the Criminal Justice Review. Achieved.

The establishment of 26 PCSPs (one for each council area) on 1 April 2012 effectively delivers thisrecommendation.

Conclusion

There had been substantial progress in delivering PWC since the original report of April 2009. Whilst therevised Strategy had taken a long time to deliver, it had begun to impact on delivery of PWC through itsovert linkage to the Chief Constable’s vision and to the Policing Commitments. A requirement for allpolice departments to produce and implement delivery guides for the PWC 2020 Strategy had begun toembed PWC as the default style of policing across the PSNI. Further work needed to be done in somecases to produce bespoke departmental guides, and to deploy them and monitor their progress. Linkingindividual performance to delivery of the PWC 2020 Strategy had not been achieved at the time ofinspection fieldwork, and Inspectors suggested that there needed to be express linkages of the Strategy to the newly developed IPRs, which went live in April 2012 (paragraph 2.9).

Reviews of resourcing for NHP Teams had supported the delivery of PWC across the Service but thisneeded to be sustained and protected into the future in the face of pressure to staff other elements ofpolicing.

The overall picture had been one of improvement being delivered through the PWC 2020 Strategy, itsimplementation plans, delivery guides and accountability mechanisms. The PSNI needed to continue towork hard to ensure delivery and enhancement of the Strategy by appropriate sustainable resourcing,inclusive consultation and meaningful performance assessment.

Follow-up Review

1Section

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1.1 It had been three years since the publicationand acceptance of the recommendationsmade in the CJI report into PWC in April2009. Chapter 2 sets out progress withspecific recommendations made in thatreport. During this follow-up reviewInspectors consulted widely withincommunities to gain insight into what theirexperiences had been with regard toprogress in PWC. Inspectors also spoke witha wide variety of community representativesin all four police districts visited during thefollow-up review. The qualitative informationreceived, which had been based on people’sactual day-to-day experiences of policing intheir areas by Neighbourhood Units,Response Officers and other Police Officers,added greatly to the review findings.

Strategy and its deployment

1.2 There had been a new PWC Strategy (2020)in place since March 2011. Whilst this hadbeen in the early days of deployment,Inspectors found that there had been a goodawareness level of the Strategy and itscontent within all the groups of PoliceOfficers spoken to during the inspectionfieldwork. As part of the Strategy policedepartments had been obligated to producebespoke delivery guides setting out whatwould be expected from the department,teams and individuals regarding delivery ofthe Strategy. These had not yet been fullydeveloped or deployed at the time ofinspection fieldwork. The Strategy had beencommunicated to Officers through ‘TheJourney3’ presentations and consequently

Three years of progress?

CHAPTER 1:

Inspectors had found a good level ofunderstanding across the Service andfunctions of the direction of travel set out in the 2020 Strategy. The outcomes of theexternal communication of the Strategy andlocal priorities could have been better asInspectors found little knowledge of it withincommunity groups or representatives despitea communication programme for both PWC2020 and the Policing Commitments.

1.3 As a result of recent re-deploymentprogrammes, Inspectors found that NHPUnits had been operating with around 700Officers in total. This had been a positivedevelopment but Inspectors could find nomechanism which had been designed toprotect this level, such as setting minimumoperational levels or a service wide modelfor resource allocation aligned with the 2020Strategy.

1.4 Officers told CJI Inspectors that completingthe modular training programme for NHPhad been difficult because of other duties,and that training for new NHP Officers had been retrospective to their deployment.Officers completing their probationaryperiod had widely varying experiences ofNHP attachments. Some had received theirattachments as set out by policy, whilstothers had only received a two weekattachment. As a result Probationer Officershad been receiving widely disparateexperiences with Neighbourhood Unitsdependent on the district or area in whichthey had been serving.

3 A series of workshops delivered to Police Officers and staff setting out the PWC Strategy, Policing Commitments and the Chief Constable’svision for policing.

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1.5 Inspectors found that there had beenattempts to measure the activities of NHPTeams in some districts. In one of thedistricts the measures had been based onactivities that did not align with PWCprinciples. For example, NHP Officers hadbeen measured on the number of fixedpenalty notices issued. Some other districtshad taken a different approach to measuringNHP activities and had focused on thenumber of partnerships and key individualnetworks developed. The approach had beeninconsistent across the Service. At the timeof inspection fieldwork, a new IPR systemhad not been implemented. This had beendue to go live in April 2011 but had beendelayed until April 2012. Supervisors hadtold Inspectors that they saw the lack ofsuch a scheme as a barrier to fully engagingall Officers in implementing the 2020Strategy.

1.6 The PWC Awards Scheme had beenextended to reflect the inclusion of allelements of policing under the corporatestyle. The awards had been regarded aspositive by Officers and communityrepresentatives spoken to by Inspectors.Some members of community groupsmentioned that the standard required toachieve awards had been very high, and that the day-to-day work of Officers couldbe better recognised by local PoliceSupervisors. Community representatives and NHP Officers had perceived that thereremained a focus on rewarding the short-term operational solutions rather thanfocusing on longer-term problem solvingapproaches. Community representatives andNHP Officers also regarded the lack of acareer path, no tenure of service and littlelocal internal encouragement for NHPOfficers as a barrier to retaining the bestpeople for the role.

Community perspective

1.7 Community experiences of policing hadvaried across the service area. There had

been some variation in how the definition ofa Neighbourhood Officer’s role had beenapplied, which had been commented on bymembers of the community. In some areasNeighbourhood Officers had taken activeroles in carrying out searches of propertiesin partnership with other police teams. Inother areas, NHP Officers had performed aliaison role with community representativesaimed at preventing disorder duringprotracted searches.

1.8 People’s experiences of contacting NHPOfficers had also been variable. SomeOfficers’ work mobile numbers had beencommunicated to the public and had alwaysresulted in an answer. If the particularOfficer had been off duty the call had eitherbeen taken in any case by the Officer, or hadbeen forwarded to another available number.People who had experienced this level ofservice had been greatly reassured and hadbeen appreciative of it. However, in othercases mobile numbers had not beencommunicated as well and had not alwaysresulted in a call being answered.

1.9 The accessibility of the police in general and NHP Officers in particular had beencommented on by all members of thecommunity spoken to by Inspectors. Most had experienced an improvement inarrangements for contacting the police, andmost said that NHP Officers had been morevisible in their areas and there had beenbetter continuity of service. Communityrepresentatives told Inspectors that Officershad been allowed to remain in theirallocated neighbourhood for longer periodsand had built relationships and partnershipswith community groups. Inspectors hadbeen told of some exceptions when Officershad been moved away from neighbourhoodswithout prior notice to community groups.In some cases Inspectors were informed thisresulted in disrupted relationships, yet thishad become the exception rather than thenorm, and community representatives hadbeen positive about the improvements in

relationships with local police. Inspectorsfound that Supervisors had been keen todeliver on the 80% target for NHP Officersworking on their core duties. Fewerabstractions had meant more opportunitiesto build relationships but this had not beenconsistent across all areas.

1.10 In some areas community representativeshad told Inspectors that they had beenreluctant to overtly build relationships with local police because of their perceptionof the level of threat posed to them bypeople against the police in their area.However, Inspectors had also been informed by members of the community and by NHP Officers working in such areasthat relationship building had continuedsuccessfully although less visibly.Representatives told Inspectors thatalthough the level of threat in some areashad impacted on the cosmetic style ofpolicing, it had not stopped the developmentof partnerships and relationships.

1.11 Inspectors found that some Officers hadbeen unsure about the public perception of developing relationships with formermembers of paramilitary groups. The sameOfficers had also been unsure whether thisapproach had been fully supported by theirSupervisors. Relationships with groupings,such as community restorative justiceorganisations, had developed well andInspectors had been told by Police Officersthat this had facilitated the PWC approachin some areas.

