Use of technology in offender identification

For the purposes of the above, a ‘representative’ in relation to those groups is a person that appears to be a person that can speak on behalf of the others in that particular group.  

To be able to evaluate the functions found under section 3 a lot of the services have used the ‘four C’s’ approach which has been developed by the Audit Commission. The ‘four C’s’ are used as an inspection technique for evaluation and they stand for:

• Challenging the way that the different functions have been carried out in the past and by other organisations
• Consulting all the different people that have an interest in the relevant functions
• Comparing own functions against what others organisations have done
• Competing with the other organisations by showing and being able to demonstrate how that relevant function is exercised

Best value policing is not a way for the Police force to save money because they are concerned with ‘getting the best out of what they’ve got’. They want to get ‘the best practicable results with the available resources.’ They need to ensure that the public bodies are engaging with the community as well as doing their job effectively. The police need to be a ‘visual’ response in some areas on top of fulfilling their duties.  

The Local Government (best value) Performance Plans and Review Order 1999  contains a schedule which sets out all the different areas that the Police Performance Indicators must cover, which includes certain things such as answering emergency ‘999’ calls, handling any complaints that have been made and also detecting crime in their area. The police authorities have ‘performance indicators’ which set out a number of further categories of standards which relate back to the policing standards across England and Wales. These indicators include things such as victims being satisfied with the treatment they received. For example those people that have been a victim of a violent crime, domestic burglary, vehicle crime and road traffic incidents will want to be satisfied that they have been dealt with correctly, regarding ‘contact with the police, action taken by them, being kept informed of progress and the treatment by staff and service’ as a whole. They also include looking at the British Crime Survey to see what percentage of the people in a particular area feel that their local police do their job well.

        Indicators regarding racist crimes are also a big factor, so it needs to be ensured that the minority of coloured people feel that their local police force are doing a good job, and look at that percentage against the percentage of the ‘white’ community and see if there is any significant issues or problems with the service people within a community. Following on from this, the indicators need to ensure that officer from all ethnic minority groups are being represented in the Police Force, and that there is an equal ratio of women and ethnic officers within a force.

The police follow what’s known as a ‘policing pledge’, which states that ‘the police service in England and Wales will support law abiding citizens and pursue criminals relentlessly to keep you and your neighbourhoods safe from harm.’

This policing pledge is what the Police plan to do in relation to the community, and how the plan to deal with the law abiding citizens and also the criminals. They aim to keep neighbourhoods safe from any harm and to treat all persons fairly with respect. They also aim to do the following:

• Publicise details of the neighbourhood policing team & ensure 80% of their time is spent on ‘your patch’
• Aim to return all calls, and respond to emails within 24hours
• Answer 999 calls within 10seconds, and non-emergency calls within 30seconds
• Respond immediately to emergencies and quickly to other priority and vulnerable cases, if not possible then a timescale will be given within which someone will attend

Along with the above they also aim to meet with the local community and neighbourhoods at least every month if not more often, and also to acknowledge and keep a record of any dissatisfaction that may occur. The final thing they aim to do, is to keep victims of crime informed with whatever details and information they require.

In July 2008, the Home Secretary published a new document which was called ‘Policing Green Paper, from the neighbourhood to the national: policing our communities together’ It was put together to set out an idea for what they wanted the Police to be like in the future. It includes a number of different things for example ideas about giving the police more freedom to reduce crime whilst also working on measures to increase the confidence that the public have in their local Police forces. The paper goes into detail about how they want the public to have more of a say regarding their community and how it is policed as they are the people who benefit from the local forced.

        It also goes into a lot of detail about how the government plans to work closely with the police to build on achievements that have already happened, and to decrease the crime.  It is a way for the Government and the Police to give the public a commitment, to show that they want to improve the Police as a force.  It sets out a national standard which explains what the public can expect from the Police guided by priorities agreed from each area.

Overall best value policing is used over the country to ensure that the public are getting the most from the police, and also that the police get the best out of the resources that they have. The Local Government Act 1999 states what best value policing means, and the authorities and representatives that are involved.

        They also use the policing pledge to give the forces an idea of how they plan to deal with the law abiding community, and deterring criminals. This is something that will be used and referred to at all times.

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