“Although not a NWP issue but a Home Office issue, the increased removal of discretion and the performance culture imposed upon us is providing a disgraceful service to the public. Often we are not able to provide them with the service that they deserve as our hands are forced to ‘GET DETECTIONS’. This ultimately can push the public away from reporting in the future.”
“There is far too much emphasis on number crunching – the points system is having a negative impact on neighbourhood policing and the development of community contact. We are so thin on the ground, we cannot afford to alienate the public. There will come a time when we will shout for their help on the street. From what I see too often, the likelihood is that people will walk on by. We must retain the ability to use discretion and common sense.”
“As a Custody Sgt of five years experience I have seen the quality of investigations fall miserably. There is simply no incentive to spend time on a quality investigation when all they are judged on is points for arrests.”
“I’m sick and tired of the performance culture and having to justify to law abiding members of the public as to why they are getting a ticket. They are easy targets to achieve when what we should be doing is targeting the real criminals who are getting fat on the proceeds of crime and drugs. Doing that takes time and when you don’t have enough points from your tickets at the end of the month because you’ve been keeping surveillance on a real criminal, you are taken to task by your Sergeant and Inspector.”
“Targets and bureaucracy have added tremendous pressure. Rather than being allowed to be Police Officers that provide the visible, and reassuring presence that the public want, we are busy chasing detections that quite simply are not there in the pursuit of targets. This in turn leads to a poor quality of service for genuine victims of crime, or crime that is detectable.”
This level of despondency should worry all of us. Police officers, in my experience, are notable for the high level of enthusiasm they have for their work. They are clearly now becoming increasing embittered at not being allowed to get on with their work.In response to my question, Vernon Coaker said:
“The hon. Gentleman will know that police officer numbers are at historically high levels. He will also know of the measures that we are taking to reduce bureaucracy, not least the appointment of Jan Berry as the reducing bureaucracy champion. Furthermore, the hon. Gentleman will know of the confidence measures that we are taking to reduce the number of targets and to have a single force area target. No doubt all those measures will be welcomed in north Wales, as they have been across the rest of the country.”
If those measures do work, they will certainly be welcomed. However, if the Federation survey is anything to go by, they’re not working yet. At least, not in North Wales.
Whenever the Home Secretary and others are questioned about policing they proudly boast that everyone in Britain has a Neighbourhood Policing Team that they can identify and contact with their problems.
The reality is that the areas covered by these “teams” are far too large for them to be to be effective, especially in North Wales where the Chief Constable told us all at the start of the process that his ideal size for an area was one Council Ward. My CBM is covering more than two Council Wards.
Neighbourhood Policing was rolled out by the Labour Government as were PCSOs and they have to be seen to succeed. So the results and issues are recorded to show that they have made a difference.
The reality is that Neighbourhood Policing is good at times; basically when the “Team” is present in its own area but it is frequently a shared resource because of a lack of manpower plus leave, courses, restdays in other areas.
It is never going to get better because Labour have made the Neighbourhhood Policing template and the Police change the game plan to suit. Everyone has to speak from the same hymn sheet to say how wonderful policing is.
Hence Neighbourhood Officers now help to pick up litter and rubbish and that is recorded as a success which makes a difference to the locality which of course it does; it could of course be done by the Council.
The job of the Police is really to fight crime and bad behaviour but even that is reclassified to fit in to the New Labour Neighbourhood Policing Concept.
Your blog just goes to show that what I say is true; even a Member of Parliament cannot get at the truth from the Home Office any more than I can, you just get platitudes.
Pingback: That plonker feeling « David Jones, MP