Strategies
This strategic plan will be the superior planning document from which subordinate annual planning processes including Corporate, District and action planning will spring. These annual plans will reflect steps taken each year to carry out the strategies which will reposition the Police over the next five years to enable the goals to be reached.
A series of 22 strategies have been identified to enable Police to achieve these goals.
A) Externally Directed Strategies
These strategies relate to the way in which Police exert an influence on the external environment so that this environment becomes more favourable to the achievement of goals.
- Change public attitudes towards crime.
- This involves a communication programme aimed at raising the level of public intolerance towards criminal and anti-social behaviour.
- Improve public responsiveness through education programmes.
- This is aimed at increasing the availability of education programmes which assist people to become more aware of crime related issues and what they as individuals can do to help.
- Encourage other agencies to co-operate with Police.
- This requires Police to continue a leadership role in encouraging other organisations at national and local levels to develop programmes which contribute to the achievement of the strategic goals.
- Obtain legislation changes which improve Police effectiveness.
- This seeks changes in legislation and criminal justice procedures which currently impede Police in their fight against crime. The measure of effectiveness for this strategy is the achievement of crime reduction or prevention, not an increase in arrests.
- Successfully compete for resources.
- This requires Police to ensure it has adequate access to the resources it needs to carry out its tasks.
- Re-emphasise public initiatives in crime prevention.
- This seeks to increase the community role in crime prevention, for example in rejuvenating neighbourhood support and building upon initiatives identified by the Crime Prevention Action Group.
- Maintain high Police profile and accessibility to communities.
- This recognises the need for accessibility and community involvement at all levels in the organisation.
- Increase Police responsiveness to community needs.
- This encourages a commitment to customer service throughout the organisation with a responsive and helpful attitude towards the needs of individuals.
- Emphasise the problem solving approach to policing.
- This requires continued proactive identification of the underlying causes of problems and the development of innovative ways of tackling these situations.
- Improve access to quality crime information.
- This seeks to increase the effectiveness of investigation through improved management of intelligence data.
- Apply targeted enforcement for specific objectives.
- This requires targeted enforcement programmes addressing specific problem areas to drive home the message.
- Reinforce specialist investigations capability.
- This reinforces the role of centralised Criminal Investigation Branch operations in certain areas of national significance while emphasising support for local and community orientated activity.
- Improve road safety services.
- This incorporates into Police planning and operational processes the Road Safety Strategies developed by the Traffic Safety Service.
C) Internally Directed Strategies
These strategies relate to the way in which organisational improvement increases the effectiveness with which all tasks are carried out and so enhances the prospects of Police, as an organisation, achieving its goals.
- Align organisational structure with strategy and accountabilities.
- This involves ensuring there is sufficient clarity in roles, and appropriate accountabilities, particularly between operational and support functions.
- Empowering individuals.
- This seeks to devolve authority to individuals and encourage innovation and creativity within clear performance guide-lines.
- Establish clearly communicated performance targets.
- This establishes agreed realistic and measurable performance targets for groups and individuals.
- Upgrade management information.
- This provides for prompt and accurate reporting of results, costs and achievement of performance standards.
- Match recruitment and training programmes to goals and strategies.
- This requires recruitment and training to recognise the need for skills in problem solving policing and management.
- Rationalise remuneration structures and personnel policies and procedures.
- This requires a review of current procedures and improvements where necessary while paying attention to the welfare of staff, job satisfaction and reward for performance.
- Improve resource allocation.
- This addresses the need for efficiency in resource use, the identification of cost reduction opportunities, and flexibility in deployment of resources.
- Improve use of technology.
- This requires the identification and use of appropriate technologies which can improve Police efficiency and effectiveness.
- Establish research capability.
- This establishes an in-house research capability in order to better identify and understand the underlying conditions for criminal behaviour.
