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David Prince examines the policing Green Paper, and says councillors should be at the heart of effective neighbourhood forums Force for change: Leading politicians have united to demand action to sharpen policing accountability (Pic: Mark Wohlwender) Big decisions face new police minister, Vernon Coaker, as he ponders responses to the policing Green Paper From the neighbourhood to the national: Policing our communities together. All three political party leaders are demanding action to sharpen policing accountability, yet councillors attending their party conferences were united against being replaced on police authorities by directly-elected crime and policing representatives (CPRs) to express local crime concerns. A seismic shift is needed at the neighbourhood level, with councillors taking a more visible and effective community role. The Green Paper is a real opportunity to increase the public's voice and influence, without losing the police authorities' strategic and non-politicised overview. The man or woman in the street isn't bothered about structures, party or politics. All they want are safe neighbourhoods, policed by officers they recognise, and the country safe from terrorist threats. Crime has fallen, yet fear of crime is rising and, as in other services, improvement through extra investment stays unnoticed. Despite some improvements, the police are lagging behind, compared with other services, in shifting an embedded culture of regulations. The Green Paper seeks views on the most effective means of encouraging customer service in the police. One way is a greater focus on developing and incentivising middle managers so they have the confidence and capability to convince frontline staff in the canteen and on the beat that customer care matters. The public are, properly, centre-stage in the proposed single national target – whether people think that the police and their partners are dealing with crime and anti-social behaviour issues which matter locally. But perceptions of confidence are easily driven by media frenzy and external noise. A better stimulus for improved satisfaction would come from measuring service experiences of victims, witnesses and accused, alongside a broader measure of neighbourhood satisfaction – perhaps within Comprehensive Area Assessments (CAA). Twelve national standards in a new ‘Policing pledge' cover response times and customer care. How far these will chime with public expectations, and how much local community input will be possible, remain to be seen. Particular care is needed on the promise to ‘meet with you, at least monthly, to agree priorities and update you about crime…' Getting that right in letter and spirit is critical to a successful shift to neighbourhood accountability. Most crime should be dealt with through a neighbourhood policing team. Its remit should reflect local circumstances. The neighbourhood is also the best forum to consult on priorities, share crime information, and provide doorstep accountability. What's currently missing is the bond of trust between local police, local residents and their elected representatives. There is, however, a better way of plugging this gap than separately electing CRP representatives. Councillors should be at the heart of effective neighbourhood forums. They are, after all, already directly and democratically elected, and are a natural bridge to other organisations. Stronger visible partnerships between local councillors and local officers will build residents' confidence that their concerns are not just heard, but acted on. Neighbourhood forums must be more than three people and a dog in a draughty hall. They need to be properly established, setting clear expectations for residents. Councillors have to be appropriately selected for the task, and regularly appraised in it, thereby ensuring they have the skills, commitment and support necessary to make the forum the bedrock of real neighbourhood accountability. For the police to improve policing, local government and its partners have to work closer together to improve neighbourhood working and lead strategic crime-preventative work. Leaders and executive councillors should personally become more visible in the strengthened crime and disorder partnerships (CRDPs), alongside other key players in local strategic partnerships. Police authorities should include some community crime-fighters to add frontline immediacy. They also need to become better at consulting on and setting strategic priorities, and at scrutinising policing effectiveness. External inspection will provide greater public assurance, which is necessary when policing accounts for 11% of council tax. Police authorities do, however, maintain that crucial local balance between councillor members, whose position flows from the ballot box, and independent members and magistrates who add local expertise. Their essential task is properly holding to account a service for local people which is neither politicised nor overly dominated by Whitehall. David Prince is former chief executive of the Standards Board for England

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ECONOMIC GROWTH

Community crime-fighting

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