1.12 Whilst Inspectors found that there had been much better awareness of PWC acrossthe Service and within response, crimeoperations, tactical support groups and other areas of specialism, integration anddeployment of PWC principles had beeninconsistent across the whole service area.Service delivery by Response, CrimeOperations and Tactical Support Group

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Officers had sometimes been seen asinsensitive to PWC principles by communitymembers and NHP Officers. In some areascommunity representatives told Inspectorsthat Response Officers had displayed a goodunderstanding of PWC principles and oftheir NHP colleagues. Inspectors verifiedthis by speaking with a range of Officerswithin Response Teams, Crime Operations and Tactical Support Groups. Most recentlyInspectors had observed NHP and ResponseOfficers at work in some districts. MostOfficers spoken with and observed haddisplayed a good awareness and understandingof their particular role in PWC. This could beimproved by deploying and implementingspecific PWC delivery guides, which at thetime of inspection fieldwork had not beenfully developed in some cases or fullydeployed and implemented.

Other data

1.13 In addition to qualitative data obtained fromcommunity representatives and PoliceOfficers, Inspectors also examined a range of quantitative data gathered over the threeyear period. Survey data4 had indicated anincrease in public knowledge of NHP Teams.In September 2008 64% of respondents hadheard of NHP compared to 71% by April2009 and 72% in September 2009. Table 1shows the omnibus survey results for NHPover the period 2008-09 broken down byRoman Catholic (C) and Protestant (P)respondents.

The specific questions about NHP hadchanged in surveys after September 2009.The most recent survey from September2010 had indicated an improvement inoverall levels of people feeling safe in their community (91% in September 2010compared to 88% in September 2009) and a fairly constant level of knowledge of their local Officers over the same period(around 12%).

4 Public perceptions of the Police, DPPs and NIPB – surveys September 2008 to September 2009, NIPB and NISRA.

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Summary

1.14 The overall impression conveyed toInspectors by members of the communityand Officers had been one of progress.Community representatives who hadpreviously raised issues such as accessibility,visibility, engagement and consultation hadseen some improvement since 2009.Abstractions had been concentrated on bySupervisors to deliver against policing plantargets, and this had been having a positiveimpact on opportunities for building andmaintaining relationships. The number ofOfficers deployed to NHP roles had beenincreased and maintained at 700.

1.15 Inspectors had seen much positive work todevelop and build partnerships by NHPOfficers across the districts visited, withsome excellent work showcased in Foyleand Strabane where the level of threat hadbeen reported as higher than some otherdistricts. There remained areas whereimprovements could be made. Inconsistencyin approaches to deploying the 2020Strategy, such as measures of NHP activityand varying community experiences, neededto be addressed. Chapter 2 sets outprogress with specific recommendationsmade in the 2009 CJI report.

Table 1: Knowledge of Neighbourhood Policing

Heard of NHP?

Rating % April 2008 September 2008 April 2009 September 2009

C P All C P All C P All C P All

Yes 61 66 63 57 70 64 68 74 71 67 76 72

No 39 34 36 43 30 36 32 26 29 33 23 28

Don’t know 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

2.1 This chapter sets out the recommendationsmade in the 2009 CJI report into PWCtogether with the response provided toInspectors by the PSNI regarding theirprogress with these recommendations. Therehad been three strategic recommendationsspecific to the PSNI and three otherrecommendations. Inspectors’ fieldworkprovided evidence as to how well therecommendations had been achieved andwhat remained to be done.

The overall picture had been one ofsubstantial progress, especially withintegrating PWC as the default style ofpolicing. However, there had been areaswhere more progress was required especiallywith consistency of service delivery andadoption of the corporate style across thewhole organisation.

PSNI Recommendations

Recommendation 1

2.2 Inspectors recommend that PSNIimplement a revised PWC strategy in linewith it being placed at the core of thepolicing function and embedded in everypolicy and process. The strategy should befounded on a clear corporate vision ofPWC and should raise and support itsstatus within the organisation.

PSNI Response:

2.3 The PWC 2020 Strategy is the refreshedStrategy and has with it an implementation planand accountability mechanism. The Policing withthe Community 2020 Strategy will set the tonefor the Police Service of Northern Ireland’s

accountability. Chief Officers will ensure thatimplementation of the Strategy is reflected in aclear accountability framework. PWC 2020 isthe Strategy delivered through the style ofpersonal, professional and protective policingalong the three themes of engagement, servicedelivery and partnership, supported by theactivities which build public confidence through the service we deliver. Through theimplementation plan, Programme Boards are to ensure consistency with Policing with theCommunity Strategy to embed PWC intoeverything we do.

Inspectors’ Assessment:

2.4 The PWC 2020 Strategy is attached atAppendix 1. The Strategy had beendeveloped over a lengthy period involvingprolonged consultation with the NIPBCommunity Engagement Committee (CEC)and with community and advisory groups.There had been wide consultation on theStrategy and it had benefited from this. Thereremained an onus on the police to ensurethat a wide variety of representative groupshad been consulted with regard to PWC.Whilst it may be advantageous to consultthrough advisory and community groups, thepolice should be able to illustrate that thesegroups remained appropriate, relevant andhad been the ones best placed to give anaccurate community perspective on proposedpolicy and strategy. Progress of the agreedStrategy had been reported on duringquarterly meetings of the CEC. The 2020Implementation Plan had set out detailedtimelines for delivery of the Strategy and itsvarious elements. Table 2 illustrates how theStrategy was to be delivered and monitored.

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Progress on recommendations

CHAPTER 2:

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examined the delivery guide for CrimeOperations department. This aimed toprovide a framework for delivery of the 2020Strategy specifically with regard to crimeoperations. The delivery guide used thecorporate PSNI guide as a template and hadset out activities within the context of crimeoperations. As an example of embedding theprinciples of PWC into aspects of policing,other than NHP, this was a positive step. Theguide identified key stakeholders and partnersboth internally and externally and how toeffectively engage them. However, the guidehad only just been developed at the time offieldwork, and Inspectors had been unable todetermine its impact on service delivery.Implementation of the delivery guide is to be monitored and reported to the Head ofCrime Operations and Officers within thedepartment were aware that they hadresponsibility to report progress based onthe guide. This development had thepotential to further embed PWC as thecorporate style within the Crime Operationsdepartment.

Strategy Style Themes Activities Accountability

Effective community Our Policing engagement Commitments

Personal Engagement Treat people fairly User satisfactionand with respect surveys

Policing Effective joint Confidencewith the problem solving measuresCommunity

Professional Service delivery Tackling crime and Complaintprotecting the public trends

Targeted patrolling Level of activities crime and disorder

Protective Partnership Provide information to Individual performance the community review

Deliver a high quality service

The Strategy incorporated the ChiefConstable’s vision of a policing service that ispersonal, professional and protective and hadset out three major themes of engagement,service delivery and partnership.Implementation of the Strategy had beenidentified as being achieved through sevengroups of activities, whilst accountability wasto be achieved through six different methodsof measurement and monitoring.

2.5 The 2020 Strategy document illustrated atAppendix 1 sets out specific objectives,associated actions, responsible Officers andreview dates with regard to delivering PWC.The production of specific delivery guides foreach of human resources; criminal justice;legal services; corporate communications;professional standards; and finance andsupport departments, had been an importantstep in embedding PWC across the wholeService. However, not all delivery guides hadbeen finalised by the time of inspectionfieldwork, and those that had been, had onlyjust begun to be implemented. Inspectors

Table 2: Delivery and monitoring of the 2020 Strategy

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2.6 Similar work had been instigated across otherdepartments. Some of these guides had notbeen as far advanced as the generic guide orthe Crime Operations guide. Whilst thisremains the case, embedding PWC as thedefault style across every part of the PSNI isunlikely to happen. Inspectors found thatwork had been progressed within the otherdepartments to produce bespoke guides, and implementation plans and support hadbeen provided through the PSNI ServiceExcellence Board. Support for departmentsneeds to continue to enable them totranslate the corporate guide to one thatdelivers PWC principles in their specific areaof work.

