West Yorkshire Police continue to prevent criminal activity by creating proactive partnerships with the community and other agencies. This approach has been further strengthened by the recent amalgamation of the Territorial Operations and Community Safety departments under the new title of Local Policing Department.
The amalgamation of Territorial Operations and Community Safety Departments is a merger with a great deal of merit. Within the fast-moving environment in which the Police operate, there is a need to respond to real and anticipated change. This amalgamation recognises the change upon us and the new realities of networked organisational resources and deeper engagement.
Operational demand requires more than operational responses. Working across the civic landscape is core business for the department. The importance of this work can be demonstrated by just a few examples of areas where this work is critical. Examples include neighbourhood policing, reducing the opportunities for crime, offender management and responses to terrorism.
Very few areas of policing are now discrete from the influences and benefits of partnership working. The new department seeks to achieve maximum benefit from these new arrangements. The development of more effective partnerships presents challenges and opportunities.
The Department is focused on its core business through the following work streams within it:
- Strategic and District Partnerships
- Operational Development and Performance Review
- Community Cohesion and Engagement
- Local Policing Support
Strategic and District Partnerships
Is responsible for supporting, developing and increasing the effectiveness of partnership working at all levels across the force to enable it to:
- Negotiate and influence the optimum levels of partnership resources across public, business and voluntary and community sectors that assist everyone in making West Yorkshire a safer place to live, work and bring up families.
- Maximise force income-generation activity.
- Headed by Jane Mills, Strategic Partnerships Manager, the team has a number of roles including:
- Business Development
- Designing-out Crime
- Alcohol and the Night-time Economy
Operational Development and Performance Review
Operational Development
This new department will take responsibility for the development of Neighbourhood Policing. This responsibility includes the identification and implementation of good practice across the Neighbourhood Policing Teams and the development of performance measures. Additionally the department will draw on its research and development skills base to examine key operational problems then devise and implement appropriate responses across the West Yorkshire area. This together with the newly developed analytical post enables the department to be more self-sufficient in progressing projects. Recent examples of this include the regional firearms amnesty and the management of the force response to local elections.
The department continues to provide for corporate responsibilities by supporting divisions and districts at various meetings that the former departments were required to attend. By providing this support, the department is able consistently to influence other elements and work streams of the organisation and to act effectively on their behalf.
Performance Review
There is a clear need for the department to continue to engage closely with territorial divisions in respect of their performance. This engagement (currently via Operational Performance Reviews) will continue in its current form in the short term. Future direction, specific responsibilities and form have not yet been resolved but it is likely that the department will have some responsibility around:
- Performance reviews of divisions
- Reality checking and baseline assessments
- Thematic reviews
This work stream will bring together resources from both former departments to consider current operational issues and in particular those that present the greatest threats to force performance.
Performance Improvement and Operational Support
This element of the department picks up on two key issues of managing Performance Improvement and the development of Operational Support to districts.
Performance Improvement
This area of work is management support provided to districts and divisions. It will provide a consultative facility to districts and divisions. This consultation process will examine and develop responses to specific areas of operational demand, including detailed analysis around partnership engagement and delivery. An example would be an analysis of integrated offender management.
An important part of this work will be to identify and respond to issues around public confidence and satisfaction, thereby improving our performance. This will not simply focus upon data, but will also seek to develop confidence and satisfaction measures in parallel with steps to reduce crime and disorder.
Operational Support (Strikeback)
The Operational Support provided by the department will be informed as a consequence of an analysis of organisational risk. A Superintendent led team will work with District and Divisional Senior Management teams to provide an enhanced response to operational demand. This team will support, supplement and coordinate District activity, in conjunction with the resident Superintendent Operations, to maximise impact.
Intelligence links will be enhanced across the districts and will include contacts between all the major crime departments in order to maximise these intelligence links.
Existing and new systems (including partnership interventions), will be reviewed to support and assist Divisions in the identification and implementation of those areas that add value to organisational aims and objectives. ‘Strikeback’ will increase proactive capacity and capability to support Divisions to target offenders.
Community Cohesion and Engagement
The profile of community engagement has never been greater than it is today. Legislation such as the Crime and Disorder Act and the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill require communities to have a greater say in the design of their public services.
How the police engage with communities and shape the landscape of local policing, neighbourhood and offender management, combined with environmental issues and public confidence, define the perception of policing in our communities more than ever before.
The Community Cohesion Unit works in partnership, taking advantage of opportunities afforded via regional and collaborative working, with other forces and agencies charged with cohesion. The Community Cohesion Unit takes the Force lead on:
- External diversity issues addressing Gypsies and Travellers, asylum seekers, refugees and migrant workers, building links with existing and emerging communities.
- All aspects of hate crime including lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues (LGBT), disability, faith and religion
- Community tension monitoring locally and nationally
The Community Cohesion Unit also provides:
- Support and guidance for local policing initiatives
- Coordination of local engagement and cohesion events
- Statistical analysis and mapping of communities
- Development and dissemination of national best practice around community engagement
- Personal support to divisions in the event of critical incidents impacting on local communities
Local Policing Support
The Local Policing Support and Development Team manage project work to assist divisions with the development of neighbourhood policing throughout West Yorkshire and has responsibility for policy development, training, allocation of resources to divisions and partnership funding arrangements, which apply to:
- PCSO
- Special Constables
- Volunteers
Additionally the unit deals with Youth and Schools policy development and project work. Significantly though, it deals with the implementation of the Government’s “Every Child Matters”, which includes strategies for early intervention and the protection of children.
Below are links to specific areas dealt with by the Local Policing Department
- Crime Reduction
- Architectural Liaison – ‘designing out’ crime
- Domestic Violence
- Community and Race Relations, including supporting Hate Incident Reporting Centres for Disability, Faith, Homophobia and Race incidents.
- Neighbourhood Watch
- Schools Liaison
- Youth issues – including Youth Action Groups and Youth Offending Teams
- Partnership links including with the Regional Government Office
- Income Generation - including research, consultancy and monitoring and the management of West Yorkshire Police Community Trust.