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| Press Releases |
| West Yorkshire Policing Plan Announced |
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Friday, 19 March, 2010
A plan for policing in West Yorkshire for the next three years has been announced today.
West Yorkshire Police Authority along with the West Yorkshire Police has today agreed a plan which sets out the strategic aims and ambitions to provide policing services to the communities and businesses in the County between 2010 and 2013.
The plan is a joint annual commitment between the Authority and the Force detailing activities which will achieve the aims set, the resources available and the key performance indicators which will measure progress.
In West Yorkshire over the last three years we have seen:
• Overall crime is down by more than 6%
• Violent crime is down by almost 28%
• Confidence in local police up by almost 11%
• Victim satisfaction has remained constant.
The plan focuses on building on the successes of the last three years, but also around doing even more to address concerns raised by local communities such as anti-social behaviour and tackling issues such as burglary and sexual offences.
Chair of the West Yorkshire Police Authority, Cllr Mark Burns Williamson said: “The Police Authority recognises the challenges of the current economic climate and has set a budget for 2010/11 which keeps the costs of policing to a minimum for tax payers, but also ensures that the Chief Constable and Force have the resources to deliver efficient and effective policing across the wide range of services that are demanded by the public.
“To ensure that costs remain low, over the next year the Authority and
Chief Constable will aim to make savings of around £10 million. This will be achieved through workforce development, reductions in the Force’s running costs, and reducing the capital buildings costs to name but a few.
We are already looking at where savings and efficiencies can be made in future years, which we know will be more difficult to achieve.
“While an increase in cash from the Home Office has been received compared with last year's budget, it is still essential that, wherever possible, efficiency savings are made to ensure that residents are seeing value for money from their police force. Despite what has been reported recently in some quarters, recruitment of officers to West Yorkshire Police will continue, albeit at a reduced level compared to previous years.
“By building on successes in recent years and taking a realistic approach to the challenges ahead this Policing Plan will provide direction and focus in shaping and driving the work of the Authority and Force in what will be one of the most difficult public spending periods for many years. However, the Authority is determined to hold the Chief Constable to account for the delivery of the Policing Plan which has been jointly agreed.”
Chief Constable, Norman Bettison, in the foreword to the plan, highlights the breadth of the task facing the Force. “Protecting the public against serious risk and harm is obviously a key priority in the Plan. The Force works very hard, and in partnership with other agencies, to safeguard vulnerable people from dangerous offenders. You will find in our Plan, our ongoing commitment to offences such as sexual offences and child abuse; domestic violence; and other serious crime. Our approach in tackling serious and organised crime is often unseen by communities but we have a track record of preventing harm and bringing to justice those who are a danger to the community.
“Just as organised criminals and violent offenders can impact upon public confidence and reassurance, so too does the drip – drip of anti-social behaviour and nuisance that affects whole communities. The Force was restructured in 2008 to bring policing closer to local communities through the Neighbourhood Policing teams who tackle local priorities in conjunction with the communities themselves and other partners. We have invested a significant proportion of our staff – approximately 1,800 officers, into these local Neighbourhood Teams addressing local concerns.
“This approach is leading to an improvement in the level of public confidence in the Police. In the last year we have seen the number of people, in 2009/10, who consider the Police to be doing a good or excellent job to have increased by 11.5%. The number who feel that the Police are doing a poor job has reduced by 5.7%. Taking these statistics together, a quarter of a million people in West Yorkshire have changed their opinion of West Yorkshire Police to a more positive view.
“This is the main focus of our Policing Plan for the next three years – to concentrate on improving public confidence; community reassurance and user satisfaction; to set targets for those things that impact most on public confidence such as anti-social behaviour and volume crime such as burglary; and, at the same time, to concentrate on serious risk and harm so that the Force keeps the public of West Yorkshire safe. These themes will all be found in this Plan. Targets have been set by the Police Authority that are stretching and challenging but I have confidence in my Police Force that we will deliver. I am proud of the contribution that Officers and Staff make day in day out”.
The Policing Plan for 2010 to 2013 can be found by clicking on this link |
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