PCPI delivers crime prevention diploma for officers of eleven police forces

Designing Out Crime Officers (DOCOs) representing eleven police forces are among the latest to undertake the accredited Level 5 Diploma in Crime Prevention – Designing Out Crime delivered by the Police Crime Prevention Academy. 

All 15 individuals who undertook the accredited qualification in March are newly-appointed DOCOs who will now be in a unique position to influence their managers and partner agencies in seeking sustainable reductions in crime and helping to make local communities safer. 

Bedfordshire Police, Leicestershire Police, North Wales Police, South Wales Police, Surrey Police, Kent Police, Dorset Police, Avon and Somerset Police, Cambridgeshire Constabulary, West Midlands Police and the British Transport Police were all represented at the national delivery stage of the Level 5 Designing Out Crime qualification, which provides the learning and application that’s required for this specialist role. 

The virtual classroom phase delivered last month welcomed various guest speakers, including Superintendent Stephen Burns (the staff officer for chief constable Stephen Watson, the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s lead on crime prevention).

Superintendent Burns said: “The role of the DOCO is a specialist one within policing which can significantly reduce vulnerability, demand and crime, making our communities safer not only today, but for generations to come. The enthusiasm shown by the participants underpinned by their knowledge and expertise will ensure they play a transformative role when back on duty.”

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Empowerment for DOCOs

Guy Collyer, head of the Police Crime Prevention Academy, commented: “This national delivery of the Level 5 Designing Out Crime qualification was ground-breaking in many ways, from having the opportunity to support so many new DOCOs at the start of their careers through to being able to secure inputs that help to empower DOCOs in making others within the police service aware of their role and its positive impact on reducing crime.”          

The Police Crime Prevention Academy is an approved centre for the awarding body ProQual and has the exclusive link with the Secured by Design initiative. The Academy is an established provider of training for police and partner agencies, offering national and local delivery with virtual and face-to-face learning. It delivers a range of accredited qualifications, courses and bespoke events, and also prides itself in keeping the quality of its qualifications at a premium and the costs to a minimum.

The Academy is part of PCPI, the police-owned, non-profit organisation that works on behalf of the police service throughout the UK to deliver a wide range of crime prevention and police demand reduction initiatives. The Academy maintains close working links with the National Police Chiefs’ Council, as well as senior police officers from across the UK, and is the established supplier to the police service for crime prevention learning and development.

*Further information about the range of qualifications offered by the Academy can be obtained by visiting https://www.crimepreventionacademy.com/ or e-mailing info@crimepreventionacademy.com

Police Crime Prevention Academy supports Home Office with specialist training

The Police Crime Prevention Academy is currently working with the Home Office, providing bespoke training with a focus on crime prevention and designing out crime.

Guy Collyer, head of the Police Crime Prevention Academy, said: “We value the opportunity to assist Home Office staff in gaining a more detailed understanding of this critical work within policing.”

The Home Office is instrumental in protecting the public and keeping people safe, recently launching the second £20 million round of the Safer Streets Fund for Police and Crime Commissioners and local authorities to invest in a range of crime prevention measures across high crime areas in England and Wales.

The Police Crime Prevention Academy is part of Police Crime Prevention Initiatives, the police-owned, non-profit organisation that works on behalf of the police service throughout the UK, duly delivering a wide range of crime prevention and police demand reduction initiatives.

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Close working links

The Academy maintains close working links with the National Police Chiefs’ Council, as well as senior police officers, and is the established supplier to the police service for crime prevention learning and development.

Not only does the Academy offer a local delivery option that significantly reduces costs, but it also provides the flexibility to dovetail content into Continuing Professional Development and reflect local issues.  

The Police Crime Prevention Academy also delivers several qualifications to the private sector, working closely with local authorities and relevant specialists such as architects and planners, and offers a number of distance and virtual learning qualifications.

The Academy prides itself in keeping the quality of qualifications at a premium and the costs of its service delivery at a minimum.

Police Superintendents’ Association elects new presidential team

Chief Superintendent Paul Griffiths has been elected as the new president of the Police Superintendents’ Association, while Chief Superintendent Ian Wylie has been elected as the Association’s new vice-president. Both appointments will begin on 25 March when the Association’s Annual General Meeting takes place. 

