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Listen

Narrowing The Gap

Chapter 4 Public Reassurance

On the basis of evidence presented during the inspection process and including the public survey results it is suggested that there are two areas which could be constructively addressed in further improving public relations. These are communications and access.

Clearly community consultation is an important element of communication and this aspect is addressed in Chapter 3. In the wider sense community consultation can be linked to media and marketing activity.

The management of expectations in this context can be separated into 3 identifiable compartments.

• media relations;
• public relations; and
• marketing.

For ease of discussion, media relations is considered to relate to: that area of activity designed to service the day to day needs of the media generally; public relations; the overall interaction with communities and extended partners; marketing, the corporate identity and all means of promoting that identity including branding, franchising and differentiating between the needs of user groups.

Media Relations

Of these three compartments media relations continues to be the most influential. Force co-ordination is normally delivered through an appointed press officer. Although circumstances often dictate that a reactive approach has to be adopted, whenever possible proactive engagement is attempted. Growing professionalism within media units, assisted by strong local media relationships, has cemented this position. Also, there is a welcome awareness across forces of responsibility for promoting a positive message resting with staff at all levels. Many of the reassurance measures entered into by forces have benefited to a marked extent from direct senior and chief officer involvement.

Certainly, much has been done in recent times to counter an apparent cultural inhibition to interact with the media. Improved confidence has been achieved in part by increased training and awareness. Secondments of operational personnel to media units have also assisted. As a result the ability to inform, advise and if appropriate warn the public has been enhanced

Although forces have become more proficient in managing media relations, reacting to issues arising from high profile coverage of certain stories can generate demands for local communication. Such coverage can have a high impact on public opinion, the immediacy of which can challenge the pace of normal police/public communication and consultation in addressing concerns on fear of crime.

The potential impact of such coverage on the public agenda and local issues should not be underestimated. In responding to this dynamic the police service has to balance the requirements of established long term community safety programmes with the influence of emergent high profile events and at the same time manage perceptions on the fear of crime.

RECOMMENDATION 17
HMIC recommends that Forces consider their local media arrangements specifically to better balance the perception whereby the fear of crime is disproportionate to the risk of crime, and within which the established needs of communities are emphasised as well as fluctuating trends in crime.

Public Relations

The extent to which forces relate to and become involved with their communities, particularly through press coverage, can broadly be referred to as public relations. Although this permits further promulgation of force strategies, objectives and initiatives this type of involvement also encompasses a broad spectrum ranging from participation in civic events, charity work, to open days when offices can be visited and certain aspects of police work viewed.

There is considerable anecdotal evidence that points to the extreme value these forms of engagement offer. The area of public relations also extends to the attitudes and professionalism of all officers and how they interact with communities. The wider aspect of community consultation is addressed in Chapter 3.

Marketing

Marketing is a strategic activity which goes beyond simply promoting or publicising. It includes the viewing of services on offer from the perspective of consumers and differentiating between the needs of different user groups.

The current efforts of forces reveal varying approaches to marketing. Some for instance have embarked on 'branding' to the point where the marketing has become synonymous with the force itself. Examples of this include the 'Spotlight Initiative' in Strathclyde or 'Safer Central' in Central Scotland Police. There are, however, issues of geographic identity when it comes to marketing reassurance and dealing with fear of crime. The cross-force 'footprint' of sections of the media transcends force boundaries. This can confuse the public regarding the territorial extent of particular initiatives.

In campaigns under the auspices of 'Safer Scotland' this issue has been helpfully addressed.

Formal performance measures relating to media and marketing are currently being examined by the ACPOS Media Sub Committee and will undoubtedly serve to assist in this respect.

The evidence from the inspection, however, indicates that not all forces possess corporate media strategies to facilitate marketing, and there remains a professional debate regarding the role of marketing in relation to the police service. However, it seems sensible to HMIC that there is merit in considering a nationally coherent approach on major policing issues within a proactive media strategy.

