WEEK OF RESPECT FOR PLYMPTON 4th to 8th February

Plympton is the latest area within Plymouth to benefit from a multi-agency drive to make our city's neighbourhoods safer. The Plymouth Community Safety Partnership have put together a week of action using agencies such as Devon & Cornwall Constabulary, Devon & Somerset Fire and Rescue, Plymouth City Council, Rees Community Centre and The Alcohol & Drug Advisory Service Harbour Centre. The purpose of this week of action is to ensure Plympton continues to be a safe neighbourhood to live and work in.

 

The Plymouth Community Safety Partnership has been working hard this year to ensure many neighbourhoods in Plymouth are targeted in week long improvement campaigns.

 

The Respect for Plympton action week will see a strong police presence in the area addressing community concerns such as anti-social behaviour, underage drinking, and providing crime prevention advice.

 

The various initiatives that will take place over the course of the week will range from enforcement action, along with information available on issues such as debt, benefits advice. Help and advice will be available for anyone who may be suffering from domestic abuse and Plymouth Age Concern will be on hand to provide information to the elderly focusing around healthy foods and protecting your home.

 

The week of action will formally commence with a launch, which will be held at Plympton Fire Station with representatives from all the different agencies involved in the week's events. The week will then be celebrated at a roadshow event, which will be held at The Rees Community Centre on Friday 8^th February. The Roadshow will provide information and advice to the public on a range of community issues including inputs from The Plymouth Argyle Youth Football Team and representatives from The Health Service, Police & the Fire Service.

 

The ultimate aims of the weeks of action are to solve any immediate issues, which concern a neighbourhood, and also look to incorporate long term solutions to these problems.

 

PCSO's

There are comments in today's local press about the role of PCSO's. Details of that incident will be responded to later. I would like to set out some views about the role of PCSO's on general.

PCSO's are a key part of the policing team. They are not trying to be Police Officers or work to in the same way as them. They work under the direction of a police officer fighting a range of crime and disorder problems. Just some of the issues they deal with include:

• contributing to the regeneration of local communities
  
• increasing public safety
  
• dealing with truants, graffiti, abandoned vehicles, litter, missing persons enquiries
  
• confiscating alcohol being consumed in a public place
  
• helping to support victims
  
• controlling crowds at major events

There has been discussion about the powers of PCSO's. It would be fairly easy to give them ever more power, but this misses the point of their role. They are fulfilling the role of the visible policing presence on the streets. They are our eyes and ears. Importantly they do not seek to work based upon the use of police powers, they work with communities, finding community based problems to local issues. Because they are not called away to make arrests or take part in complex operations, they are able to spend much of their time on patrol in communities.

Police powers can sometimes not help in finding long term solutions; If you put a police officer into a situation, our experience and training leads us towards arrest or other excercise of power, we make an immediate resolution, but may not address the long term underlying situations. PCSO's have not been trained in that way, they are trained to look at those underlying situations and to work with community members to make long term improvements. We need both skill sets, we need some members of our team to be able to take immediate action when required and others to get into the heart of the community to build long term improvements.

It is easy to knock the role, especially if you have not experienced their work first hand. When I go to comunity meetings, PCSO's and the Neighbourhood Beat Manager Police Officers who work with them, are widely acknowledged as making a real difference to communities.

Of course, they are not the whole story, Policing is a complex mix of people and skills, but they are an important part of our team and are often the visible face of Policing that local communities get to see and build relationships with.

Our PCSO's are Plymouth people, choosing to serve their communities. They deserve support for, and understanding of, their role.

Don't ya just love them!

Verbatim report from a colleague from friday night......... as ever almost all of our young people are a credit to the city, their schools and families. A small but significant number cause my officers to be spending significant time dealing with them....

Message sent Saturday morning 1.27am..

"I have dealt with a young sixteen year old female tonight, who I arrested for public order ofences. She was verbally abusing one of my PCSO team. She was in the young mans face screaming and spitting out words,

"You f.king pig, f.king piglet"

I arrived, she got physically abusive and she was dynamically taken to the ground cuffed and taken into custody. She informed  me while in custody that she had drunk half a bottle of vodka, although she did not smell of liquor. She will be charged late this morning and bailed to the next available court.

I have also dealt with about 10 youths happily drinking and scribbling with marker pens on the tiles outside the front of British Home Stores in the City centre,

I confiscated their drink, gave them a bucket of water and a scrubbing brush, which I had sent down from Charles Cross and made them clear the entire area of tiles.... the clever loves wrote their own manes on the tiles so it was not very hard to work out the culprits. The incident was caught on headcam and CCTV footage. A little on the spot restorative justice........