2.7 Inspectors’ assessment of the 2020 Strategyis that it has the potential to deliver PWC ina consistent way across the whole of thePSNI. It included many of the elementsrequired for successful delivery, and placedPWC as the overall approach from which isderived the corporate policing style, themes,and activities. Working in partnership withthe Policing Board, the PSNI had developed aclear strategy which placed PWC at the coreof the policing function. However, at the timeof fieldwork, delivery against the Strategy,whilst improving, remained inconsistent.Deployment of the Strategy was in its earlydays and further work in developing deliveryguides for all departments was required. This needs to be supported by using theaccountability mechanisms built into theStrategy to ensure full implementation.

2.8 Inspectors found that one substantial elementof ensuring delivery of the 2020 Strategy hadnot been implemented. Linking individuals’performance to team, departmental andcorporate strategy is an important enablerwhen seeking to embed a particular approachacross an organisation. At the time ofinspection fieldwork, the IPR project had notbeen implemented and was not due to go liveuntil April 2012. This had left a gap in theformal monitoring of Officers’ performanceto ensure that their energies were directedto implementing the PWC Strategy.

Inspectors found that the gap in formalmonitoring arrangements had led to someinconsistencies in delivering PWC.

2.9 Whilst there are likely to be manycontributory factors that determine aparticular policing style, such as the level ofthreat from terrorist activity, implementationof the corporate style depends on linkingthat style directly to individual performance.In some districts, Officers and Supervisorshad been linking individual performance tothe 2020 Strategy in an informal way. Thiswas especially apparent in some NHP Teamswhere performance had been linked directlyto the activities of the 2020 Strategy.However, in other districts there had been no linking of performance to the Strategy. In one particular case there had been anattempt to link performance to the ChiefConstable’s vision of a personal, professionaland protective police service. However, this had resulted in performance ofNeighbourhood Officers being measured by,for example, the quantity of fixed penaltynotices issued. This is an inappropriate andcrude measure of Neighbourhood Officers’activities, which in this particular case hadbeen counter-productive. Officers spokenwith by Inspectors who had been subject tothis regime had been left feeling demotivatedand under-valued by their Supervisors.Officers felt that the approach had diminishedtheir status and the approach of PWC withinthe PSNI. More effective and appropriateperformance measures for the work done byNeighbourhood Officers in delivering PWCneeds to be implemented through the IPRsystem which went live in April 2012.

2.10 Performance assessment recommended bythe Association of Chief Police Officers(ACPO) for Neighbourhood Officers andTeams include:

• measurement of behaviour against districtpriorities and anti-social behaviourincidents;• abstraction rates;• percentage of priorities solved to public

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satisfaction;• priority specific interventions, for example,clean-up days, alcohol seizures;• volume, frequency and variety ofengagement (meetings, networks);• frequency, volume and quality of feedbackto community (blogs, newsletters);• patrol plan reflecting neighbourhoodprofile;• promptness of response to public contact;and• assessment of problem solving andengagement quality.

Whilst some of these measures had beenused in some of the districts visited byInspectors, a corporate approach to themeasurement of team and individualperformance regarding the delivery of the2020 Strategy did not appear to beconsistently applied.

2.11 Neighbourhood Officers had played a pivotalrole in delivering the 2020 Strategy thereforeit is important that appropriate measures oftheir activities should be implemented acrossthe Service. The current disparity inapproaches to measurement had led toNeighbourhood Officers being assesseddifferently depending on the district in whichthey operate. However, there is a wider issuewith regard to performance measurement. IfPWC is to be embedded consistently acrossthe Service, then the IPR system shouldinclude direct links between individual, team,departmental and corporate policy andstrategy. In tandem with the work todevelop and implement delivery guidesacross the Service, Inspectors suggestthat individuals should have appropriatePWC objectives in their IPR and thatteam and departmental objectivesshould also include explicit PWCobjectives.

Status: Partly Achieved

Recommendation 2

2.12 Inspectors recommend that as a matter ofurgency PSNI develop and implement aservice-wide call management strategythat reflects advances in technology toenable effective call handling in supportof the delivery of PWC.

PSNI Response:

2.13 Transitional improvements in the structure anddelivery of call management were deliveredduring 2009-10. The strategic direction of call management has been defined from theStrategic Review and via the R4 project willdeliver a customer centric model based on fourconsolidated contact management centres acrossthe Service. This has commenced and contactmanagement will be in place by June 2011.


2.14 Project Unity, which was to deliver atechnology based advanced contactmanagement solution had been terminated in 2008 due to financial constraints. CJIrecently conducted a specific inspection intocontact management arrangements, publishedJune 2012. In summary the findings of thatinspection were that alternative arrangementsto contact management had been developedand implemented by the PSNI under theumbrella R4 programme. These had onlyrecently been implemented across the wholeorganisation but had delivered a morecentralised contact management systembased in four bespoke centres. CustomerManagement Software had been recentlyintroduced in one of the contact centres and had been delivering better outcomes for customers, but the system had not yetbeen operating long enough to conduct ameaningful evaluation as to its effectiveness.As part of the contact managementinspection, staff interviewed by Inspectorswere found to be aware of theirresponsibilities with regard to PWC and how the 2020 Strategy linked to their role.Use of NHP Teams in most areas to conduct

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essential follow-up calls and problem solvingactivities was being directed by the contactmanagement centres.

2.15 For further detail on progress with thisrecommendation please refer to the CJIreport ‘Answering the Call’.5 Inspectors’assessment is that the recommendation hadbeen achieved in part whilst a full evaluationof its effectiveness was awaited.


Recommendation 3

2.16 Inspectors recommend that PSNIimplement policies regarding therecruitment of PCSOs; the measurementand management of performance in PWC;corporate structures to support and sustainPWC; and the allocation of resources tosupport and sustain NHP that place PWCas the core policing function.

PSNI Response:

2.17 The recruitment of PCSOs has not beenprogressed.

The measurement and management of PWC isdone through the Implementation Plan of thePWC 2020 Strategy.

Delivery guides will be produced for humanresources, criminal justice, legal services, mediaand public relations, professional standards andfinance and support departments in addition toensure consistency; each department and districtdevelop PWC plans that reflect the evidencebased activities of PWC delivery guides. A newIPR for police and support staff to be introducedin April 2012 which reflects the refreshedstrategy. All Commanders PDOs and Rec 78meetings are based on the PWC framework.

Under R2R over 600 Officers have been re-allocated to the front line. In addition, the Chief Constable in his introduction to this year’s

Policing Plan has ensured that 700 of ourOfficers are deployed to Neighbourhood PolicingTeams, working with local people and deliveringlocal policing.

Work through the Community Prioritisation Index (CPI) will inform the HR distribution model going forward.


2.18 A few months after the recommendationregarding PCSOs was published it becameclear that finances were not being madeavailable to pursue this recommendation.The thrust of the recommendation was to ensure that PWC was supported byorganisational structures and the effectivemanagement of sustainable resources whichplaced PWC at the core of policing. ThePSNI responded to the recommendation bythe implementation of the 2020 Strategy. The inclusion of accountability mechanismswithin the Strategy had been a positive step.However, as outlined in Paragraph 2.6 thesemechanisms needed to be fully deployed tosupport the delivery of PWC. Monitoringand measurement of departmental and teamperformance had been achieved by providingreports to the Service Delivery ExcellenceBoard and to heads of departments.Externally the Policing Board receivedquarterly reports on implementation of the2020 Strategy. Measurement and monitoringof individual performance in delivering the 2020 Strategy needed to be fullyimplemented through the IPR which was togo live in April 2012.

