Open Eye:Chat

A jing - coming to a body near you soon.

By 2029 nearly 40% of England's population will be over 50. 

By next year 53% of people in West Somerset will be over 50 and by 2029 this will rise to 63%.

The headlines are drawn from an Audit Commission report 'Don't stop me now' which looks at the ageing UK population and the implications for council service design and provision. The report says that by 2009 almost 18 million people in England will be aged 50 (or around a third of the population). It concludes that most local authorities aren't doing enough to address the issue and that some areas with the highest ageing population are among the worst at addressing the issue, yet it sees the local authority as taking the lead in bringing partners attention to bear on the issue.

The report is however, very optimistic about the diversity and vitality of the over 50's, seeing them as a potential source for community involvement, volunteering and activism.

So, all of this got me thinking. A lot of the projections in the report focus around 2029. In an organisation obsessed with short termism, that's a very long way off. Yet the ageing population effect is already with us and, with a third of the population being over 50 by next year, there is a service delivery immediacy to the issue that is both real and current.

So, what are the implications for policing?

Certainly the same opportunities that the report identifies for local authorities (the over 50's as a potential source for community involvement, volunteering and activism ) apply to policing. The trick will be coming to the awareness and understanding that we need to move away from offering standardised opportunities for involvement (Special, PCSO etc), to looking at the particular needs and aspirations of that demographic grouping and creating involvement opportunities that are relevant and tailored to their needs and aspirations. Allowing involvement on their terms.  

In operational terms, are we awake to the key service issues that bug this group ? Has anyone done the segmentation and looked at calls for service by age, by different social groups and age, by type of incident and age/location etc etc etc. I'm aware that this is an area of personal interest for a couple of very good people, so I'm sure that someone, somewhere, has. It would be interesting to know where and who though.

The ageing population has implications across the board for us all. For the skills and training of our workforce, for resource management, for call handling, for everyone. With trust and confidence moving to centre stage the issue will have particular implications for marketing and communications strategies and for the people who deliver them. As a BCU, as a force, do you know the 'hot button' issues for this group ? Is your marketing output tailored to addressing their issues? Are you reaching them? How do you know?   

The report (here) is worth a skim through. the thinking that it should generate will take you much longer.

Joint Neighbourhood Training

The answer to the question that PSNI's Trevor Service posed is...yes, someone is doing joint training at Neighbourhood level.

That someone is Lancashire Constabulary. Tim Jacques of the Eastern Division contacted me to let me know that Blackburn with Darwen area have “Shared Neighbourhood Teams” consisting of Police, LA workers, Community Volunteers and others co-located in community premises.

Apparently Alice Knowles, who is the Ch Insp for that area, is a current International Problem Oriented Policing Champion. Blackburn with Darwen won the Hermann Goldstein award this year in the USA.  The award recognises excellence and innovation in the use of problem-solving by police to address public safety issues. 

Thanks Tim.

Participation goes national

The Government have been signaling their intention for some time to extend citizen involvement in all aspects of public service creation and delivery, and this week saw the Prime Minister unveil the packaged manifestation of that intent: Citizen Juries.

In truth Citizens Juries are nothing new. Focus groups in smart packaging that have actually been operating for a number of years in various arenas. Television, health etc.

So, to the facts.

The first Citizens Jury, a new consultation initiative announced by the Prime Minister on Monday, has met in Bristol. The Jury focused on the issue of education and children's services. Gordon Brown and Children's Secretary Ed Balls joined a panel consisting of students, parents, teachers and community leaders.

The second Citizens Jury will be held next week on crime and communities. No idea who is going to attend this one.

The Citizens Jury on crime will look at how people can be empowered in their neighbourhoods to work with the police and other agencies to tackle crime and antisocial behaviour. It will be followed by nine simultaneous Citizens Juries on the future of the National Health Service

Members of these juries are chosen independently. They are given independently verified facts and figures and they look at real issues and potential solutions.

However, the impetus for involvement doesn't stop with Citizens Juries. As Gordon Brown's speech makes clear 'We will extend democratic participation in our local communities. I want to see a vibrant reformed local democracy, from neighbourhood level engagement, community calls to action, a renewed focus on the devolution of powers and responsibilities to local government, the accountability of our police, our healthcare services to their communities'.

