The Home Office states that the police have always used the latest technology to help them combat crime. In the past, people in the community have sometimes felt this kept the police separate from their local area rather than working together in partnership.
The Home Office have been keen to promote the development of local policing partnerships, such as the SWG in Paddington Division. Sector or Ward policing has taken the work of police forces in London back to their roots as a community service. Geographic policing is where police or Council Ward officers take responsibility for finding solutions to local problems, working with local people. Police officers work closely with the community, and volunteers work with the police as colleagues.
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Diversity and citizen focus have now been integrated into a combined Directorate within the MET Police Service (MPS) London. A number of developments are taking place across the Directorate to ensure that it can achieve its vision of transforming the MPS into a citizen focused service by:
- Responding to the diverse needs of individuals and communities
- Promoting diversity to change culture and drive performance
- Building the trust, confidence and satisfaction of those we serve and those with whom we work.
To keep you informed of the work that MPS are engaged in, how they can support you and how you can support them pls go to http://www.met.police.uk/dcf/index.htm For their work across Communities such as Westminster North visit Communities Together at http://www.met.police.uk/communities_together/ |
Police To Benefit From Stronger Community Role
The Home Secretary has called for a stronger partnership connection between the UK police and communities, and a move away from policing by consent to policing carried out with the active co-operation of the public. Plans to make police forces more accountable and responsive will give local people a stronger voice he said. (see Future Policing Plans)
"I want members of the public to know who their local police commander is and to be able to get answers to basic questions when things are not up to scratch," said the Home Secretary.
The Home Secretary also said he wants police commanders to have much more power to take the decisions that make a difference on the ground, with the backing of local residents. "Local people should feel they can make their voice heard - able to ask sensible questions of their police about local priorities, like the time it takes for someone to attend an incident. Strengthening the accountability of the police also involves ensuring that the diversity of communities is fully respected in the culture of the service. The Home Office is already encouraging the use of local members of the community to act as assessors in the process of selecting their own police officers".
SWG Chair Lynda King Taylor seen here with community members including Daniel Geller, Chair of the local Amenity Group Hyde Park Estate Association. Also Mustafa Ragab, Chair of the Egyptian UK Association and Gary Griffin of Pubwatch. The Chair says: " The SWG truly represents the cultural diversity of the local area. Where a real partnership group exists between the police and the communities it serves, policing becomes far more effective."
Mission
What the Home Secretary and others are advocating is policing partnership at the local service delivery level. The Chair of one such partnership - the Paddington Hyde Park Sector Working Group (SWG) - is Lynda King Taylor. Lynda says that community safety partnership is a challenge for those engaged in improving life in the city. "The only way to continue considerable progress in reducing crime and disorder across a large part of an inner city, such as Paddington, is through partnership.
Our SWG is in fact a focus group, which gathers neighbourhood opinion across Paddington to determine which crimes to make a priority. We cannot of course tell police which crimes to fight, as often there is a huge disparity between what the public wants and what the police feel they should provide. However, the only way you can achieve crime and disorder reduction, a lessening of anti-social behaviour and improved police-community relations, is to work in partnership. It is vital we work alongside central and local government, and of course the MET Police, to deliver their anti-social behaviour agenda and to close the gap between the government's success on reducing crime, and the public's perception."
Leading towards the Future
Sir Ian Blair QPM, and Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service, in a recent speech 'Leading towards the Future', (see Future Policing Plans for full text of speech) endorses the future of partnership policing. Sir Ian discussed the police service's future role in the strengthening of communities, the building of social capital and the increased collective efficiency of local neighbourhoods. The Commissioner said we "look to a police service which will operate at three levels; national, regional and local, capable of carrying out the entire spectrum of policing, from counter terrorism to working with communities to strengthen social cohesion. Most police services will be delivered through a structure in which local police commanders negotiate outcome-based performance targets with their local community."
Lynda maintains community relations must constantly ensure performance measurement exists in areas such as participation, representation, diversity, inclusivity, feedback and effect on local policing priorities. Also in the effective use of information - for example, how often does consultation affect decision-making?
"There are tensions in partnership - top-down performance priorities versus bottom-up needs and community demands. Many on our SWG feel that whilst there may be consultation on policing plans, lip service can be paid to community and customer views. This can lead to fraction and frustration as local opinions are ignored in overall plans that can be dominated by centrally applied priorities and targets. Also, whilst many across our community are realistic enough to accept their views may ultimately not be reflected in final results of plans, there is apathy - appearing in anger - should police fail to inform those consulted on what eventually happens".