Griffiths, who is currently vice-president of the Association, said: “It has been my privilege to have served as vice-president for three years and I will take enormous pride in now leading the Association. This is an extremely challenging time for policing as a service and for our members, which makes the role and purpose of the Association more important than ever.  I want to pay tribute to Gavin Thomas’ leadership over the last three years. He has been a consistent and valuable voice on issues that are critical to the future of policing and the service we give to the public, and has modernised the Association to ensure it stays relevant and effective for members.”

He added: “The Association will continue to face many of the issues on which Gavin has led. Through my presidency, I intend to continue our focus on funding, vulnerability and demand management, leadership and valuing difference, the role of new technology and the integration of public services.”

Thomas responded: “I have worked with Paul and Ian for many years and am delighted they’ve been elected by our National Executive Committee. They are both highly experienced leaders who are dedicated to improving policing for our members, for the service and for the public.”

Chief Superintendent Wylie, who serves with the Avon and Somerset Police, has been active in the Association for many years, including chairing C District since 2011. He said: “My policing career has given me many great opportunities, and being elected to the role of vice-president of the Association is another such opportunity. I’m very much looking forward to working with Paul and to representing our members at a national level. As the senior operational leaders in policing, the Superintending ranks are a critical part of policing and public services and I very much hope to play a key role in ensuring their voice continues to be heard.”

“Autumn Budget must set clear direction for police funding” asserts Police Federation chairman

Amid all the talk and speculation on what will be contained in today’s Autumn Budget, the Chancellor Philip Hammond must set clear direction for police funding to reaffirm the Government’s commitment to keep the public safe. This is the view of Steve White, chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, who believes the current year-by-year approach to police budgets is inefficient and gives Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) and chief constables little ability to effectively plan ahead.

“Chiefs and PCCs need to know what they’re going to get, not just next year, but in years two, three, four and five in order for them to properly plan,” said White. “The Government is already clear that policing needs to be even more efficient, but reform with at least a five-year funding strategy is needed for it to be sustainable.”

White echoed many in policing who have challenged the Government’s view that police budgets have been ‘protected’ between 2015 and 2020. “It’s all very well for politicians to say that funding is being protected, but the reality is there for all to see,” urged White. “The amount of money that police forces have to play with has gone down because inflation has gone up. It’s simple maths.”

The Police Federation’s chairman also challenged the idea that forces can simply tap in to reserves to plug the gap following recent comments made by Home Secretary Amber Rudd and the National Police Chiefs’ Council and Association of Police and Crime Commissioners Joint Summit.

Steve White: chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales

“Of course forces have to keep something in reserve because they don’t know what’s around the corner or coming down the line in the next 12 months.”

However, White does appreciate the need for chief constables and PCCs to make clear to Government how additional funding would be spent, not just why it’s required. “There’s an opportunity for police leaders to provide a credible, evidence -based argument about why these additional resources are needed and where they would go.”

Finally, White made clear that PCCs, alongside chief constables, must challenge the Government for clear direction on police funding if it’s not forthcoming.

“If the Chancellor doesn’t set out any clear direction for police funding, PCCs and chief constables must put the pressure on Government to address this in the immediacy. If this doesn’t happen, officers and police staff will suffer with continued uncertainty and, ultimately, the public will suffer as well.”

“Time for a full review into policing” asserts Police Federation

The Police Federation of England and Wales has called for a “long overdue” full review into policing. This subject was among a number of issues raised by the Federation in its response to the Home Affairs Select Committee following the launch of the latter’s Policing for the Future inquiry.

The Police Federation’s national chair Steve White said: “For more than a decade, we have been demanding an holistic and independent review of policing in order to properly determine what the public want and expect of their police service. While appreciating that this would need to be balanced against the reality of the fiscal policy of the Government of the day and its limitations on resources and capacity, it would, at the very least, be a starting point to ensure we have a police service that’s fit for purpose and able to focus on those issues deemed to be public priority.”

Steve White: Chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales

White continued: “If we were starting afresh today, we cannot see any logic or rationale in having this number of police forces. We maintain that a Royal Commission on Policing looking at the entire structure, function, roles and funding of the police service is long overdue. This would address the points raised and allow radical, long-term and strategic thinking rather than knee-jerk responses and tinkering based on political whim.”

In conclusion, White stated: “We need police officers to remain at the heart of policing, to retain the model of policing by consent and ensure that those tasked with protecting our communities have the support of the law, are given the appropriate protections, equipment and training to do the job and are valued, motivated and fairly rewarded.”