Interesting too to see that Hazel Blears will be working on the proposals for the extension of local democracy in these areas. Hazel is a passionate advocate of the wider Citizen Focus agenda (yes, it really does go much wider than Neighbourhood Policing, Call handling standards and the National Quality of Service Commitment !) and is now in the driving seat at the Ministry pushing forward this whole agenda.

Interesting also to note in the GB speech of 'utilisation of all the talents' that he has asked the Conservative MP, Patrick Mercer, a recognised expert on security issues, to advise Lord West at the Home Office on the security of our infrastructure and our crowded places. Mercer is ex Army. West is ex Navy. Just need a bit of RAF wisdom and culture to complete the set (Yes. I am biased and ex RAF).

The eight principles of good commissioning

I know that I keep on about it, but that’s just because it’s going to be really important ! It is even referenced in the the new national crime strategy released today (Cutting Crime: a new partnership).

To what do I refer? The role of the Third Sector and the commissioning process that goes along with that, that’s what. ‘Cutting Crime’ is very clear in stating that ‘the Third Sector has a crucial role to play in helping to shape services, as well as in delivering them’.

So it was timely this week to see the national programme for third sector commissioning being announced. The Improvement and Development Agency is managing the two year programme which is currently at the setup stage, with the stated vision being:

‘Better public outcomes for individuals and communities, which yields efficiency gains and community benefits, through smarter, more effective and innovative commissioning, and optimal involvement of the third sector in public service design, improvement, delivery and holding the public sector to account’.

Working as a delivery partner with the Office of the Third Sector, the IDeA will work with 2,000 commissioners from across the public sector, including staff in Jobcentre plus, health authorities, NOMS and  local councils.

Although the programme is still being developed, IDeA have already published the eight principles of good commissioning:

• Understanding the needs of users and other communities by ensuring that, alongside other consultees, you engage with the third sector organisations, as advocates, to access their specialist knowledge;

• Consulting potential provider organisations, including those from the third sector and local experts, well in advance of commissioning new services, working with them to set priority outcomes for that service;

• Putting outcomes for users at the heart of the strategic planning process;

• Mapping the fullest practical range of providers with a view to understanding the contribution they could make to delivering those outcomes;

• Considering investing in the capacity of the provider base, particularly those working with hard-to-reach groups;

• Ensuring contracting processes are transparent and fair, facilitating the involvement of the broadest range of suppliers, including considering sub-contracting and consortia building, where appropriate;

• Ensuring long-term contracts and risk sharing, wherever appropriate, as ways of achieving efficiency and effectiveness; and

• Seeking feedback from service users, communities and providers in order to review the effectiveness of the commissioning process in meeting local needs.

All in all, not bad principles for BCU’s to utilise when considering their interactions with the Third Sector.

Closer encounters of the Third Sector kind

The emergence of the Third Sector as an increasingly important element in local service delivery continues to gather momentum with two announcements this week.

The Cabinet Office have published a discussion paper to invite further views on the second phase of their plans to distribute £65m of funding to third sector organisations over three years. They will do this through the Futurebuilders Fund, a programme that provides investment to help third sector organisations develop the services they provide to the public.

DCLG have also published a discussion paper on their strategy for the Third Sector (available in the downloads section of this site). They are very clear that the sector has a number of key roles to play in both local partnerships and in place-shaping, including representation and advocacy, lobbying and influencing policy, shaping and designing services and also delivery of responsive public services.

There is a clear expectation that third sector organisations will be actively involved in Local Strategic Partnerships and in developing Local Area Agreements. Taking the lead, DCLG are establishing a Third Sector Partnership Board of between 15-20 members to provide oversight and challenge between the third sector, local government and the department.

The paper acknowledges that there is variance between the best local authorities, who already work well with the third sector, and other areas where they note that 'engagement is inconsistent at best and weak at worst'. Voluntary and community sector organisations are becoming increasingly important, both politically and as service shapers and deliverers.

Got any jobs you want done by a nice man in an orange boiler suit?

If evidence were to be needed of the continuing and ever growing importance of 'the customers voice' and the need to treat people as stakeholders in policing and the administration of justice in their area, then the latest initiative announcement from the Department for Constitutional Affairs surely provides it.

Two initiatives are being launched which will see local communities help magistrates' courts with sentencing.

1. New "Community Impact Statements" will allow local communities to tell the court before it sentences about the effect of crime in their area.