Partnership is therefore not always an easy ride. Says SWG Chair, "Community customers are more demanding - SWG members & community representatives don't enjoy the Police if they whinge or waffle, or submerge us with statistics, nor can stratospheric officers or officials bamboozle SWG representatives with blarney! Those days have gone - and the thankfully realise that. The police SWG have some 200+ community leaders and representatives from across the cosmopolitan Paddington community and they can be challenging! They are after all customers and expect a continuing improving level of brand service from their police and Council".
Values
However, sadly, there is an admission that there can be adversaries to partnership progress - and on the community side as well as within the police service and some of the agencies it works alongside. It's tough going at times - for police and SWG portfolio personnel - especially when you are managing difference and diversity in a community as multi-cultural as Paddington. As SWG Chair admits, "some individuals across all walks of life do not wish to rise to the challenge of change; they discriminate against it and would rather ensure the membership is exclusionary. Whereas our SWG committee, its majority of members, the police and others want our partnership to be overtly available to all members of our local community and want their active participation: it's a learning curve for everyone."
SAFE IN THE HEART OF LONDON - An Accolade
Officers and PCSOs from the Paddington Business Improvement Distrct who are attached to the Safer Neighbourhood Team at Westminster North want to meet as many people from the local community as possible as part of neighbourhood policing. Seen here with the policing partnership Chair, Lynda King Taylor, Gary Griffin, Bill Quinn and Leslie Robert who serve on the Police Group + Joanne Sheppard & Steve Neale of Ladrokes management team who manage the racing events held at a local spnsored evening in the Monkey Puzzle Pub in Sussex Gardens London W2. Above helps to raise funds for the upkeep of www.padpolice.com and CRIMESTOPPERS. Ladbrokes are a national sponsor for CRIMESTOPPERS.
If you wish to report crime and remain anonymous please call CRIMESTOPPERS on 0800 555 111.
The Paddington police/community SWG are in the vanguard of proposals for partnership as proposed by both the Home Secretary and Commissioner. SWG Chair and her community colleagues appreciate that a range of issues including disorder, anti-social behaviour & environmental safety influences crime and the fear of crime. As such, a good quality environment is regarded as high a priority for the community as much as reducing crime itself.
Community Safety Planning in Westminster was the subject of an independent review and thematic inspection by the UK's Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabularies (HMIC) and the UK Audit Commission, in collaboration with the UK Government's Home Office and Local Government Association. Their report - titled 'Calling Time on Crime' - highlighted the benefit of the City of Westminster's unique partnership approach, and singled out the joint-tasking partnership approach to problem solving adopted by Paddington's SWG police /community steering team, jointly led by Lynda King Taylor as Chair and a senior Divisional police officer, Inspector Richard Dolman
Vision
Commander Chris Allison, The Metropolitan Police Borough Commander Operations for the City of Westminster, adds to the HMIC accolade for the Paddington Hyde Park SWG.
He says "The key to policing the streets of London is that it is done with the consent of the public. However, where a real partnership exists between the police and the communities it serves, that policing becomes far more effective. Such a partnership ensures that the community and police work closely together to identify the issues that effect local people and jointly develop ways of reducing crime and disorder. One way of creating this partnership is through a local sector working group (SWG), a group that truly represents the cultural diversity of the local area. The development of such a group is a full time challenge for both the police and the community, a challenge that requires key skills, such as the ability of police officers to articulate the value of partnership working to diverse communities. The Paddington Hyde Park SWG, which has been operating for over ten years, is a unique example of such a group, and the results that have been achieved - - which are a key part of measuring the SWG performance - have shown the value of such partnership activity."
Working Together to Make London the Safest City in the World
The senior police officer with responsibility for the SWG and Paddington Division, Inspector Richard Dolman, does not underestimate the significance of the police and community SWG partnership at local service delivery level."It is imperative that we all work together, in partnership, to reduce crime and disorder and the fear of crime and anti-social behaviour. In today's unpredictable world of global terrorism, the SWG provides an increasingly important intelligence value by bringing 'hard to reach' groups on board that are more prepared to work together with the Police to detect and reduce crime. We police by consent - and as such the Paddington Hyde Park SWG has a vital role to play if the Police are to gain and maintain the confidence of the whole community".
The SWG is delighted with their HMIC accolade and other Home Office recognition for its policing community relations partnership; however, that's only a start. As the SWG Chair says, "We all realise that success in partnership is a journey never a destination. Together we are getting there."
To read current policing news on internal and external community relations in the Metropolitan Police Service read the Current News Page.
To make contact with the 'best practice' Paddington Hyde Park Sector Working Group visit the Contacting and Joining the SWG Page.
For more information on future policing plans please visit our site at
http://www.padpolice.com/future.php