Commenting on a range of issues, the Police Federation highlights current and future crime trends and their implications for policing under-reported types of crime, the extent to which the police are sufficiently equipped to deal with these changing patterns of crime and other operational demands (such as mental health crisis work) and where gaps in capacity and capability are likely to lie.

Issues such as proactivity from the top of policing, equipment, training, accountability and a long-term strategy for the future of policing are also discussed in the submission, which can be seen in full on the Home Affairs Select Committee’s website.

The Committee is also looking at police funding levels, efficiency and cost-effectiveness, including the role of Police and Crime Commissioners in driving innovation and reform and the role of digital technology in policing (including take-up, risks and barriers to use).

More junior officers honoured with Queen’s Police Medals

Nine ‘rank and file’ police officers have been awarded the prestigious Queen’s Police Medal by Her Majesty The Queen as part of the New Year Honours – three times the number honoured in the 2016 Birthday Honours.

In one of her final actions as Home Secretary, Prime Minister Theresa May recommended that more officers below senior ranks should receive the Queen’s Police Medal in order to recognise the vital role they play in protecting the public and address an imbalance over to whom the medal is awarded.

Police leaders responded by putting forward a number of officers from junior ranks from across England and Wales who have shown outstanding courage and distinguished service in the line of duty. More than half of the 17 Queen’s Police Medals announced on Friday 30 December have been awarded to officers below the rank of superintendent.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd said: “These deserving recipients of Queen’s Police Medals have gone above and beyond the call of their duties and it’s absolutely right that we recognise all of those who serve our communities and keep us safe. I’m especially pleased by the response from policing leaders, who have made sure that a shift in nominations has led to a much more representative group of officers receiving the medal. I look forward to seeing many more brave and talented individuals at every rank of our police forces being honoured in this way in the future.”

The Queen’s Police Medal was instituted by its royal warrant in 1954 and is awarded to officers of any rank for acts of courage and conspicuous devotion to duty. It superseded the King’s Police Medal, which was originally created in 1909.

Brandon Lewis, Minister for Policing and the Fire Service, added: “There are exceptionally skilled, dedicated and professional officers in all areas of our police forces, from front line constables through to senior leaders. Honours such as the Queen’s Police Medal have been awarded for over 100 years to recognise some of their exceptional individual contributions. I’m delighted that more rank and file officers have been awarded the medal this year for dedication to their duties and acts of exceptional courage. I hope the example they’ve set continues to inspire the very best from officers and police staff in 2017.”

The recipients of the Queen’s Police Medal are:

• PC Ifor Williams (Avon and Somerset Police)
• Sergeant Timothy Slade (City of London Police)
• PC Jacqueline Oliver (Metropolitan Police Service)
• Chief Superintendent Martin Lloyd Fry (British Transport Police)
• PC Leslie Roger Eke (Thames Valley Police)
• PC Christopher Smith (Dorset Police)
• PC Louise Pye (Sussex Police)
• PC Shirley Vivienne Lindsay (Avon and Somerset Police)
• Inspector Ian David Hanson (Greater Manchester Police)
• Detective Inspector Carol Ellwood (Humberside Police)
• Chief Superintendent Gordon Briggs (Metropolitan Police Service)
• Chief Superintendent Victor Olisa (Metropolitan Police Service)
• Chief Superintendent Jagdev Singh Atwal (Derbyshire Constabulary)
• Assistant Chief Constable David John Allard (Ministry of Defence Police)
• Temporary Assistant Chief Constable Angela Williams (West Yorkshire Police)
• Commander Simon Martin Letchford (Metropolitan Police Service)
• Chief Constable David Graham Jones (North Yorkshire Police)

Seminar programme announced for ‘Manchester Security: Safe and Secure for Business’

The full programme has now been announced for the upcoming ‘Manchester Security: Safe and Secure for Business’ seminar, which will focus on providing businesses in the North West with valuable insights into current security issues facing the region.

The programme will be chaired by Jim Battle, Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner for Greater Manchester, and includes a formal opening by Assistant Chief Constable Garry Shewan QPM. Presenters on the day are as follows:

*Detective Chief Superintendent Tony Mole, Head of the North West Counter-Terrorism Unit, on the changing face of terrorism and the importance of planning and preparation

*Superintendent Marcus Noden with an update on neighbourhood policing and how partnership working through Integrated Neighbourhood Management is being progressed

*A spokesperson from SelectaDNA explaining how synthetically manufactured DNA is proving to be a powerful tool in the fight against crime

Event logistics

The event takes place on Thursday 29 September at St Ann’s Church, St Ann’s Street, Manchester M2 7LF.

