Correspondence

Crime and policing news update: November 2014

Published 28 November 2014

1. First HMIC PEEL assessments published

On 27 November, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) published its assessments which show how well all police forces are performing against the three PEEL themes of policing effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy (PEEL).

Forces are assessed using all the information HMIC has gathered and examined through inspections carried out or reported in the 12 months prior to publication. HMIC then use this to produce an assessment of how the force has performed.

In some areas, assessments will include a graded judgment of outstanding, good, requires improvement, or inadequate, although forces will not receive an overall grade.

The assessments will look at:

• effectiveness: how well each force carries out its responsibilities, including cutting crime, protecting the vulnerable, tackling anti-social behaviour and dealing with emergencies and other calls for service
• efficiency: how well police forces provide value for money
• legitimacy: how well each force provides a service that is fair and treats people properly and within the law

The PEEL inspections have been developed to provide a more complete assessment of how well forces are performing than HMIC has provided previously, and bring together information about each force in one place. Under PEEL, HMIC examines what is happening on the ground in force areas, identify and share best practice between forces, to increase the chances of any problems or service failures being discovered early so they can be put right before they become more serious in terms of public harm and cost.

2. Changes to the police disciplinary system consultation

The government is clear that trust and confidence in the police must be improved, and has set out proposed measures to ensure misconduct by police officers is dealt with in a robust, independent and transparent way. The Home Office is now consulting on changes to the police disciplinary system, which would introduce:

• a power for disciplinary hearing panels to remove or adjust the compensation payments due to chief officers on termination of their appointment, where a disciplinary finding is made against them
• the introduction of legally qualified chairmen/women to conduct police disciplinary hearings
• holding police disciplinary hearings and appeals in public

The government is also keen to hear views on its proposals to give greater protection to whistleblowers, to make it easier for police officers and staff to report misconduct and malpractice by their fellow officers. Under the proposals, changes to the Police (Conduct) Regulations 2012 would be made, so that:

• whistleblowers are not subject to disciplinary action for taking the necessary steps to report a concern
• reprisals against whistleblowers should be treated as a conduct matter

These proposals will help bring greater accountability and transparency into policing. The consultation closes on Friday 2 January 2015 and you can send your responses or comments to policeregsconsultation@homeoffice.gov.uk.

3. College of Policing launches its strategy

The College of Policing has published its 5 year strategy which sets out its vision to become a world-class professional body for everyone working in policing in England and Wales. The strategy focuses on raising standards in policing by building an evidence base of ‘what works’. It also sets out how it will support members’ professional development, which will improve the service delivered to the public.

4. New programme to support

The Cabinet Office has recently awarded Mind, the mental health charity Libor funding to develop a major new programme of mental health support for emergency services personnel (staff and volunteers) across the police, ambulance, fire brigade, and search and rescue services in England.

Mind is developing a range of activities which will include an anti-stigma social media campaign, support for employers to improve the way they support their personnel including training for managers and support to develop Time to Change action plans, a pilot project bringing together personnel at risk of developing mental health problems to support them to build resilience, a helpline and resources to answer questions people have around mental health and wellbeing, and a pilot to address the clinical needs of people who have developed mental health problems. The Blue Light programme will launch on 5th February 2015 as part of the national Time to Talk Day.

Mind is looking for people from the police service who have experienced mental health problems to share their stories and act as Champions. If you are interested in finding out more, please email bluelightproject@mind.org.uk. Mind will be holding four focus groups in December:

• Maidstone on 12 December
• Near Manchester on 15 December
• Cambridge on 16 December
• West Sussex on 19 December

If you are interested in joining a focus group please email bluelightproject@mind.org.uk. Mind is also launching an online survey for emergency services personnel from across England to share their views on what mental health support is needed in their workplace. Finally, Mind will be recruiting to several new Blue Light team roles in December, and you can find more information on Mind’s website.

5. College publishes survey results on career support for black and minority ethnic police officers

The College of Policing has published the results of 2 national surveys on the recruitment, retention and progression of black and minority ethnic (BME) police officers, alongside new advice for forces on positive action to help them address under-representation within policing.

The College carried out the first-ever national survey of all BME officers, to build a complete picture of BME officer career progression, professional development and aspirations. More than 3,000 officers completed the survey, and their responses will help the BME Progression 2018 programme identify the barriers that BME officers face in progressing to higher ranks or seeking to work in specialist posts.

All police forces in England and Wales were also surveyed on their experiences around the recruitment, development, progression and retention of BME officers. The survey showed that half of forces have used positive action – where forces take action to help BME candidates overcome the organisational and other barriers which may make them less likely to succeed than their colleagues. Half of all forces also reported using targeted recruitment drives to bring in more BME people into policing, with 17 forces reporting this to be successful in improving representation.