2. Local community organisations will be asked to tell the court what unpaid work they would like offenders to be sentenced to in order to help improve communities affected by crime.

These two new initiatives will be part of the Community Justice Programme, which aims to connect courts to their local communities and build the confidence of local communities in the criminal justice system. If there is a series of incidents on a housing estate or in a village that affects residents' quality of life, like public nuisance, vandalism, graffiti and property damage, community impact statements will (allegedly) better inform the magistrates or judges who deal with the case.

When sentencing, courts should take into account the impact of the crime. But until now it could only hear from the individual victim, not the wider local community.

The Community Impact Statement (CIS) will tell the court about the crime's impact on the local community so that it has the full picture of how it has affected those who live and work in the area.  CIS's are to be tested in Salford where there are recurrent problems with anti social behaviour and intimidation in some public places. PCSO's will prepare a CIS when someone is charged with an offence which contributes to an ongoing pattern of crimes or behaviour that is having a detrimental effect on people's lives. The statement will form part of the prosecution file in the same way as other evidence.

Additionally, the National Criminal Justice Board is taking forward an initiative whereby the court will advertise for local community organisations to suggest unpaid work that courts could order offenders to do in the local community. When completed, a plaque would show that a particular piece of work had been ordered by the local magistrates' court, in response to a request made by that local community. Camberwell Green Magistrates' court is to work with the National Offender Management Service on the detail of this particular initiative.

Volunteers: Inside the brand

This week I've been in America (South Bend, Indiana) talking to the delegates to the 9th National Citizens Police Academy Association Conference.

Although started in the late 1970's by Devon and Cornwall Constabulary, the Citizens' Police Academy concept (then known as the Police Night School) never really caught on at that time in the UK, but once the Americans adopted the concept the growth was spectacular. The Orlando (Florida) Police Department became the first law enforcement agency in the United States to run a CPA Programme and now classes are run across the US by police departments big and small.

Essentially, the concept involves running a number of classes which illustrate and explain the work of the department to the course delegates. The classes are very interactive and, as they involve front line officers from across the department and its various specialties in the course delivery, provide a genuine and realistic view (as opposed to a PR driven view) of policing and police capability as it is in that area.

I have been involved with the NCPAA for three years or so now and it has been interesting to watch the growth of the organisation under its President Lt Richard Powers, and to witness first hand the dedication of the CPA liaison officers from departments across the US and of the many volunteer CPA members themselves.

The opportunities that such a programme presents to bring people 'inside' the policing brand are extraordinary. Commercial organisations are continually looking for ways that their customers can interact more intimately with their brand and they spend lots of money in so doing. CPA Programmes provide a low cost and very effective mechanism for the police service to develop this highly desirable level of brand interaction.

Delegates start with the initial CPA class, but many go on to form CPA Alumni Associations (and here, and here )which then play a key part in supporting the police department with fundraising, publicity, crime prevention and other wider volunteer activities.

In terms of product extension and wider community interaction the possibilities are endless. Specific CPA programmes are run for a wide range of groups and needs. CPA for: the elderly, youth, business community, spanish speakers etc etc etc. The possible programme extensions are endless.

At present only one scheme is run in the UK (the Behind the Badge scheme, run by West Midlands Police. They thought that CPA sounded too American and so renamed it. The Government though is committed to developing a range of Academies. I work as an Associate Tutor with the Leadership Academy for Policing at Bramshill !), but as a low cost way of harnessing the genuine public interest in policing, of bringing people inside the brand, of managing expectations, growing service ambassadors, of providing a reality based view of policing and police capability and of providing information to key target groupings in that area, it really is hard to beat.

The Association is keen to develop its international links and programmes and I have collected a lot of information about CPA programmes. If you want to talk about CPA issues do get in touch.   

Volunteers

I was privileged to be a speaker at this years Special Constabulary National Conference hosted by Cheshire Constabulary this week. When people talk about 'mixed economy' policing, these are the people in the front line of delivering it. Volunteers all and a more dedicated bunch of people you will struggle to meet. Coincidentally, the Home Office report on the Year of the Volunteer (2005) was published just this week. It argues that volunteers fall into four types, based on their general motivations for volunteering: having volunteering in their DNA; being affected by a Life Event; being in the Right Place at the Right Time; seeing volunteering as part of their Personal Development. Whatever their motivational grouping...it's a very, very good job they do !