Letter of reply from the Chair of the Police Authority to a consultation letter from the association about the fear of crime
The association letter can be read at the following link
Ein Cyf / Our Ref: IR/rrr/mm/P/1/2
Eich Cyf / Your Ref:
27th February 2009
Old Colwyn East Residents’ Association
Old Colwyn
Conwy
LL29 9RW
Dear Mr Poynton
I write in response to your letter of 22 January 2009, and further to my letter of 5th February 2009.
Before I give a substantive response to your letter I would like to firstly clarify the purpose of the most recent round of Police Authority Community Forums which took place across North Wales in January 2009.
According to the British Crime Survey (“BCS”) (2007-
The Home Office emphasises that public confidence and satisfaction in the policing services delivered is key. Public confidence and satisfaction is a national strategic priority for the police and is likely to stay that way for a while. Treating people with respect, keeping promises and keeping people informed about what is happening with their case are simple actions which can be overlooked when officers are under pressure.
Deputy Chief Constable Wolfendale gave a presentation on public perception to the Police Authority’s Performance Review Committee on 5th March 2008. His presentation was mainly based on the findings of the IPSOS MORI Perception of Crime Report 2008. This report showed that although recorded crime has decreased in North Wales people still believe they are at the same risk.
The main purpose of the most recent round of Police Authority Community Forums (PACFs)
was to consult the public on this issue, to establish whether people have confidence
in the police, and whether they believe that the police is dealing with crime and
anti-
Influencing people by using statistical information was NOT the purpose of the PACFs. North Wales Police Authority appreciates that members of the public are justifiably unconvinced by a plethora of difficult to understand figures. The PACFs were not held ‘to spread the word that reported crime is going down’, ‘sanctioned detections are up’, and that ‘fear of crime is misplaced and wrong’. I strongly disagree with your suggestion that the police Authority implied that the public’s ‘concern about criminal behaviour is irrational’.
I welcome Old Colwyn East Residents’ Association’s contribution to this debate. I understand that there was some dissatisfaction among members of your association that Mr David Curtis was not given an opportunity to read your letter of 22nd January 2009 out loud at the Conwy Police Authority Community Forum on 22nd January 2009. Cllr Graham Rees, the chair of Conwy PACF that evening, felt that it would take too long for the letter to be read out loud at the meeting, and would disrupt the proceedings. However, Cllr Rees assured you that the contents of the letter would be taken into consideration while assimilating the results of the PACFs, and a full response to your letter would be sent in due course.
The Police Authority is under no obligation, under the Policing Pledge, as suggested by you, to convince local communities that ‘neighbourhood policing is working well’. While I am of the view that the introduction of neighbourhood policing teams in North Wales is a success, I appreciate that there is still a lot of work to be done. Consequently, North Wales Police Authority has ensured that providing a highly visible community policing service will be a priority for the Force and the Authority in 2009/10. A number of Performance Indicators and Targets are due to be adopted by the Authority to ensure that this priority is met.
I appreciate that a number of crimes go unreported, and that members of the public view themselves as victims of crime, whether the crime has been reported or not. It is therefore important that North Wales Police encourages members of the public to report crimes since we are unable to assess the true picture of criminality in North Wales if crimes go unreported. However, the scale of unreporting is unknown.
You state that criminal behaviour is increasing and that ‘some individuals and some
groups of people cause an increasing number of problems in all areas of East Conwy
and North Wales’. In the circumstances, I suggest that you contact your District
Inspector Esmaeil Ahari, and your CBM PC Mike Williams to discuss this matter. Unfortunately,
this is an operational matter which North Wales Police Authority cannot deal with.
However, I would urge associations such as yours to meet regularly with your CBM
and your District Inspector since you are the eyes and ears of our communities, and
local intelligence is key to preventing and investigating crimes and anti-
Your comments regarding refuse bins in Old Colwyn being destroyed by fire have been forwarded to Chief Superintendent Simon Humphreys, Divisional Commander, and District Inspector Ahari. I trust that the Force will work with its partners by tackling this matter and appreciate that such incidents increases fear of crime amongst the public. Please note that one of the purposes of neighbourhood policing teams is to deal with such issues.
The Police Authority regularly raises the issue of CBMs covering large geographical areas with the Force. However, we have to appreciate that resources are tight and that it is better to have CBMs active in post in wards, as promised, rather than some areas not having CBMs at all. Please note that the Police Authority is not at all complacent in this regard and will continue to lobby for further funding for neighbourhood policing, since we accept that increased visibility is key to increasing public confidence.
I note your comments regarding classification of certain incidents as anti-
North Wales Police Authority is not hiding its head in the sand, as you suggest,
and is eager to ascertain whether people have confidence in the service provided.
The Authority would not have consulted with the public on this matter if it wanted
to shy away from the issue. The PACFS were not intended to be a means ‘of directing
public attention to good news in a controllable arena’. To the contrary, we wanted
you and other members of the public to tell us about your confidence in the service,
your perceptions of crime in your area, and to tell us whether you are afraid of
becoming a victim of crime or anti-
Your comments regarding a lack of follow up from the police after a crime is reported
were reiterated at a number of the PACFs, and could be one of the reasons why some
people may feel reluctant to report crimes and anti-
North Wales Police is fully aware of the issues surrounding unsafe vehicles travelling along the A55 and is working with its partners to deal with this issue.
North Wales Police Authority agrees that there must be more engagement between the Force and the public, and the Police Authority and the public, in order to prevent crime, and increase public confidence.
I thank you once again for your contribution to this issue and the comments made.
North Wales Police Authority will certainly bear your comments in mind when considering
the Force and the Authority’s strategic objectives for 2009-
Yours sincerely
Cllr Ian Roberts
Chair to the Authority