From my side if the city it has been another productive shift with the message getting out there, slowly but surely."

One anecdote from many acroos the city this weekend !

Plymouth police, making a difference, working with all those who are up for bringing down crime and the fear of crime.

Have a good week ahead

More about J9

I have written below about the J9 scheme that supports victims of domestic violence reporting what is happening to them. My colleague Jane Taylor devised this scheme with Janine Mundy's mother Janet Barrett. They met when Janet agreed to make a training film for the police, talking about the impact of murder to the families left behind. This scheme is now thriving in Cornwall and across other parts of Devon and Cornwall. DCI Taylor is planning to bring the scheme to Plymouth next.

The article below is from the "West Briton" from the 10th of January. I have put in the link to the original below. Janet wrote a very moving poem about Janine that she read out when we all met in Cambourne last year to launch the scheme. I will post an audio copy of the poem on this site shortly.

The West Briton "Comment" 10.1.08

In a county full of unsung heroes permit us to suggest a further one - Detective Chief Inspector Jane Taylor.Imagine the psychological trauma two young Camborne brothers went through when their mother was killed by her estranged - and now imprisoned - husband. If that wasn't bad enough, the two boys, now aged 13 and 15, were separated, one moving to France, the other remaining in Cornwall. They have now been granted money from the Child Victims of Crime charity to enable them to see more of each other. This is down to the work of DCI Taylor, who secured the special grant. She also joined forces with the murdered woman's family to set up a campaign - called J9 - as a sort of domestic abuse early warning network in Camborne and Redruth. DCI Taylor even put together a special video - which moved some of its viewers to tears - to launch the J9 campaign; the footage is now used by Devon and Cornwall police to tackle cases of domestic violence.

Therefore one person's efforts have helped many, many more people and for that DCI Taylor should be applauded. Which of us can say we would professionally go that extra, unpaid mile not for personal gain or recognition but merely because we want to help? DCI Taylor's actions should also nail the false perception promoted by much of the media, television especially, that police officers are unfeeling, uncaring and interested only in securing a conviction, no matter what it takes.

http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=144143&command=displayContent&sourceNode=144131&contentPK=19493713&moduleName=InternalSearch&formname=sidebarsearch

Join The Team

We have recently run a trial for volunteers to work with us. We are now on the lookout for volunteer drivers to be a part of our Police Volunteer Programme.

Various roles are being piloted across the Force, we are trying out the use of volunteers for driving police officers in and around the city to community meetings and between our various buildings and partner agencies. We are actively seeking volunteers to take on this kind of role in order to free up police officer time and to ensure more officers are available on the streets.

We are looking for about 20 Volunteer Drivers to work with us Monday – Friday, 8.00am to 6.00pm for shifts between 2 and 4 hours. 

Induction's will include a Driving Assessment, a tour of the locations of Police Premises in the Plymouth area and training to ensure each volunteer knows what to do in the event of vehicle breakdown or accident.

Police volunteers are not replacing any roles within the force but add value by providing a more accessible service, helping to widen the police "family" and utilising the skills, knowledge, experiences and expertise of Plymouth residents. Police volunteers will not wear a uniform and will not be issued with police powers. Volunteers must be over the age of 16 ordinarily, but as this role requires driving, all volunteers must be over the age of 17, they will need a full driving licence and must pass the strict vetting clearance.

A Police Volunteer is defined as: "An individual who, by choice, puts their time, experience, knowledge and skills at the disposal of the Force without expectation of compensation or financial reward, except for the payment of pre- determined out of pocket expenses". Our 1st did great work with us and has now gone back to full time employment. He enjoyed the experience and provided a valuable service. By using a volunteer we didn't tie up operational police officers or their vehicles.

If you are interested in becoming a Police Volunteer Driver, please contact Bex Hooper, the Force Police Volunteer Programme Co-ordinator on:
Telephone: 01392 452 051; or
Mobile: 07894 482 511; or
Fax: 01392 452 447; or
E-mail: rebekah.hooper@devonandcornwall.pnn.police.uk

 

end#

Seeing policing from the inside

This is a first for me, using both email and a blog to carry on a conversation!

I have just seen John Hoblyn's letter in the Herald on line correspondance section. As ever John's correspondance is always worth reading. I invited John in because his letters are widely read in the community and by my team. I entirely support a lively debate about policing issues, it prevents inertia and entrenched views. By inviting John in we can focus the debate. Instead of having broad discussions about policing in general, John (and others) can see what wedo that looks right and can see what appears wrong.