6. Local Profiles of Serious and Organised Crime published

On the 13 November the Home Secretary announced that Serious and Organised Crime Local Profiles guidance had been published. The guidance has been written for, and in consultation with, the police and local partners who use Local Profiles to inform their programmes of activity.

The Home Secretary has been clear that local relationships and information sharing between law enforcement agencies and government departments, regulators, local authorities, the voluntary sector and the private sector is key to tackling serious and organised crime. The local profiles outline the threat, vulnerability and risk from serious and organised crime within force areas.

The police will lead on producing the Local Profiles which form an essential part in developing multi-agency action plans, aligned to the four Ps (Pursue, Prevent, Protect and Prepare) of the Serious and Organised Crime strategy. If you would like more information about this work, contact the Local Partnerships Team: OCStrategy@homeoffice.gov.uk

7. New guidance to tackle retail crime issued

Two new guidance documents which set out measures retailers can take to avoid becoming victims of crime, have been published by the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS).

The first document focuses on preventing fuel theft, such as ‘drive offs’ or ‘bilking’ where offenders fill up their vehicles and drive away without paying, and ‘no means of payment’ issues where individuals repeatedly claim not to have the means to pay for fuel.

The ACS has also issued a best practice guide to managing self-service checkouts. It shows retailers how they can support customers in processing variable weight items such as fruit and vegetables correctly, and preventing fraudulent activities such as swapping barcodes.

The guidance was developed as part of the Home Office Crime Prevention Panel which brings together representatives from academia, business and industry, policing and law enforcement and the voluntary sector to bring new thinking and fresh perspectives to issues around crime prevention.

8. Consultation on firearm license fee increases

On 27 November, the Home Office launched a consultation on the proposal to increase fees for firearms licences administered by the police. Police forces in England, Wales and Scotland administer the licence requirements for firearms and shotguns (section 1 and 2 weapons as defined by the Firearms Act 1968).

There are 11 types of licence administered by the police for which the fee can be set, and the proposal has been developed with the police and partners, including shooting organisations. The consultation closes on 29 December 2014, and a summary of responses will be published once the consultation period finishes.

9. New tool to help organisations comply with the Surveillance Camera Code of Practice

The Surveillance Camera Commissioner has launched a self assessment tool which will help organisations show what they’re already doing, and identify what action they may need to take, to comply with the code of practice.

The easy-to-use tool was developed by the Commissioner in close collaboration with the Security Systems & Alarms Inspection Board and National Security Inspectorate as well as other industry specialists. It has also been tested thoroughly with CCTV camera operators and managers.

10. National Integrated Offender Management Conference 2015

The Home Office and the College of Policing are hosting a National Conference on integrated offender management (IOM) on 25 and 26 February 2015 in Ryton.

The Minister of State for Policing, Criminal Justice and Victims, Mike Penning is due to give the keynote speech, and the conference will set the strategic IOM approach firmly into the new delivery landscape, with the establishment of the National Probation Service and 21 Community Rehabilitation Companies. During the conference, delegates will hear about tackling gangs, youth violence, serious and organised crime, as well as addressing concerns around foreign national offenders.

The event is aimed at a wide range of partners including police, probation, youth justice, the voluntary sector, health and others involved in IOM. Further information including registration for the event will shortly be published on gov.uk, or alternatively you can email IOM.Info@homeoffice.gov.uk.

11. New campaign seeks to capture personal stories of information sharing

The Centre of Excellence for Information Sharing has launched the ‘What’s your information story?’ campaign to highlight how information sharing has improved outcomes for public service users. The Centre is currently looking for stories of information sharing to support the campaign, and is particularly interested in hearing stories that focus on information sharing in multi-agency safeguarding, domestic violence, ending gangs and youth violence and mental health and policing.

If you have a story, you can submit it via the Centre’s website, where you can also find out more about the campaign.

12. Emergency Services Mobile Communication Programme update

November marks a key milestone for the Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme in delivering the new Emergency Services Network. The team has now received most of the main procurement tenders, and is evaluating them to ensure they meet the requirements of the emergency services and other public safety organisations, whilst delivering best value for money. You can find out more about the programme.

13. Further powers for the Scottish Parliament announced

On 27 November, the Smith Commission published their report on further devolution of powers to the Scottish Parliament. The commission has delivered a substantial package of new powers that will further strengthen Scotland’s place in the United Kingdom. These will allow decisions that affect Scotland to be taken in Scotland, whilst maintaining the UK’s ability to pool risks and allows different parts of the UK to support each other when necessary. The government will now prepare draft legislation which will be published by the end of January 2015.

Speeches

The Home Secretary’s speech at the Royal United Services Institute on counter-terrorism

The Home Secretary’s speech at the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners’ Partnership summit

Karen Bradley’s speech on Modern Slavery to the Co-operative Food Ethical Trade Conference

Karen Bradley’s opening speech at the Third Arab Forum on Asset Recovery

The Home Secretary’s speech at the Police IT Suppliers summit