The Policing Pledge – One year on

The Policing Pledge was introduced in December 2008 as a strategy designed to revolutionise policing in England and Wales.

Speaking at the launch of the initiative, then Home Secretary Jacqui Smith announced: “The Policing Pledge marks the beginning of a fundamentally different approach to policing.”

But is this the case? What is the Policing Pledge and has it changed policing for the better?

‘A different approach’

The policing pledge was launched amid a huge fan-fair to coincide with the establishment of Neighbourhood Police Teams across the country.

The aim of the Pledge was to set out in clear terms exactly what the public can expect from their local force, while elaborating on how the newly introduced Neighbourhood Police Teams were to effectively engage with communities and act upon local priorities and concerns.

Both the Policing Pledge and Neighbourhood Policing strategies were introduced as part of a wider package of reform for policing in England and Wales; defining the government’s commitment to focus on local priorities, whilst also tackling serious crime that affects the entire country.

The Pledge puts into practice recommendations made by Sir Ronnie Flanagan in his influential report on the future of policing, where he emphasised his belief that the service should adopt a more customer focused approach, such as those used by successful private sector companies.

By adopting this approach, Flanagan hoped that forces could improve the publics’ experience when coming into contact with the police and therefore build better relationships with the people they are supposed to serve.

The report also highlighted what the public perceive as three critically important service delivery mechanisms; foot patrol, community engagement and problem solving. These factors were at the heart of the new community orientated policing ethos.

Together with actively encouraging community engagement, the Pledge also sets out a number of targets and national standards to ensure that police answer calls promptly, give people up-to-date details concerning local crime and improve their treatment of both witnesses and victims.

At the local level, Neighbourhood Police Teams have been set the task of consulting the community, while defining their own pledges that should address local concerns.

In all, the strategy can be viewed as a framework for moving the entire police service to a problem solving rather than responsive culture – utilising the resources and capabilities of both the service itself and local, relevant agencies to make a real difference for communities across the country.

A ‘new era in policing’?

On paper, the policing pledge sounds promising; the police will listen to communities, act on local concerns and treat people with respect - but one year on from its introduction, has the Pledge delivered?

The government has been keeping a close eye on how the initiative has been implemented on the frontline as part of an ongoing review of its success.

Last October, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) completed its first review of progress so far, having conducted inspections of all forces across England and Wales, with mixed results.

The good, the fair and the poor

On rating each force HMIC used categories ranging from excellent to good, fair and poor.

None of the 43 forces inspected were graded “excellent” and only eight achieved “good” grades.

Thirty-three were rated “fair” while two were rated “poor”.

Among those forces that achieved a ‘good’ rating was Surry Police.

Following the inspection, the force said the national policing pledge complemented its own Discretion Project, which allows officers to use their own judgement when dealing with less serious incidents.

In rating the force, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary reviewed the case of three young suspects who had thrown an egg at a man.

The three, who were previously unknown to police, admitted what they had done and agreed to pay for the man’s dry cleaning and give him hand-written apologies – in line with efforts to move toward an ethos of ‘common sense policing’.

“I am delighted that Her Majesty’s inspectors acknowledged that Surrey Police as one of the best forces in the country at recognising and responding to public needs,” said Assistant Chief Constable Ian Dyson after the inspection.

Among those one rung down the ladder were Wiltshire Constabulary, who received a ‘fair’ rating from HMIC.

Following the inspection, Wiltshire was criticised for the level of service it was found to provide the public, as tested through mystery shopper style tests.

While receiving an overall rating of fair, the constabulary was judged as “good” (at meeting the standards) for responding promptly to non-emergency calls, for its Neighbourhood Policing Team and acknowledging any dissatisfaction with the service an individual receives within 24 hours of it being reported.

Acting Supt Bob Edge said the force had made significant advances in the past year towards providing better services.

“We will look critically to identify areas we can improve,” he said.

Mr Edge, who is responsible for improving service standards, added the force welcomed the assessment as an opportunity to build on what it already had in place.

“We are not complacent and we will look critically at this report to identify areas where we can make improvements,” he added.

Two forces were deemed to be performing poorly against the criteria of the Policing Pledge. These were Cumbria and Suffolk.

Gary Kitching, Assistant Chief Constable for Suffolk said the result was ‘like a punch in the stomach.’

“There is a challenge here and we do accept that challenge.

“The whole thing around the Policing Pledge is in relation to our responsiveness, the quality of our engagement and our communication with people.

“But what it doesn’t take into account is the fact that we are a low crime county, we have good detection rates and good confidence rates.”

In a statement, Cumbria Constabulary reiterated their commitment to implementing the Pledge: “We were disappointed to learn that we had been rated as ‘poor’, despite being one of the top performing constabularies in the UK, with some of the highest levels of public confidence.

“We have taken on board the comments made by the HMIC and remain committed to providing an efficient and effective policing service to the people of Cumbria.”

Forces ‘must work harder’

Surmising their findings from across the service, HMIC said that the majority of police forces in England and Wales still have further to go if they are to meet their commitments as outlined in the Pledge.

Jane Stichbury, Her Majesty’s Inspector, said: “Although the performance of most forces did not consistently match the level promised to the public, the majority of forces have made efforts to build a stronger relationship and dialogue with local people.

“The Policing Pledge is about providing responsive policing to the public’s needs and this inspection has shown many forces need to step up a gear.

“This was the first year of the Pledge so it may not be surprising that most forces showed mixed performance.

“But force chiefs have reaffirmed their commitment to the Pledge and have been working to deliver the high standards they have set for themselves and the public want.

Ms Stichbury said that HMIC will continue to monitor the implementation of the pledge across the country, with particular regard to the two forces that received a poor rating in last year’s inspections.

She added: “Forces cannot deliver an effective public service without asking the public what they want.

“They must listen to the public’s concerns, act on their concerns and keep them informed on the progress they have made.

“The public want and deserve improvement from their police forces and they should expect a high level of service tailored to their community.”

Related links

For more details about the Policing Pledge, Neighbourhood Policing and to view the Pledge document, click here.