RECOMMENDATION 18
HMIC recommends that ACPOS develops a national media/marketing strategy for the Scottish Police Service to improve public reassurance by providing a better understanding of major policing issues and the service response.

Access

The ability to access the police service easily and effectively is of considerable importance to the public at large. Perceptions are invariably influenced and shaped by the very first contact. The obvious means of accessing service include telephone, e-technology, by visiting police offices or through alternative means of public contact, including engagement with officers on patrol. This section will concentrate on call and information handling, incorporating methods of contact and improvements to accessibility currently being developed by forces.

Call Taking and Call Management

In recent years the increased ownership of telephones, especially mobile telephones, has produced a dramatic growth in the demand for service. Add to this, raised public expectations arising partly out of call centre cultures in the commercial sector and it is perhaps not difficult to appreciate why changes in approaches to receiving and handling calls have been identified as necessary.

A proposal to introduce a single non emergency number for the Scottish police service is included in the current ACPOS Information Management Action Plan and a feasibility study has been undertaken as part of a UK wide exercise. ACPOS has recently accepted the recommendation of its Information Management Standing Committee that a single non-emergency number be adopted in Scotland and, if necessary, arrangements for call handling be designed specifically to meet Scottish policing and legal requirements. The benefits of a single number lie in economies of scope and scale. However, it has to be recognised that the development path in Scotland may be substantially different in direction and phasing than that in the rest of the UK.

Already there is evidence from Best Value Reviews in Scottish Police forces of difficulties with the call handling function and moves have been made towards implementation of solutions which create an opportunity for provision and integration of an effective and cost efficient service through joint development. The feasibility report prepared for ACPOS indicates that there is a threat of missed opportunity should such development take place on an individual force basis.

The imminent introduction of the secure national digital trunk radio system 'Airwave' has provided yet a further stimulus to ensure that call handling and management are compatible with incoming modern technology. At the same time resource deployment in response to public calls must be developed in ways which exploit the potential of new technology as an element of increased efficiency.

Encouragingly forces have been actively reviewing and restructuring their present call management arrangements to take account of these factors. Some forces are at a more advanced stage of planning and preparation than others. In Lothian and Borders, for example, there is a long established Public Assistant Desk and call management facility. However, a broad model of professional competence for call management has been agreed and is being progressed by forces. This will embrace a minimum standard and should address issues such as the need for:

• a high quality service where performance measurement does not concentrate solely on speed of answer and response but also takes account of whether the service delivered was courteous, knowledgeable and professional.
• a sufficiency of staff trained in customer relationship management and confident in dealing effectively with all callers, a career structure for staff and meaningful communication structures.
• systems which facilitate identification of peaks and troughs in demand and flexible working arrangements enabling staff deployment in the most effective way to respond to these patterns.
• auto attendant systems which provide initial information to callers, along with automated call distribution systems and procedures.

Communications centres have a key role to play in determining the efficiency of operational deployment. The past practice of communication centre staff passing calls to attending officers reflected an inefficient distribution of effort. The model to be introduced by forces should address this situation. Whenever the deployment of officers is considered appropriate, call grading will further assist in consistent resource allocation. This will mean that non urgent calls can be dealt with routinely or at pre-set times. As a result, officers will be better able to schedule their activities whilst callers can be provided with a more accurate anticipated time of attendance. As a vital component of this framework call handlers require to be assisted by expert systems which enhance their ability and serve as a reference point for dealing with specific enquiries.

As well as improving service quality and resource deployment, call centres will provide attending officers with comprehensive background information. This will include not only 'real time' information concerning the call but also any relevant historical data retrieved via links with the intelligence system. In addition, rationalisation of control rooms, augmented by increased support staff roles, has the potential to release locally significant numbers of police officers for other duties.