2.19 The requirement for departments to producedelivery guides for the 2020 Strategy hadbeen a positive one in ensuring that theapproach is embedded across the Service. Asoutlined in Paragraph 2.5 this work neededto continue so that every department, theirassociated teams and individuals are clearwhat their particular role is with regard todelivering the 2020 Strategy. Inspectors hadviewed the standing agenda for the district

5 ‘Answering the Call’ – An inspection of the Police Service of Northern Ireland’s contact management arrangements, CJI, June 2012.

12

accountability meetings conducted byAssistant Chief Constables. Whilst there hadbeen no specific reference to PWC, DistrictCommanders’ performance against the 2020Strategy had been assessed by reference tothe Policing Commitments; right first time;stakeholder engagement strategy; andconfidence narrative events. This approachplaced the 2020 Strategy as integral to theother district activities. However, by notspecifically identifying the 2020 Strategy as astanding item on the district accountabilitymeetings, an opportunity to reinforce itsposition as central to all policing activitieshad been missed. Whilst the 2020Strategy is included on the agenda asan integral part of the measurement ofother district activities, Inspectorssuggest that it should appearspecifically as a named standing itemon the district performance meetingagenda.

2.20 The allocation of appropriate resources todeliver and sustain PWC had also seensubstantial progress since therecommendation. There had been a focus onreturning Officers to front line duties throughthe continued operation of the PSNI R4programme and a previous Resource to Riskprogramme. Around 600 Officers had beenmoved from office roles to front line duties.Inspectors had been told of an example inone of the important strategic partnershipswhere the role of an Officer seconded to the Northern Ireland Housing Executive withthe purpose of delivering PWC had beendiscontinued. It was unclear what assessmentthere had been of the impact on the strategicpartnership of removing that particular role.However, the Housing Executive saw thediscontinuation of the role as impactingnegatively on the delivery of PWC. Inreturning Officers to front line duties fromsuch roles there needs to be carefulassessment of the impact on importantstrategic partnerships and on enabling PWC.

2.21 Table 3 illustrates that Neighbourhood Unitshad been operating with 700 Officers acrossthe Service in January 2012, compared to 552Officers in June 2009. Whilst this is awelcome development it reflects around 10%of the establishment being specificallyallocated to an activity that had beendescribed to Inspectors as the critical tacticalarm of PWC. Inspectors could find no policythat protected the numbers of Officersspecifically deployed to NHP Teams, and itwas unclear whether pressure to fully staffother elements of policing, such as CrimeOperations or Tactical Support Groups,would negatively impact on the sustainabilityof NHP Teams into the future. Inspectorsconsider that this situation poses a risk tothe progress that had been made in deliveringPWC through the deployment of adequateresources in NHP Teams. Supervisors andstaff in operational planning departments had become much more aware of the needto achieve the 80% retention target ofNeighbourhood Officers on their core duties.However, Inspectors had been made aware ofinstances where Neighbourhood Officers had been required to perform duties outsidetheir neighbourhood, or to provide cover forcourt duty and prisoner escort obligations.In some districts there had been liberalinterpretation of what constitutes coreneighbourhood duties, which had madeachievement of the 80% target lesschallenging.


Table 3: Resources allocated toNeighbourhood Policing

Date Number of Police Officers

June 2009 552

October 2010 695

January 2012 700

13

Other Recommendations

Recommendation 4

2.22 It would be helpful if arrangements couldbe developed in Northern Ireland whichwould enable the composition of thepolice service to be set by a tripartitepartnership involving the Chief Constable,the Ministry for Policing and Justice, andthe NIPB, whenever Policing and Justice isdevolved.


2.23 Since the devolution of policing and justicepowers to Northern Ireland, there had beenmore flexibility in setting the composition of the Police Service workforce through atripartite arrangement of the ChiefConstable, Minister of Justice and the PolicingBoard. The effects of the new arrangementsform part of the CJI inspection intoworkforce modernisation which will bepublished later in 2012.

Status: Achieved

Recommendation 5

2.24 Inspectors recommend that legislation isintroduced, equivalent to the Crime andDisorder Act 1998, to establish obligatorypartnerships so that a more cohesiveapproach to local policing andcommunity safety strategies can beimplemented.


2.25 Whilst the establishment of PCSPs goessome way to fulfilling this recommendationthe approach in Northern Ireland stops shortof establishing the same type of obligatorypartnerships as those established by theCrime and Disorder Act 1998 in England and Wales.


Recommendation 6

2.26 As regards the future relationship between CSPs and DPPs, the optimum positionpost-RPA would be to have oneoperational community safety/policingtier in each council area. We wouldrecommend policy makers to look againat the vision laid out in the Patten Reportand echoed to some extent in theCriminal Justice Review.


2.27 The establishment of 26 PCSPs (one for each council area) on 1 April 2012 effectivelydelivers this recommendation. No furtherupdate is required with regard to thisrecommendation.

Status: Achieved

15

3.1 Suggestions for improvement had beenincluded in the CJI report into PWCpublished in April 2009 to differentiatebetween those strategic recommendationswhich were regarded as being critical todelivering PWC more effectively to influenceservice user satisfaction and those lessstrategic measures that would more likelyaffect operational delivery. Whilst thesetook the status of suggestions rather thanrecommendations, their cumulative effect inhelping to deliver PWC should not bedisregarded.

3.2 There had been 12 suggestions forimprovement directed specifically at thePSNI. Whilst CJI had not inspected the NIPBand had made it clear that they had no remitto do so, it had become clear during thefieldwork for the 2009 report into PWC thatthere were important issues for the PolicingBoard to consider. These issues had been set out as suggestions for consideration bythe NIPB. CJI had not monitored progresswith these two suggestions but had receivedan update from the NIPB as part of thefieldwork for the current inspection review.

Suggestion for Improvement 1

3.3 Giving operational responsibility for NHPto the two regional ACCs, or in future toone ACC with service-wide responsibilityfor operational matters, would providebetter local accountability for delivery of PWC.

PSNI Response:

3.4 Regional ACCs have the responsibility forNeighbourhood Teams. The Deputy ChiefConstable has responsibility for the PWC 2020Strategy. The PWC 2020 Strategy widens theorganisational responsibility of PWC so that it is not seen to be just NHP.


3.5 Operational responsibility for thedeployment of the 2020 Strategy throughNeighbourhood Teams and other regionalresources rested with the two regionalACCs. Accountability meetings had beenheld with District Commanders and, asstated in Paragraph 2.19, whilst PWC hadnot appeared as a standing item on theagenda, local accountability had beenachieved by assessing progress withdelivering the Policing Commitments andother relevant initiatives. Implementation ofthe IPR would further strengthen individualand local accountability for delivery of thePWC Strategy.

3.6 The 2020 Strategy had been driven fromDeputy Chief Constable level. Inspectorsconsidered this to be the appropriate levelfrom which the Strategy had been driventhroughout the Service. Having overallresponsibility for PWC at Deputy ChiefConstable level had offered opportunities to address the strategic recommendationsmade by CJI. There had been a good level of success in delivering against the strategicrecommendations as well as the otherrecommendations, and suggestions for

Progress on suggestions forimprovement

CHAPTER 3:

improvement specific to the PSNI. Thisapproach had also helped to impress on all departments that PWC was not a matterfor NHP Teams alone.

3.7 It is Inspectors’ assessment that thestructural arrangements had the potential to address the recommendation to enablebetter local accountability for delivery of the2020 Strategy. There needed to be furtherstrengthening of support mechanisms such as deployment of the IPR and more overtinclusion of PWC in formal accountabilitymeetings, to fully realise the potential of the current structures.