We are running a scheme called "Insight Patrol" which is bringing people out on patrol with us. Currently this is for a small number of partner agencies and individuals. This is giving people an insight into our work and giving us the benefit of their feedback.

Getting back to John Hoblyn's experience; all those that met him were keen to show him the good and bad points of our work, I have had feed back that they enjoyed the conversations. It was particularly good that "J Hoblyn & PC Clark of Plympton" could meet in person, rather than through the letter pages of the Herald (a future photo opportunity!).

John is right, we share more common views than we have disagreements. I share some of John's frustrations, a major difference though is that I am accountable for making it better; the Police have to take all these "challenges" wether we own the issue or not and do something about them.

The good thing is; since we will never get everything right all the time, there will be no excuse for John to hang up his pen!

Partners in making Plymouth safer

As I have said elsewhere in this blog, keeping Plymouth safe is a task that involves thousands of people. The police play a really important part in this, but there are many groups, bodies, organisations and individuals who play a full part in various ways. I was thinking about this today when I was checking through my calender. These are some of the bodies that I met last week, all committed to working to keep Plymouth safe and strong. I have put their website addresses below in case you want to check out what they do. Of course there are loads more working on their own and together, but this is those I met with. They are a powerful force for good.

Ministry of Defence Police, Devonport

http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/content/articles/2006/09/14/mod_police_dogs_feature.shtml

Plymouth City Council

www.plymouth.gov.uk/

Plymouth Herald

http://www.thisisplymouth.co.uk/

Police Head Camera project

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/devon/4489960.stm

Government Office South West

http://www.gos.gov.uk/gosw/

Plymouth CCTV

http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/bidcctv

Cruse Bereavement Care (A colleague went for me)

http://www.crusebereavementcare.org.uk/

Office of the Coroners

http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/coronersfaq

Health & Safety

http://www.hse.gov.uk/

Superintendents Association

http://www.policesupers.com/

Young Runaways Project

http://www.thisisplymouth.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=182333&command=displayContent&sourceNode=182319&contentPK=19411188&folderPk=80200&pNodeId=182320

BBC TV Inside Out

http://www.bbc.co.uk/insideout/

Police Volunteer Programme

http://www.thisisplymouth.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=133464&command=displayContent&sourceNode=133158&contentPK=19599268&folderPk=78031&pNodeId=133174

Police Liaison Group

http://www.intercomtrust.org.uk/safety/plg/index.htm

Short Headcam Film

We are pleased with our ability to gather evidence using head mounted cameras. Here is a short film that was put together last year, I hope you enjoy it!

J9 Campaign

Domestic Violence is a scourge of society, bringing fear right into the hearts of peoples lives. I was involved in the tragedy of the murder of Janine Mundy in Cornwall in 2003. Her family have generously worked with the police since then to help prevent others facing the terrible events they have been through. The J9 scheme was created in memory of Janine (J9) and is based around simple training for those businesses where victims of domestic violence may begin to disclose what is happening to them. In Cornwall and Totnes where this is already running staff in hairdressers, chemists, doctors surgeries and others have been trained. They then display a discreete J9 symbol in their premises to let victims know. We will be launching this scheme soom in Plymouth.

 

The link below leads through to  an article about it. You may need to enlarge it to read it.

 

http://www.devon-cornwall.police.uk/v3/news/arch_bill/2007/june/june07/bill15_10_11.pdf

Police Families

The comment below was posted as a reply to an earlier blog on the 8th of Jan. I am really glad that the wife of one of the team has taken the time to have a read: 

"As a member of the public and a wife of a member of your police force, I would just like to say what a brilliant job they do. They have to attend incidents which could put their lives in danger and it is a thankless job. I am very proud of my husband for the thankless jobs that he has done and will keep doing."

Not many people know the level of commitment that is being shown by people in the police. Police wives, husbands, partners and families do. If any harm befalls officers everyone states how heroic and dedicated they were,  we have the priviledge of knowing it and seeing it on a daily basis. Thank you for the support you give to the force, through the support you give to your loved one. You can be assured that through their work they are making a real difference.

 

Anti Social Behaviour

in other words, yobs spoiling people's enjoyment of their homes. This is not acceptable. We will be policing this hard.
I have said it before in this blog; I do not want to criminalise young people, but let me be clear, when they put themselves into criminal situations, they will be dealt with.
We are going to protect people from being from being in fear in their homes.

Wednesday in Plymouth

Policing in Plymouth is a team business, not only the team that work directly for the police, but also the wider partnership that keep the City safe. Being "unitary" makes life a lot easier. Most of the agencies and groups are focussed in the same boundaries. This means we can quickly make plans together and make things happen. In the last two days I have had the pleasure of working or discussing with, the fire brigade, the council, the CCTV control centre, local government and many others, all who are committed to bringing down crime and the fear of crime in the city.