A Single Non-Emergency Number

The prospect of a single non emergency number is an appropriate springboard for developing a wider debate on the future of call handling in the Scottish police service. HMIC notes that the IM Standing Committee has indicated that before a single number is adopted, forces must ensure that their underlying infrastructure is ready for the level of integration required. This infrastructure includes a Tier 2 call handling structure supported by a strategy whose principles include:

'an ability to transfer calls including transfer of voice or data between forces depending on the nature of the call'.The use of a robust and effective Tier 2 non emergency call handling facility with the ability to transfer voice and data between forces leads the debate onto a further level: why are the eight Scottish forces developing separate dedicated force level call handling systems? Is there at this point room for discussion on how the combined capacity of forces' call centres relates to actual demand for service? The NHS24 model of regional call centres is an option, possibly worthy of examination. In the case of NHS24, there is a 'virtual' aspect to the model whereby calls can be transferred between centres when demand dictates. It is believed that the technology intended for use in the Scottish Police Call centres is capable of meeting the challenge of regional, supra force call centres if supported by robust process management.

RECOMMENDATION 19
HMIC fully endorses this approach by ACPOS towards the establishment of a single non emergency number and recommends the continued development of this project, coherently linked to future developments in information technology.

RECOMMENDATION 20
Within the compass of the ongoing Common Police Services Review, HMIC recommends that ACPOS, along with relevant stakeholders, initiate a Best Value review of call centres and control rooms to ensure optimum integration of use across/between forces and other emergency services, and that ACPOS ensure a robust, consistent strategy to provide guidance on call grading and call management.

As widely discussed in this report, public perceptions of the competence of the police service are influenced by the quality of every contact made. The extent to which the service is viewed as being competent and approachable significantly affects the ability to maintain public confidence, engender trust and develop community relationships. Accordingly the service must ensure that all staff coming into contact with the public are appropriately skilled, trained and motivated. This is critical if forces are to maximise the mutual benefit from each public contact.

RECOMMENDATION 21
HMIC recommends that forces increase the provision of Customer Service training to personnel involved in public interface situations and link this where possible to qualitative performance monitoring.

Case Study: NHS 24 Call Management System

Research carried out by the British Medical Association shows that the average person visits their GP three times a year. Twenty-five per cent of attendances are for cuts and bruises and 32% for bronchial complaints - all of which could be dealt with by a pharmacy. Potentially, only 43% of people attending their doctor need to be there. Final analysis indicates that only 10% require physical examination by a doctor.

Accordingly the purpose of NHS24 is to reduce the demands placed upon doctors who are in limited supply and whose time is valuable.

Key Learning points from NHS24

• A similar environment no doubt exists for the police service in respect of the low percentage of people who actually need to see a policeman in respect of their problem.
• NHS24 was funded by new money.
• NHS24 was developed by four partner agencies - NHS24 who operate the systems and employ the staff, CAPGemini (strategic consultancy), BT Consultancy (System consultancy and provision), and AXA (supplier of triage software systems, i.e. priority management). The point here is that the development of complex systems requires outsourcing of expertise.
• The system was first piloted in Aberdeen, enabling prediction of overall demand.
• Three grades of staff are employed: Call Handlers, Nurses and Health Information Advisers (HIA's). The call handlers optimise the work time of nurses and HIA's. Staff operate in teams of twelve: 3 call handlers, 8 nurses and 1 HIA.
• Overflow agreements with partner organisations and automatic call switching enhance resilience.
• A networking tool constantly monitors calls and uses data on average staff call turnover to predict where best to place calls to ensure a speedy response.
• Expert systems triage and assisted scripting (produced by AXA) enhance the skills of staff. This does not replace staff but assists them.
• Customer satisfaction data indicate an overall improvement.