Status: Achieved


3.8 It would be helpful if members of theNHP Programme Board would attendeach Board meeting in person. Minutes of meetings should be activelycommunicated and published to theService through its intranet system(Policenet).

PSNI Response:

3.9 No update required. The Programme Board cameto a close at the end of the NeighbourhoodFramework Project. The Service ExcellenceProgramme Board oversees the PWC 2020Strategy and implementation through theImplementation Team.


3.10 The NHP Programme Board had ended and therefore the recommendation is nowdischarged. The instigation of the ServiceExcellence Programme Board which is linkedto the R4 programme of work had enabledbetter oversight of the PWC Strategyimplementation.

Status: Discharged

16


3.11 Setting minimum operating levels forNHP Teams would help to deliver abetter community-oriented local policing service and would raise thestatus of NHP internally.

PSNI Response:

3.12 The Chief Constable, in his introduction to thisyear’s Policing Plan, has ensured that 700 of ourOfficers are deployed to Neighbourhood PolicingTeams, working with local people and deliveringlocal policing.


3.13 There had been a focus on increasing thenumber of Officers deployed to NHP andthis had been delivered successfully (seeTable 3). In total around 600 Officers hadbeen returned to front line duties. Whilstthese had been positive achievements, andhad served to strengthen PWC it remained the case that no minimum operating levelsexisted for NHP Teams. Flexibility indeploying Officers is a pre-requisite ofeffective policing in enabling the police tomeet public demand. However, Inspectorshad been told of instances whereNeighbourhood Officers had been re-deployed to undertake other tasks when alternatives had been available.Neighbourhood Officers and theirSupervisors had not been operating with theprotection of minimum operating levels thathad been afforded to Response and SupportTeams. Neighbourhood Officers spoken to by Inspectors regarded the situation asillustrating the relatively low importanceattached to NHP compared to ResponsePolicing.

Status: Not Achieved

17


3.14 The work of Neighbourhood Officersneeds to be marketed internally,especially by District Commanders whoset the policing tone for their area.

PSNI Response:

3.15 PWC awards markets internally the work of the organisation as a whole, not just that ofneighbourhoods. Neighbourhood working by its nature is bespoke to that area and to thosecommunities within that neighbourhood. A goodidea or practice in one area may not necessarilywork in another; within the guidance documentsfor districts good practice is listed and thesedocuments will be updated annually as newideas and practices come to light.


3.16 The marketing of NHP internally had reliedmainly on the development and widening ofthe PWC awards to encompass all aspectsof policing. This had been a welcomeachievement and Inspectors had found that Officers in all departments had beenaware of the awards and their purpose.Neighbourhood Officers spoken with byInspectors had displayed an obvious aptitudefor delivering PWC and Inspectors cameacross many examples of excellent localcommunity initiatives being driven byNeighbourhood Teams which had beenrecognised by Supervisors. The positiveoutlook of many of the NeighbourhoodOfficers and the recognition of their work by Neighbourhood Supervisors had been apositive encouragement to other Officerswho aspired to join the NeighbourhoodTeams.

3.17 However, some Neighbourhood Officers hadcommented that a career path within NHPhad not been a viable option. Whilst theOfficers had recognised that the ethos ofPWC had been applicable across roleswithin the Service, they had told Inspectorsthat a clear career path in NHP had not

been developed along the lines of that whichhad existed in response, crime operations,operational support or in other policingroles. Some Neighbourhood Officers had told Inspectors that this had beendemotivating for those who had aspirationsof promotion but had wished to remain inNHP.

3.18 The lack of a clear career path forNeighbourhood Officers compared to thatavailable for other policing roles had beenseen by some Officers and stakeholders asdowngrading the role of NHP. To effectivelymarket NHP and to raise its status these negative perceptions needed to be addressed. Reliance on an awardsmechanism, even one as popular as the PWC Awards, whilst Officers had retainednegative perceptions of existing structures,had not convinced everyone that NHP andPWC had been central to overall policingstrategy.



3.19 The Service needs to move to empowerand entrust Officers within its overallsupervisory framework so that they canrespond more effectively to communityneeds.

PSNI Response:

3.20 Neighbourhood Teams highlight those issuesraised and agreed within their neighbourhoodareas on the external web pages. It is hoped,with the creation of the new PCSPs, communityplanning, that these issues and communities’needs will be addressed in closer partnershipcollaboration with statutory and communityvoluntary sectors. The PWC 2020 DistrictDelivery Guide provides direction, challenges and an opportunity to identify and share bestpractice. This allows us to consider how weengage with communities, share information,problem solve and deliver our service. Through

discretion, speedy justice and communitydisposals, Officers are empowered and entrustedto make decisions.


3.21 Inspectors found that there had beendevelopment with the empowerment ofOfficers, particularly with regard to theirdecision making as to disposal through thediscretion and speedy justice initiatives.These initiatives had been managed throughthe R4 programme and through it, had beenlinked closely with the implementation ofPWC. This had meant that there had beenbetter understanding internally of the PWCagenda and its interaction with other policinginitiatives.

3.22 When visiting Neighbourhood Officers intheir workplaces, Inspectors found that there had been variability in the extent ofempowerment that had been afforded toindividual Officers and teams. In somedistricts Neighbourhood Supervisors hadbeen empowered to create bespoke policingsolutions in line with local public demandand members of the public in those areashad responded positively. For example, inareas such as Foyle, Strabane and some areasof Ballymena and Ballymoney there had beenimproved Officer empowerment with regardto Neighbourhood Officers. There had beenmany very good examples of excellent co-operation between NHP and communities.However, this approach had not beenconsistent across all districts and someNeighbourhood Officers had felt constrainedin attempting to meet local demand.

3.23 Inspectors had been told by a communityrepresentative of an instance where anestablished Neighbourhood Officer had been moved from a local area with no prior notice or discussion. The Officer hadbeen unable to provide an explanation tocommunity groups because the reason forthe move had not been explained to him.Upon checking, Inspectors found that thereason for the move had been legitimate

and had been done in order to comply withrules of appointment and competition, butthis had not been explained to the Officeror to community representatives. TheOfficer and community representatives had felt disempowered by the experience.Empowerment includes a large element oftransparency and openness and in thisparticular case it had been overlooked. This instance had caused the communityrepresentative to question the commitmentof the district to PWC meaning thatconfidence building work had been requiredto re-establish good working relationships.



3.24 If the Service is to continue withallocating Police Officers Part-Time toNHP Teams as the alternative to usingPCSOs, then it should consider ways tobetter utilise their existing skills and localknowledge and empower them to delivera better service to the community.

PSNI Response:

3.25 Police Officer Part-Time are allocated toNeighbourhood Teams and tasked depending onthe identified issues within that neighbourhood.


3.26 The allocation of part-time Police Officersto Neighbourhood Teams had continued as away of bolstering resources during times ofhigh demand. However, there had been nofurther recruitment of part-time Officers nor had Inspectors been made aware of any further plans to resume recruitment and training. There had been limitedopportunities for deployment of part-timeOfficers to NHP Teams depending on theirpresence within districts, and strict limits had been set and implemented as to theirhours of work.

18

3.27 Inspectors could find no evidence that thisrecommendation had been communicated or implemented across districts in any way,and some Supervisors had been oblivious tothe skills and experience of their part-timeOfficers. If the organisational intention is toreduce the deployment of part-time Officersthen this recommendation becomesirrelevant.



3.28 Skills identified by the TNA as beingnecessary for NHP Officers, such asdeveloping and managing communityrelationships, should be interwoven notjust into initial Officer training but alsointo Detective training, Police OfficersPart-Time training and other operationaltraining programmes to fully embed PWCprinciples across the whole Service.