I have worked in many different policing situations across the country and abroad, but I haven't before been in an environment where such a large proportion of those you work with are "up for it". There is more to do, but "the team" is ready.

Today, we have been dealing with prisoners for aggravated burglary and huge quantities of drugs, amonst the many other investigations that run every day.  

Chief constable's first year

Our Chief Constable, Stephen Otter, marks the anniversary of his first year in the force today. It has been a dramatic year for us all, across the force and in Plymouth. We are building a sense of confidence in the force and pushing ourselves to deliver more and better for our communities.
Across Devon & Cornwall we have seen a decrease in the crime rate and increases in satisfaction rates, public confidence and crime detection. From January to December 2007, the annual number of crimes recorded in Devon and Cornwall fell from over 74,000 to less than 69,000. Over the same time period, the crime detection rate has risen from less than 25.5% to more than 27.5% and victims of crime who are 'satisfied' by the level of service offered by the Force has risen from 78.2% to 83.5%.
While doing this, as part of the Chief Constable's commitment to "to provide a better performing police service at a lower cost" we are set to meet our annual savings target of £5.1 million by the end of the 2007/08 financial year.
In Plymouth we have concentrated on Neighbourhood Policing. For example, the introduction of a network of local community meetings, under the banner of 'Partners and Communities Together (PACT). These have improved our links with our communities and have helped to improve the quality of life for many residents.
Public confidence in the police is improving. According to the British Crime Survey in December 2006, 52.9% of people surveyed in Devon and Cornwall were 'satisfied' with their local police service. By June 2007 (the latest available figures), the satisfaction rate had risen to 55.6%. There is always more to do, but we are determined to be increasingly responsive to local needs.
During 2007 Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) reviewed us and reported which showed that the Force was making very positive improvements. In September 2007, the Force was awarded the national Charter Mark award for excellent customer service by demonstrating best practice in 13 areas across six criteria.
During Mr Otter's first year the force also dealt with:
* January saw the grounding the grounding of the MSC Napoli off the
coast of Branscombe.
* In August, the fire at Penhallow Hotel in Newquay which tragically
claimed the life of three people.
* In November, a major operation took place to rescue and protect
victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation. At least eight people were arrested and 12 women were identified as working within these premises. Approximately £12,000 in cash was also seized.
* A dedicated 'Force day of action' took place on November 3 which saw
hundreds of police personnel take to the streets in a campaign to reduce crime and the fear of crime through a mixture of education and enforcement.
* The potential for large scale public disorder was averted in the
run-up and aftermath of the local football derby between Plymouth Argyle and Bristol City in early December with the largest deployment of personnel on operation in Devon and Cornwall for over 10 years.
* Most sadly, in Plymouth last week, we responded to the explosion in
Southway and the tragic death of Stephanie Hammacott.

Mr Otter has spoken to the press today. He said: "I am very pleased by the performance of this Force since my arrival 12 months ago. The results are a testament to the hard work and dedication shown by all staff at the Constabulary. Without the commitment shown by the officers and staff, we would be unable to achieve the reduction in the crime rate and the increase both public satisfaction and crime detection rates. Engaging with local communities is especially important in the Force's delivery of Neighbourhood Policing. Only through listening to people's concerns and liaising with other frontline professionals can we achieve workable solutions to tackle local issues. Although significant improvements have been made to our police service, it is vital that we do not get complacent. That is why my vision for the next year is to create a unified and dedicated police force that places public service at the heart of everything that it does.
I am committed to releasing more officers back to the frontline this year, so that we can keep building on the successes that we have achieved thus far."
Plymouth's Perspective
During the time of the new Chief Constable's leadership of the force, there have been considerable changes in Plymouth. In the twelve months from January 2007 to December 2007 the annual number of crimes recorded in Plymouth fell by over 8%. Particularly positive results have been a continuing decrease in domestic burglary and vehicle crime, and significant reductions in crimes of criminal damage and violence. Over the same time period the overall crime detection rate rose from 23.5% to 25.3%.

News Feed

If you want to see a direct feed of some of the incidents that are occurring in Plymouth and around Devon and Cornwall, you can go direct via this link

http://www.devon-cornwall.police.uk/v3/news/latest/index.cfm

Stephanie

I have been away during this week but have kept in touch with the policing of Plymouth daily. I was shocked to hear the tragic events of Tuesday morning as we all learnt what had happened. I know Stephanie’s death has deeply touched many in the city and all of those who have had any part in the management and investigation of what took place. This tragedy has been felt by the whole community and has touched many people across the country.