In the case of NHS 24 the object is to deal properly with the needs of communities while reducing the need for patient visits to Doctor's Surgeries. A recent study undertaken by consultants to inform the introduction of a national non-emergency number on a UK wide basis, identified that the provision of such a system might increase the number of calls received by the police rather than reduce them. There are, however, learning points in relation to how call management is approached by NHS 24, such as using a system of 'triage' underpinned by a computerised reference database and having a bank of 'Frequently Asked Questions' to assist professional staff to make clinical assessment.

Case study: Geographic Information Systems - Holland

As a further means of managing the speed and effectiveness of deployment, systems are presently available that display the location of mobile response units in conjunction with Geographical Information Systems (GIS). This system was observed in operation during an inspection visit to Holland. When utilised, it facilitates the tactical deployment of response vehicles. Used in conjunction with intelligent GIS software, pre-programmed with road speed and congestion data, it identifies the unit best positioned to respond rapidly to each call. In addition, all patrol vehicles are fitted with Global Positioning Systems which automatically guide responding officers to the location of an incident. This technology, which is not new, remains at an early stage of development in Scotland and there is clear scope to extend the fitting of AVLS to police vehicles as an aid to more efficient deployment.

e-Policing

The advent of e-policing with internet access has also been recognised and forces without exception, have responded by establishing websites. The ACPOS e-Policing Working Group is currently preparing the Scottish Police Service to participate actively with the new PITO (Police Information Technology Organisation) portal which intends to increase the potential for accessibility to police services through one national portal.

Good examples of interactive and well managed sites can be found in several forces, with others moving in this direction. A sub-group of the ACPOS e-Policing Working Group has been established to examine the current state of individual force websites and to comment on how these can be best developed in the interests of the public. The sub-group will examine options for the way forward, taking into account the Government's demand for all services to be made available on-line by 2005.

As an example of how forces are approaching the provision of customer contact services delivered on line the following areas are being included on progressive sites:

Latest news
Witness/Public appeals
Contact information
Organisational information
Road safety/Drugs/Crime Prevention information
Details of current campaigns
Links to Crimestoppers and other related web sites

With the onset of online reporting with partner organisations, forces are endeavouring to ensure that front end software is e-mail compatible. Once fully functional these systems will allow incoming e-mails to be afforded the same status as an incoming telephone contact.

Across the country, increasing use is being made of internet websites to publish reassurance activity and information intended to balance fear of crime. Forces are also seeking to advance the potential of the internet even further by configuring specific pages to elicit views and comments from the public. As a means of increasing community consultation in the setting of priorities, online interactive questionnaires are particularly relevant and meaningful.

Police Premises

For many people the traditional police office serves both as an access point for service and reassurance of a police presence in the community. Police estate management does not always best serve either of these needs, or the changing operational requirements of the service. However, a great deal of work is underway to improve accessibility, including physical access to police stations, access to shared accommodation and general signage and routing. Before proceeding to discuss these aspects in turn it is worth mentioning that each is often linked to the individual corporate identity of forces.

Dealing firstly then with physical access by the public to police offices. This is usually afforded through the existence of front counter areas. Forces are concentrating attention on the availability of reception staff at all times during opening hours. Accepting this perhaps as a given, it is also considered prudent to have systems in place to cover abstractions without recourse to other staff, especially operational officers. The design, décor and standardisation of counter areas are being reviewed by most forces to provide a more welcoming and less intimidating environment for callers. The availability of useful information in the form of leaflets, posters or other literature is also receiving attention. Lastly, it has been recognised that in certain cases front counter areas should incorporate a layout which specifically permits conversations to take place in private.

Forces have embarked on a drive to ensure that a high degree of corporacy is maintained in the provision of front counter services. Several forces have progressed an audit of their existing arrangements and as a consequence a portfolio of possible applications, each designed to improve accessibility and image, has been developed. For instance, this includes the following possibilities depending on the message to be conveyed and position and profile of the site:

Lighting Around Police Offices
Neon or fluorescent lighting around the tops of high-rise police buildings in urban areas to make them clearly identifiable at night.