PSNI Response:

3.29 The Police College continues to deliver theNeighbourhood Management Programme (NMP) that forms part of the Core LeadershipProgramme. The NMP supports the provision ofNeighbourhood Policing and is primarily offeredto Officers working within NeighbourhoodPolicing Teams.


3.30 The element of this recommendation withregard to part-time Officer training hadbecome irrelevant as no further recruitmentor training of part-time Officers had takenplace. The delivery of the modular trainingprogramme for Neighbourhood Officers hadbeen described to Inspectors as difficult toadminister. The programme had relied ontime being allocated during duty to completemodules and much of the time this had notbeen made available to Officers consistentlyenough to encourage completion of thewhole programme. The allocation of

Officers as part of the R4 programme toNeighbourhood Teams had generally beensuccessful but some Officers questionedtheir own suitability and preparedness forthe role stating that the training programmehad been retrospective. Apart from theseries of workshops (‘The Journey’)delivered to Officers to outline the PWC2020 Strategy, the Chief Constable’s visionand Policing Commitments, Inspectors hadnot found any evidence of systematicintegration of PWC principles into otherareas of training as recommended and theresponse from the PSNI had not addressedthis aspect of the recommendation.



3.31 Inspectors believe that a more overtapproach to PWC principles throughoutthe training programme would assistOfficers and help to embed the principlesin the wider police service.

PSNI Response:

3.32 Training College will be required to producePWC Plans under the PWC 2020 HumanResource Delivery Guide, this they areprogressing through their course evaluationprogramme.


3.33 During the period of inspection fieldwork,the delivery guide referred to in the PSNIresponse to the recommendation had notbeen finalised. Inspectors found that therehad been progress regarding the integrationof PWC principles into Officers’ initialtraining and that student Officers had beenaware of the principles and their applicationto all aspects of policing. Awareness andknowledge of the PWC principles and the2020 Strategy had been less evident whenspeaking with Officers in districts who hadnot been directly involved with NHP.

19

However, Officers involved in support rolessuch as Tactical Support Group haddemonstrated knowledge of the PWCapproach and strategy, and their Supervisorsillustrated to Inspectors how the principleshad been incorporated into recent briefings.

3.34 The requirement for departments toproduce 2020 delivery guides will go someway to helping embed PWC principles in thewider service. However, implementation ofthe guides and subsequent monitoring oftheir impact had been at such an early stagethat Inspectors had not been able toevaluate their effectiveness. Coming overtwo years after the publication of the firstCJI report on PWC, this had beendisappointing. However, progress withembedding PWC principles across thetraining function had been delayed whilst the 2020 Strategy had been developed andagreed prior to implementation in March2011.



3.35 To help embed the ethos in newlyattested Officers, the PSNI shouldconsider attaching Probationer Officersto NHP Units for the whole of their 10-week tutorship period (identified as weeks 11-20 in the probationermanagement policy).

PSNI Response:

3.36 Policy Directive 09/09 Probationer ManagementPolicy - Probationer Constables must undertakea minimum of 12 weeks duty within aNeighbourhood Policing Team. It isrecommended that this is undertaken either aspart of, or immediately after the tutor period toallow further consolidation of training, howeverwhere this is not feasible districts may determinethe appropriate timing of this rotation whichshould ideally be in one 12-week block.


3.37 Inspectors visited several districts and spoke with a variety of Officers includingProbationers and their Supervisors. Therehad been no consistent approach to howProbationer Officers had been allocated toNeighbourhood Units and in some casesInspectors had been told that a two weekattachment had been all that was afforded toone particular group of Probationer Officers.The Probationer Management Policy 09/09referred to in the response made by thePSNI had been in existence at the time the recommendation had been made. Therecommendation had been made with a viewto ensuring consistent implementation of thepolicy. The policy had not been revised as aresult of the recommendation, and neitherhad there been consistent application of thepolicy across the service. ProbationerOfficers had been receiving widely disparateexperiences with Neighbourhood Unitsdependent on the district or area in whichthey had been serving.



3.38 The use of the signal crimes perspectiveand other social indicators may help thePSNI to better gain community insightand to improve local partnershipworking.

PSNI Response:

3.39 The Organisational Control Strategy for ASBunder ‘Intelligence’ incorporates signal crime.The Service NIM Forum tracks and trends key signal crimes and allocates resourcesaccordingly. In addition, in the District Guidanceunder Effective Community Engagement -gathering, sharing and using communityintelligence looks at how community tension is monitored within the NIM process; whatprocesses are in place to enable the sharing ofcommunity intelligence by PSNI departments

20

21

and if the sharing of this information is usedeffectively.


3.40 Inspectors found that the use of engagementopportunities with communities to gatherinformation about signal crime had beenwidely developed and implemented. Inparticular the flow of information fromNeighbourhood Teams into mechanisms suchas the NIM had enabled better local servicedelivery which could be properly targeted.Partnerships with local community groupshad been enhanced and even where therehad been difficulties due to perceived oractual threats from people carrying outcriminal activities, both the PSNI and local community organisations had workedhard to find alternative methods ofcommunicating.


Suggestions for Improvement 11 and 12

3.41 The re-organisation of police districts andcentralisation of call handling places even more onus on District Commanders to establisheffective and inclusive consultation arrangementswith local communities.

In order to better manage public expectations,there needs to be more effective consultation,dialogue and engagement with communities byDistrict Management Teams with an emphasison customer focus.

PSNI Response:

3.42 The PWC 2020 District Delivery Guide statesthat a programme of community engagement isdeveloped to meet the varied needs of localresidents and communities identified within theneighbourhood profile. Profiles are flexible andtailor-made based upon intelligent profiling ofthe community, and make the best use ofpartners and the voluntary sector to supportcommunity engagement. Engagement is

monitored and reviewed to ensure it still meetsthe needs to identify and engage with hard tohear/reach and other minority groups who reside there.

The PWC 2020 District Delivery Guidedemonstrates that in order to better managepublic expectations; communities will beempowered to influence policing services byidentifying community concerns and makingthem police priorities. Developing problemsolving plans with allocated owners, so localresidents and communities know who is takingthe lead in dealing with their communityconcerns. Communities actively encouraged toplay a role in the planning, monitoring andevaluating of problem solving, receiving feedbackin the way that they have defined.


3.43 Within the districts that Inspectors visitedthere had been substantial progress withdeveloping effective partnerships withcommunities and representative groups.Much of this had happened before the 2020Delivery Guides had been required orproduced, and had been driven by DistrictCommanders. Local people engaged withInspectors during fieldwork and theconsensus was that communication andengagement had improved despite someexternally generated constraining issues.Residual concerns expressed to Inspectorsby people from local communities had beenfocused on the medium and long-termsustainability of NHP. Inspectors determinedthat these concerns had been driven by localpeople’s experiences of community policingover a number of years. People remainedsensitive to abstractions of ‘their’Neighbourhood Officers and considered that they needed to remain vigilant to anyreduction in NHP in their areas.

3.44 Inspectors had been given several exampleswhere community representatives hadchallenged local Commanders to explainoccasions when Neighbourhood Officers hadbeen absent. The majority of people from

22

the community spoken to by Inspectors had felt empowered by their discussions with local police and had seen positiveoutcomes from their approaches to localCommanders. Within the constraints ofpolice operations, Inspectors considered thisto be a healthy and inclusive state of affairswhich had been supported by local policeCommanders. The issue of effective andinclusive local engagement had not been fullyaddressed as Inspectors had also been toldof examples of unexplained abstractions ofNeighbourhood Officers and lack ofcommunication with local communities.Whilst the PSNI had worked hard to drivedown these incidences, there needed to be a consistent reminder to individuals of thePWC approach. Inspectors look forward to assessing the impact of the IPR ondeployment of the 2020 Strategy followingits implementation in April 2012.