I will be making contact with my own staff through internal Police systems, but I would like to publicly thank all of them that were involved in this incident for the sensitive and professional way in which they worked.

The investigations that are now in place will discover what caused this tragic situation, but nothing can make right what has happened. I share the thoughts of so many of the comments on the Herald website. I join my colleagues from the force and partners in other agencies across the City in offering my deep sympathy and condolences to Stephanie’s family and friends.

Anti Social Behaviour

Anti Social Behaviour

We all need to live together. Young people need things to do. The Police do not want to "criminalise" our youth. The vast majority of our young people are a credit to themselves and their families. All that being said, there are some bottom lines, in particular young people need to know that large groups, on the street, causing criminal damage, drinking in public, using abusive language will not be tolerated. Behaviour of this nature causes fear to people and damages their quality of life. Young people may not realise the impact of such behaviour. Noise that sounds ok while out in the street can reverberate inside houses either side, damage to cars can cause seconds to cause, but cost hundreds of pounds to fix. More than the financial cost, the sense of frustration, fear and upset this causes to residents really damages communities.

Not only does Anti Social Behaviour cause harm to communities, it put those who cause it at risk. Young people causing a disturbance today will be seeking employment in the future, even minor convictions acquired now can affect all kinds of opportunities in the future.

Police can and do make a difference to ASB and to the peace that communities deserve. However the difference our response teams make is, predominantly, short term. We do our best long term work when we are in tight partnerships with other agencies and local communities. This is the basis of our Neighbourhood Policing Approach. Parents and families have a vital role. Young people are our future, in the end almost all grow away from disorder, but some damage themselves and their potential along the way.

We are committed to bringing down crime and the fear of crime. Anti Social Behaviour causes a real fear of crime and must be dealt with.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to all. I am grateful to the Herald for hosting this blog for me.

There is immense interest in policing across the country as there is in Plymouth. We have a very committed team of oficers, Special Constabulary, Police Staff, PCSO's, commercial partners and volunteers policing Plymouth. We work in close partnership with a wide range of groups across the City, all committed to bringing down crime and the fear of crime.

I will use this blog to raise areas of interest to members of the public and keep you abreast of some of the developments in Policing the City.

Given that today is the 2nd of January, I will start with some brief comments about New Years Eve. You may have seen the Herald's front page today talking about the numbers of people that were arrested. All our cells at Charles Cross were full and we opened (and filled) the custody centre at Crownhill.

Superintendent Andy Bickley is in charge of our Operational Policing and worked throughout New Years Eve. He has sent the message below out to our staff today:

"I had the pleasure of working operational shifts in the BCU over the festive period, including new years eve. I wish to share with all our staff , in all roles, who were on duty during this time the following message:

The volume, frequency and breath of demands on the BCU was at times striking, particualrly so from my personal experience between 0030-0700 on new years day. I could not fail to be impressed by your response to these demands. I witnesssed first hand your commitment,endeavour, professionalism and flexibility to adjust and re-adjust to changing situations all done with spirit and good humour.

Supervisory staff played a blinder. A real tangible sense of command and control of the airwaves; scene management; risk assessments and crucially much thought for the wellbeing of colleagues.To see so many working and leading in this way was a credit to you individually and collectively.

There will be other work to identify the lessons to be learnt and I am keen to ensure we do this. For now, I wanted to recognise and acknowledge the value of you, your work and what you do to make a difference. I look forward to policing Plymouth with you in 2008 and will do so with vigour and undiluted enthusiasm! My thanks to a top team."

Andy's comments reflect the feelings of all the Senior Management Team of Plymouth Police about the work of our staff. We are fully supported by a range of HQ specialist staff based in Plymouth. These include our custody teams, communications room staff and major investigation team detectives, all of whom have been very busy with us over the Christmas and New Year Period.

For your interest I have attached an image of the 2007 Herald front pages that relate to Policing matters, to give you a flavour of some of our work last year (click for a larger image).

Happy 2008

Jim Webster
Chief Superintendent
Plymouth Police

Performance data

On the 31st of December one of your correspondants asked about our performance data. We are measured in many ways over many different criteria, I have put a brief summary of some of the key ones here. If there are any questions about what they mean I will happily explain in more detail. Please excuse some of the jargon, there is a brief explanatory note at the bottom of the table setting out what the acronyms mean.

Of course everyone (me included) talks about "Lies, Dam Lies & statistics" but even if statistics can't tell the whole story, they can show improving or declining trends and they are useful for doing comparisons with other similar policing areas. (click for larger image)