Paul King, chairman of the Manchester City Centre Crime Prevention Panel, told Risk UK: “This free event isn’t to be missed for Manchester businesses, who will be able to find out about the latest security, business continuity and counter-terrorism issues in order to better protect their premises, staff and customers.”

King continued: “Businesses are continually falling victim to acts of crimes and threats, so security is of the utmost importance. This event will offer you the latest advice from a range of policing and security professionals to help better protect your business and prevent crime.”

Doors open at 8.30 am. Refreshments and breakfast snacks will be provided and there will be opportunities to network before and after the event, which is due to end around 11.00 am”.

SelectaDNA and GJD are sponsoring the event and their crime prevention products will be on display.

The event is organised by Manchester City Centre Crime Prevention Panel with the support of Greater Manchester Police, Manchester City Council and Atmaana Business Consulting.

*Online registration is available at: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/HJMTLQ6

**For more information on the ‘Manchester Security: Safe and Secure for Business’ event contact Christine Brooks via e-mail at christine.brooks@atmaana.co.uk

With only limited places left available it is advisable to register as soon as possible

Reports of evidence loss on supposed eve of digital evidence mandate

Is it a coincidence that the revelations of evidence loss have hit the headlines as we approach the deadline of the Home Office mandate for digital evidence compliance, which comes into effect at the end of April? writes Jamie Wilson.

Given that, since the mandate was announced, there has been very little publicity surrounding the ‘stick’ approach towards driving forces to implement digital evidence management strategies, I suspect that it is indeed a coincidence.

The BBC has revealed the findings of a joint Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary report which says that there was a “widespread issue” involving the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) “misplacing discs containing sensitive evidence and information”.

For members of the public reading such an article it is sure to shock, but for those working in police forces right across England and Wales it may not be such a huge surprise.

Jamie Wilson

Discs are essentially physical pieces of evidence that need to be manually logged, booked-in, stored and retrieved, etc. With so many discs in circulation and physical storage space being limited, it’s perhaps not unexpected that on occasion they can be misplaced.

In 2014, the then policing and criminal justice minister Damian Green announced that by the end of April this year, all forces in England and Wales must be capable of sharing evidence digitally with the CPS and the courts.

One of the anticipated outcomes that this initiative would lead to was a significant drop in the use of discs as forces move towards lower cost, more secure and faster digital methods of capturing, securely storing and sharing evidence – recordings from Command and Control, body-worn camera feeds, videos and photos, etc.

What I’ve seen in the past 12 months from forces I’ve visited, or spoken with, has been hugely positive. There’s undoubtedly a concerted effort being made by senior officers to push forward the digital evidence agenda.

They’re being driven not just by a mandated obligation (if indeed this remains the case?), but a recognition of the operational rewards it can bring in closing cases quicker and making far better use of scant resources, enabling officers to do what they’re trained to do rather than creating, curating and couriering discs.

Jamie Wilson is Public Safety Marketing Manager (EMEA) at NICE Systems

Securitas to guard major crime scenes for Wiltshire Police

Wiltshire Police has signed a contract with Securitas for the security solutions specialist to provide a dedicated service guarding major crime scenes in Wiltshire. The contract is effective immediately.

“Protecting the scene of a major crime is an integral part of an investigation, ensuring that evidence isn’t disrupted, destroyed or contaminated,” said T/DCI Jeremy Carter from the Brunel Crime Investigation Team.

“It’s important for the senior investigating officer in the Major Crime Investigation Team to know that Securitas will respond immediately when called upon, and that its security officers are capable of securing a crime scene very quickly anywhere within Wiltshire.”

Carter added: “By outsourcing the guarding function, we’re able to release police officers from that work to front line policing and, in turn, reduce costs.”

Contracting out the guarding of major crime scenes has been tried and tested by all other forces in the South West, where such a move has been found to be a highly effective way of securing evidence and preventing contamination or interference at the scenes of crimes. It’s likely that the service will only be used when there’s a need for protracted guarding solutions.

Concentration on primary roles

Wiltshire Police Chief Constable Mike Veale said: “We regularly review our services to make sure that we offer the best value for money for the public. This contract will free officers to concentrate on their primary roles rather than guarding. There are no ongoing costs to Wiltshire Police other than the actual use of the service when attending a crime scene.”

Securitas’ security officers are vetted and appropriately trained to high standards. They can be clearly identified at crime scenes by their Securitas branded uniforms.