Suggestions for Improvement 13 and 14

3.45 Evidence collected by Inspectors during thisinspection suggests that NIPB should considertheir approach to assessing police performance.This could be done by using a wider range ofqualitative as well as quantitative indicators and applying the principles of improving policeperformance as outlined in Chapter 7 of the‘Policing’ Green Paper to the PSNI.

Having a more co-ordinated approach tocollecting local information involving all relevantlocal groups producing a comprehensive set ofdata, would help the process of setting localpolicing plans and priorities for neighbourhoods.Including questions in local surveys on NHPwould also provide detailed local data on whichto assess the performance of local commandersin delivering PWC.


3.46 There had been a move away fromquantitative measures being included in themost recent Northern Ireland Policing Plans.The focus had moved to assessing quality ofservice, reducing crime and increasing ratesof detection. The Policing Plan 2012-15 hadbeen endorsed by the Minister of Justice asreflecting public priorities and was under-pinned by the principles of PWC. This is apositive move to a wider perspective onpolice performance which encompassesqualitative and quantitative information.

3.47 At the time of writing this report DistrictPolicing Partnerships (DPPs) had concludedtheir work, and newly constituted PCSPs hadbeen formed. This represents an opportunityto co-ordinate the approach to collectinglocal data on which to assess delivery of the2020 Strategy. Inspectors look forward tothe impact of the PCSPs on local delivery ofthe 2020 Strategy.

Appendix

2Section

23

24

Appendix 1: The PSNI 2020 Strategy

Policing with the Community2020 Strategy

Policing with the Community2020 Strategy

25

Chief Constable’s ForewordMy commitment to delivering personal, professional and protective policing to the people of Northern Ireland is embodied in our Policing with the Community Strategy.

We have achieved much in the last ten years and this progress in working with and for communities cannot be underestimated. Many of our communities are engaging with the police for the first time, with individuals putting themselves forward to openly support policing and encouraging others to do so. Emerging communities in Northern Ireland are also bringing an added richness and strength to our society and it is our desire to be a part of this positive dynamic.

My approach for dealing with crime and disorder over the next ten years is clear. We cannot be complacent about the current or any emerging threat to security however our focus will continue to be on winning the trust and confidence of the people that we serve. We recognise that certain communities and localities are more vulnerable to the risk of harm than others and it is vital we work collectively with other statutory and voluntary agencies and local people. This will be supported by the establishment of Policing and Community Safety Partnerships which will provide an opportunity to shape community planning and respond to locally identified needs.

The Policing with the Community Strategy will enable the Police Service of Northern Ireland to deliver personal, professional and protective policing to everyone in Northern Ireland. Every opportunity will be taken to talk with and listen to people with the aim of resolving the issues that concern them and building public confidence through the service we deliver.

Matt BaggottChief Constable

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Northern Ireland Policing Board ForewordThe community is an essential resource and conduit for the delivery of good policing. The Policing Board has a statutory duty to ensure the delivery of good policing. While updating the Policing With the Community Strategy the Board has worked with Police Service to ensure that engagement and partnership with communities are at the core of everything the police do. Key to this is the need to embed in the police organisation a culture that enables and encourages communities to become involved in helping their areas to become safer.

The Board acknowledge that there are many excellent examples where local level engagement between the police and the community is producing positive results. But it also considers that there has been a somewhat fragmented approach to this policy and practice which the Police Service needs to embrace as its core function. The Policing With the Community 2020 Strategy provides a new opportunity to deliver a consistent standard and style of policing building upon the foundations of the last ten years.

The Police Service has shown over the last decade that it is willing to deliver radical reforms to policing. The Board and Police Service have agreed it is necessary for similar leadership and boldness again. So the key test is not simply identifying what needs to change, but making it happen. The success of Policing With the Community will be based on building confidence in policing within the community through effective engagement and partnership working and of course the quality of service expected by communities. This is what the Board will hold PSNI to account for delivering.

The Board looks forward to working with Policing and Community Safety Partnerships, Police and communities to achieve the full extent of the changes envisaged by the Independent Commission on Policing.

Northern Ireland Policing BoardMarch 2011

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IntroductionPolicing with the Community has been our policing model for the last decade. Ten years on we know that engagement, partnership and service delivery are critical to how we improve public safety and deal with crime and disorder through personal policing.

The aim of our Policing with the Community 2020 Strategy is to support the delivery of community confidence, satisfaction and safety through personal, professional and protective policing.

The Policing with the Community 2020 strategy is bespoke to the Police Service of Northern Ireland. Policing with the Community is not just the responsibility of Neighbourhood Teams, rather it underpins everything that we do as a Police Service and is therefore the responsibility of all officers and staff. We know that communities across Northern Ireland believe that Policing with the Community is right for them and right for The Police Service of Northen Ireland. We understand that the style in which we deliver our service matters profoundly to our success. The Policing with the Community 2020 Strategy builds upon the achievements and learning of the last decade and sets out our plan for the next ten years. The challenge to every officer and staff member is to reach the highest standards of service, accessibility and visibility expected by communities within Northern Ireland and which we as a police service demand of ourselves.

Reflecting progress against the strategy is an important part of delivering change. By critically assessing levels of confidence and satisfaction we will be better placed to review how we are delivering our service. The Policing Commitments provide a consistent level of service for every individual, every family and every community, irrespective of where they live or who they are. The Commitments provide valuable indicators of progress and will be supported by user satisfaction surveys, confidence measures and complaint trends.

Customer service is at the heart of the strategy. Projects such as improving contact, victim care, criminal justice streamlining and providing IT solutions are all intended to improve the public’s experience of policing and increase dedicated patrol time for front line officers.

In the spirit of continuous improvement, Policing with the Community 2020 will be a live and evolving strategy refreshed on a regular basis to incorporate new and innovative practice and ideas. Our implementation plan and delivery framework will also evolve over time.

28

To make the strategy meaningful to all officers and staff, Policing with the Community Delivery Guides have been produced. They provide direction, challenges and an opportunity to identify and share best practice. This allows us to consider how we engage with communities, share information, problem solve and deliver our service.

Delivery Guides bespoke to District Policing, Crime Operations and Operational Support Departments already exist. These three areas of policing responsibility cover a vast range of activities and account for the majority of officers and staff that the public have contact with. Further Delivery Guides for Human Resources, Criminal Justice, Legal Services, Corporate Communications, Professional Standards, and Finance and Support Services Departments will also be completed.

The Policing with the Community Strategy will set the tone for The Police Service of Northern Ireland is accountability. Chief Officers will ensure that implementation of the strategy is reflected in a clear accountability framework.

An Individual Performance Appraisal system for each officer and staff member is being developed to support the delivery of the Policing with the Community Strategy. This is a first for policing and truly embeds the ethos of personal, professional and protective policing into everything each police officer and staff member does.