Police Station Signs
At and in close proximity to stations. Several forces have developed individual signs linked to their corporate identity and HMIC recognises work being done by Fife Constabulary to propose a standardised approach to signs signalling the way to police offices.

Directional Road Signs
Signage which is incorporated into the routing infrastructure, ideally linked to the system of police station signs referred to above.

External Posters
Positioned either immediately outwith police premises or at other identified external sites where maximum levels of exposure can be attained. Reassurance material clearly is of prime consideration.

Confidential Signs/Posters
A graphic indication and reminder to visitors/callers that if sensitive or confidential, their reason for visiting can be discussed in private.

Mission Banner
Illustration of the Force vision, mission and core values displayed in prominent positions.

Ad. Trailers
An effective method of advertising in areas of high pedestrian density or adjacent to main arterial routes for high visibility.

Big Screens
Screen advertising on significant or important public/civic buildings.

Promotional Material
The availability of leaflets, stickers etc

It is accepted that a policing service should be accessible to the public at all times and in locations that meet public needs. The trend towards closure of police offices in mainly rural locations over the past twenty years or so has mitigated against service enhancement in these areas. More recently, however, forces, in response to increased public demand, have been innovative in improving accessibility of service through a variety of alternative options for engagement. During the inspection evidence was found of police sharing facilities mainly on a part-time basis with partner organisations and local authorities in areas where police offices currently do not exist.

In Grampian plans have been approved for a multi agency shared building in Torry where Community Beat officers, doctors, health workers and Local Authority services will be brought together under one roof. Also in Aberdeenshire police make use of shared facilities in Insch Community Centre and in the newly constructed school at Oldmeldrum.

In Dumfries and Galloway 'One Stop Shop' facilities have been introduced at Gatehouse of Fleet and Thornhill. In contrast to the Grampian examples these make use of existing police stations which have been refurbished to house both police and partner agencies.

Fife are exploring the feasibility of Fife Victim Support working from a base in one of the main police offices in either Levenmouth or Kirkcaldy. Fife also utilise council offices for surgeries in areas where no dedicated police facility exists.

Strathclyde Police and Grampian Police have both located Police offices in busy city hospitals; Glasgow Royal Infirmary and Aberdeen Royal Infirmary. Evaluation of the Aberdeen model has shown an 11% reduction in crime in the environs of the hospital and has attracted favourable comment.

Lothian and Borders Police have experimented with computerised access points using interactive systems within selected disused police boxes monitored by CCTV. Strathclyde Police are currently developing help points again supported by CCTV within selected City Centre locations in Glasgow. These will enhance access to assistance by the public particularly in urgent situations.

Several Forces utilise mobile police offices as a favoured method of reaching rural communities . In Hamilton, in Strathclyde this concept has been extended into a more urban environment with the introduction of a Purpose Built Mobile Office, paid for from Social Inclusion Partnership funding at a cost of 53,000. This unit is used as a mobile base for the community police operating within the Social Inclusion Partnership Area which consists mainly of local authority housing schemes with a high level of policing need.

The service is also currently responding to the realisation that it cannot always be easily found. Significant improvements to estate, signage and routing are being vigorously progressed. Fife Constabulary, Tayside Police and Strathclyde Police have all carried out extensive work in this arena. As already indicated signage and lighting surrounding police offices, linking into force identities, are being treated as priorities. Signage and routing on the way to police offices presents a slightly different problem and notwithstanding 'corporate branding' for individual forces there is a strong case to standardise and implement a strategy of road signage to police premises (similar to the red H for hospital).

RECOMMENDATION 22
HMIC recommends that a national strategy of road signage to Police Stations be developed and introduced.

Conclusion

It is suggested that a more coherent approach to communication could have significant benefits for public reassurance. Firstly through a more strategic approach to the media and marketing, and secondly through developments in call handling, call management and deployment. In addition, more readily identifiable access to police stations is suggested as a benefit for public service.

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