“Modern day policing requires a different approach, as the pressure to more effectively manage costs and resources must be balanced against increasing levels of threat and incidents that require police forces to be at their optimum strength,” said Michael Clancy, chief commercial officer and executive lead for UK policing at Securitas UK.

“Adopting a partnership approach with Wiltshire Police, our crime scene guarding service can quickly provide fully and specifically trained, accredited and professional protective services officers to maintain the critical security of a crime scene. Thanks to this solution, Wiltshire Police has been able to release its police officers back to valuable front line policing duties at a significantly reduced cost and while maintaining the high standards expected of the police service.”

Ward Security attains best-ever SIA Approved Contractor Scheme audit score

Ward Security has just achieved its best ever score (170 out of 174) in an independent audit conducted on behalf of the Security Industry Authority (SIA) – the Regulator for the private security industry in the UK – for the Approved Contractor Score (ACS).

External assessing body Chamber Certification Assessment Service Ltd (CCAS) carried out a five-day combined annual assessment of Ward Security during February 2015 that included a reverification assessment for the ACS around Security Guarding, Door Supervision, CCTV and Key Holding as well as a surveillance audit for ISO 9001:2008 (Quality Management Systems) and a renewal/full audit for BS 18001:2007 (Health & Safety).

Auditors visited nine customer sites in the West, London and Manchester regions and conducted interviews with over 50 Ward Security employees in addition to eight customers.

In his report, Keith Leyland (ACS assessor at CCAS) stated: “The company’s approach to improvement is excellent. The assessor reviewed very many examples in all areas of customer services, fleet management, compliance, finance, Human Resources and operations where the company has applied the Plan-Do-Check-Act principle to developing improvement.”

David Ward: managing director at Ward Security

Speaking about this achievement, Nikhil Kamboj (compliance director at Ward Security) stated: “We’ve enjoyed a 25% growth since last year, but Ward Security has now surpassed all expectations in producing its best-ever ACS score which comfortably puts us in the Top 1%-2% of the SIA’s regulated suppliers.”

David Ward, managing director of Ward Security, added “We’re both delighted and proud to have achieved this record ACS audit score. Managing growth while maintaining standards takes an extraordinary level of commitment and dedication from all members of staff, so our thanks must go to all management and staff right across the business.”

Ward continued: “This achievement shows that our systems are robust, effect and more than adequate to accommodate substantial business growth. It also illustrates to our customers that our growth has not compromised the level of service we deliver. Indeed, the quality of our service has improved as the company has grown.”

Ward Security operates a head office in London and a network of regional offices encompassing Rochester, Bracknell, Manchester and a newly opened-office in Scotland. Areas of specialist expertise include the provision of search and selection guard dogs, wireless intruder detection systems and concierge services through the new Ward Belgravia division.

Security provision for the Royal visit to Folkestone

Recently, Ward Security supplied a team of 16 operatives for a visit by Her Majesty The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh to Folkestone, where the Queen opened The Wing Visitor Centre at the National Memorial to the Few in Capel-le-Ferne, which is dedicated to pilots who engaged in the Battle of Britain.

“A Royal visit is always a particularly complex and sensitive operation,” explained David Ward. “This is made an even more complex security task when the visit includes more than one site and the party is on a tightly controlled deadline. It’s crucial that people have access to greet Her Majesty at each site, but security needs to be carefully and professionally managed in a way that’s not intrusive. Also, the Royal security team accompanying the party will need help in understanding the different sites and locations and potential threat angles, and this is further complicated if they have one eye on moving safely to the next locations. This complicates the logistics and planning, so additional security to that provided by the police and the security services has to be very efficient and effective in its operation in order to provide adequate support.”

One of Ward Security’s mobile patrol vehicles

Ward continued: “With a regional office in Kent, Ward Security has the local knowledge to make the process easier for this particular visit. Crucially, we have the experience of working with the police and the security services, which makes liaison, planning and delivery far easier. As a company, we also have vast experience in providing security for a range of scenarios and operations, and our members of staff are highly experienced in delivering effective and sensitive security.”

In conclusion, Ward told Risk UK: “It has been a great honour to provide additional security for Her Majesty’s visit, and we’re extremely proud to have provided our services for this important and historic visit.”

After opening The Wing Visitor Centre, Her Majesty The Queen and the Royal party proceeded to Canterbury Cathedral where the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh unveiled statues to mark the occasion of the Diamond Jubilee.