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Delivering Policing with the Community through Personal, Professional, Protective Policing

AccountabilityStrategy Style Themes Activities

EffectiveCommunity

Engagement

Treat PeopleFairly and

with Respect

Effective Joint

Problem Solving

Tackling Crime and Protectingthe Public

TargetedPatrolling/Activities

ProvideInformation

to theCommunity

Deliver aHigh Quality

Service

Personal

Professional

Protective

Engagement

ServiceDelivery

Partnership

Policingwiththe

Community

Our Policing Commitments

User Satisfaction Surveys

Confidence Measures

Complaint Trends

Levels of Crime and Disorder

Individual Performance Review

30

To e

mbe

d P

olic

ing

with

th

e C

omm

unity

into

ev

eryt

hing

we

do

Obj

ectiv

eAc

tion

Res

pons

ible

Off

icer

sR

evie

w D

ate

Del

iver

y G

uide

s w

ill b

e pr

oduc

ed fo

r:

Hum

an R

esou

rces

Cri

min

al J

ustic

e

Lega

l Ser

vice

s

Cor

pora

te C

omm

unic

atio

ns

Pro

fess

iona

l Sta

ndar

ds

Fina

nce

and

Supp

ort

Dep

artm

ents

Dep

uty

Chi

ef C

onst

able

Ass

ista

nt C

hief

Con

stab

le

Cri

min

al J

ustic

e

Dir

ecto

r of

Hum

an R

esou

rces

Dir

ecto

r of

Fin

ance

& S

uppo

rt

Serv

ices

Hea

d of

Cor

pora

te

Com

mun

icat

ions

June

201

1

To e

nsur

e co

nsis

tenc

y, e

ach

Dep

artm

ent a

nd D

istr

ict w

ill

deve

lop

PW

C P

lans

that

ref

lect

th

e ev

iden

ce b

ased

act

iviti

es o

f P

WC

Del

iver

y G

uide

s

Dis

tric

t Com

man

ders

Hea

ds o

f Dep

artm

ent

June

201

1

PW

C S

trat

egy

to r

efle

ct

cont

inuo

us p

rogr

ess

and

be

revi

ewed

ann

ually

Dep

uty

Chi

ef C

onst

able

Mar

ch 2

012

PW

C p

rogr

ess

will

be

man

aged

th

roug

h th

e Se

rvic

e Ex

celle

nce

Boa

rd

Ass

ista

nt C

hief

Con

stab

le

Cri

min

al J

ustic

e/U

rban

Bi m

onth

ly to

Com

mun

ity

Enga

gem

ent C

omm

ittee

, NIP

B

Del

iver

ing

Per

sona

l, P

rofe

ssio

nal a

nd P

rote

ctiv

e P

olic

ing

thro

ugh

Pol

icin

g w

ith

the

Com

mun

ity

201

1/20

12

31

To e

mbe

d P

olic

ing

with

th

e C

omm

unity

into

ev

eryt

hing

we

do

PSN

I Pro

gram

me

Boa

rds

to

ensu

re c

onsi

sten

cy w

ith P

olic

ing

with

the

Com

mun

ity S

trat

egy

All

Ass

ista

nt C

hief

Con

stab

les

Dir

ecto

r of

Hum

an R

esou

rces

Bi m

onth

ly

Del

iver

y of

an

Indi

vidu

al

Per

form

ance

Rev

iew

re

fere

nced

to P

WC

Del

iver

y G

uide

s fo

r po

lice

and

supp

ort

staf

f

Dir

ecto

r of

Hum

an R

esou

rces

Apr

il 20

12 P

olic

e/Su

ppor

t Sta

ff

To e

nsur

e co

rpor

acy

and

cons

iste

ncy

in d

eliv

ery

to im

prov

e pe

ople

’s

expe

rien

ce o

f pol

icin

g

Obj

ectiv

eAc

tion

Res

pons

ible

Off

icer

sR

evie

w D

ate

Impl

emen

tatio

n an

d de

liver

y of

th

e P

olic

ing

Com

mitm

ents

Ass

ista

nt C

hief

Con

stab

le

Cri

min

al J

ustic

eA

pril

2011

Dev

elop

an

acco

mpa

nyin

g fr

amew

ork

to m

onito

r th

e P

olic

ing

Com

mitm

ents

Ass

ista

nt C

hief

Con

stab

le

Cri

min

al J

ustic

eA

pril

2011

To r

educ

e th

e nu

mbe

r of

al

lega

tions

of i

nciv

ility

mad

e ag

ains

t Pol

ice

offic

er

Dep

uty

Chi

ef C

onst

able

The

Nor

ther

n Ir

elan

d P

olic

ing

Boa

rd a

nd th

e P

olic

e Se

rvic

e of

N

orth

ern

Irel

and

Pol

icin

g P

lan

20

11-2

014

Pol

icin

g w

ith th

e C

omm

unity

To in

crea

se th

e nu

mbe

r of

ca

ses

reso

lved

thro

ugh

the

use

of p

olic

e of

ficer

dis

cret

ion

To im

prov

e cu

stom

er c

onta

ct

by p

rovi

ding

gre

ater

acc

ess

to

polic

ing

serv

ices

Ass

ista

nt C

hief

Con

stab

le

Cri

min

al J

ustic

eO

ngoi

ng 2

011/

2012

The

Nor

ther

n Ir

elan

d P

olic

ing

Boa

rd a

nd th

e P

olic

e Se

rvic

e of

N

orth

ern

Irel

and

Pol

icin

g P

lan

20

11-2

014

Pol

icin

g w

ith th

e C

omm

unity

To d

eliv

er a

hig

h qu

ality

se

rvic

e th

at s

uppo

rts

impr

oved

acc

essi

bilit

y,

visi

bilit

y an

d re

spon

sive

ness

32

To d

eliv

er a

hig

h qu

ality

se

rvic

e th

at s

uppo

rts

impr

oved

acc

essi

bilit

y,

visi

bilit

y an

d re

spon

sive

ness

To in

crea

se th

e am

ount

of t

ime

spen

t by

offic

ers

on p

atro

l by

incr

ease

d us

e of

mob

ile d

ata

devi

ces,

incr

easi

ng v

isib

ility

and

ac

cess

ibili

ty

Reg

iona

l Ass

ista

nt C

hief

C

onst

able

s

Ass

ista

nt C

hief

Con

stab

le

Ope

ratio

nal S

uppo

rt

The

Nor

ther

n Ir

elan

d P

olic

ing

Boa

rd a

nd th

e P

olic

e Se

rvic

e of

N

orth

ern

Irel

and

Pol

icin

g P

lan

20

11-2

014

Pol

icin

g w

ith th

e C

omm

unity

To im

prov

e th

e qu

ality

of

com

mun

ity e

ngag

emen

t to

sup

port

eff

ectiv

e pa

rtne

rshi

p w

orki

ng

Dev

elop

a v

arie

ty o

f en

gage

men

t met

hods

that

id

entif

y an

d su

ppor

t loc

al

prio

ritie

s an

d en

hanc

e th

e de

liver

y of

Pol

icin

g

To a

ssis

t in

deve

lopi

ng

Col

labo

rativ

e W

orki

ng G

roup

s ac

ross

pub

lic/p

riva

te a

nd th

e co

mm

unity

vol

unta

ry s

ecto

r to

ef

fect

ivel

y pr

iori

tise

and

shap

e jo

int a

ctio

n

Iden

tify

and

addr

ess

Pro

fess

iona

l Sta

ndar

d is

sues

Dis

tric

t Com

man

ders

Hea

ds o

f Dep

artm

ent

Dis

tric

t Com

man

ders

Hea

ds o

f Dep

artm

ent

Dep

uty

Chi

ef C

onst

able

Six

mon

thly

Six

mon

thly

Six

mon

thly

To s

uppo

rt p

artn

ersh

ip

wor

king

to e

nhan

ce

publ

ic s

afet

y an

d re

duce

cr

ime

and

diso

rder

To d

eliv

er fa

ir p

ract

ices

an

d pr

oces

ses

focu

sing

on

equ

ality

and

div

ersi

ty

issu

es

To u

nder

take

a C

ultu

ral A

udit

to id

entif

y, u

nder

stan

d an

d re

spon

d to

asp

ects

of i

nter

nal

cult

ure

that

may

impa

ct o

n pu

blic

con

fiden

ce

Dir

ecto

r O

f Hum

an R

esou

rces

Ja

nuar

y 20

12

Obj

ectiv

eAc

tion

Res

pons

ible

Off

icer

sR

evie

w D

ate

Copyright© Criminal Justice Inspection Northern IrelandAll rights reserved

First published in Northern Ireland in September 2012 byCRIMINAL JUSTICE INSPECTION NORTHERN IRELAND

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