In austerity police must prioritise calls and may not attend for all crimes

President of ACPO, Sir Hugh Orde, said:

“It must always be remembered that, in England and Wales, we have 43 operationally independent forces, whose chief constables are responsible for enacting Police and Crime Plans by elected Police and Crime Commissioners. They will naturally tailor their approach to the needs of the communities they serve.

“Successive sets of figures show that the police across the country are doing a good job in terms of reducing crime and anti-social behaviour and overall confidence in the service has remained steadily high, despite the impact of policing cuts. We are pleased that, in the body of their report, HMIC highlights many examples of good practice through the case studies included.

“While it may appear ideal for all forces to run their operations in a uniform manner, and while everyone hopes that the police service maintains high national standards, under the current 43-force model, variations of approach are natural and unsurprising. Nevertheless, we acknowledge that the report highlights some areas in which a standardised approach is desirable.

“We accept that the public has a natural expectation to have a positive and supportive experience of interacting with the police service when they have been a victim of crime. The reality of austerity in policing means that forces must ensure that their officers’ time is put to best use and this means prioritising calls. In some instances, this may mean that a report of a crime where the victim is not in imminent danger or the offender is not still in the immediate vicinity will be dealt with over the phone or by other means than the deployment of an officer to the scene. This is not an abdication of forces’ duty of care to victims.

“Nevertheless, we acknowledge HMIC’s observations on the service not understanding the complete level of attendance and, while we note their recommendations on changing forces’ processes to ensure information is logged on two systems, we need to be careful that forces do not duplicate effort. That said, we are pleased that the report acknowledges the work that forces are doing with the College of Policing to understand and reduce demand, especially through preventative measures.”

For More Information Please Contact

ACPO Press Office
Association of Chief Police Officers
e: press.office@acpo.pnn.police.uk