EPA/05/10 - Essex Police

Meeting: Performance Committee
Date: 18 January 2010
AGENDA ITEM ........4.....................
EPA/05/10
ADOPTION OF NATIONAL CALL HANDLING STANDARD
Report by: Chief Constable
Contact name: ACC (OS) Harrison
1.0 Purpose of Report
To outline to the Committee the proposal for Essex Police to align with
the National Call Handling Standards and the standards set out in the
National Policing Pledge by making adjustments to the Essex Police
Pledge.
2.0 Recommendations
1 To fully adopt the National Call Handling Standards relating to the
definition of ‘emergency’ response incidents.
2 To approve a change to the target response time set out in the Essex
Police Pledge in respect of ‘emergency’ incidents in urban areas from
10 minutes to 15 minutes to comply with National Call Handling
Standards and the National Policing Pledge.
3 To reduce the emergency response force performance target from 93% to
90% consistent with National Call Handling Standards.
Chief Constable
Jim Barker-McCardle
Essex Police
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3.0 Introduction
Current Essex Police Policy for responding to incidents was written in 2006 and
needs to be amended to ensure the Force complies with National Call Handling
Standards (NCHS) and the standards set out in the National Policing Pledge in
respect of:
• Categorisation of ‘emergency’ and ‘priority’ calls,
• Response time targets for ‘emergency’ and ‘priority’ calls.
The impact of the above will be :
• An enhanced service to the general public, as there will be an increase in the
number of ‘emergency’ calls due to the wider definition within the NCHS,
• A reduction in any perceived pressure to meet response times as Officers will
have slightly longer to get to locations safely,
• More meaningful comparisons of data relating to call handling and response
times with other forces,
• Changes to the Essex Police Pledge to comply with the National Police Pledge
to respond to emergency urban incidents within 15 minutes instead of the
previous target of 10 minutes,
• It will support the Force in delivering the Policing Pledge.
It is proposed that on the revisions being adopted the Force policy will be amended
and the changes also reflected in the 2010-11 Force Objectives. See Appendix A
for an extract from the National Contact Management Strategy covering response
grades.
4.0 Current Position
In January 2008, the government launched the National Policing Pledge across all
Police Forces. Pledge point 5 (which deals with emergency calls from the public)
requires police officers to attend 90 % of emergency incidents within 15 minutes for
an urban location, and within 20 minutes for a rural location. When the National
Policing Pledge was adopted in Essex the response time of 10 minutes for
‘emergency’ response incidents was maintained instead of adopting a 15 minute
target as set out in the National Policing Pledge.
At present, Essex Police deals with 15 to 25 emergency incidents per day. Under
the wider definition it is anticipated that this number will increase to 130-150
incidents per day. An example of an incident that would be captured within the new
definition would be a minor crime in progress, such as low level criminal damage,
which is currently classified as a ