County Profile

 

Community and Environment

West Yorkshire Police serve approximately 2.2 million people living in one of the five metropolitan districts of Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield. The physical area, of some 2000 square kilometres or 780 square miles, contains the West Yorkshire conurbation and a network of motorway and trunk roads which allow easy access to and from other population centres.

The Force area is very varied combining busy cities and towns with quiet villages and picturesque rural locations. People are equally varied and represent a diverse range of ethnic cultural and economic backgrounds.

For this reason, the policing is delivered from 5 separate police districts, providing most of the day-to-day policing services performed through the county. There are also teams of specialist police and support staff personnel based at headquarters and at various other locations around the Force.

The overwhelming majority of police officers are engaged in operational duties that contribute towards the community safety for the people of West Yorkshire.

West Yorkshire Police has 21 Neighbourhood Policing Teams (NPTs) which are made up of Inspectors, Sergeants, Constables and Police Community Support Officers. Neighbourhood teams are visible and accessible to local communities, providing the familiar face of the service.  The teams work closely with communities in defined geographical areas and in partnership to tackle the issues most important to local people.

Community consultation and engagement events take place regularly within each and every neighbourhood. One example is a PACT (Partners and Communities Together) meeting, when the community can meet with their dedicated officers and have a real say in local policing issues and priorities. 

 


Policy and Standards

To provide stronger and more transparent accountability of the police, the Mayor of West Yorkshire holds the Chief Constable to account, helping to make the police answerable to the communities they serve.

The Mayor will ensure community needs are met as effectively as possible and foster local relationships through building confidence. They will work in partnership across a range of agencies at local and national level to ensure there is a unified approach to preventing and reducing crime.

The Mayor of West Yorkshire is responsible for:

  • Securing the maintenance of an efficient and effective police force and holding the Chief Constable to account.
  • Issuing a Police and Crime Plan, determining police and crime objectives.
  • Attendance at the Police and Crime Panel.
  • Preparing an annual report.
  • Calculating a council tax or budget requirement (precept).
  • Maintaining the Police Fund.
  • Appointing, and where necessary, suspending or calling on a Chief Constable to retire or resign.
  • Delegating some of these functions to a Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime where appointed.
  • Consulting the public to ensure that their views and priorities on community safety issues inform the police and crime plan.
  • Commissioning of services which include supporting victims and tackling reoffending.
  • Strengthening links such as inclusive growth and community safety and cohesion.

The Mayor does not run the police. The role is to be the voice of the people and hold the police to account.

More details about this and the Mayor and Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime are available on the West Yorkshire Combined Authority website - https://www.westyorks-ca.gov.uk/policingandcrime/ 
 

Page last reviewed : October 2021

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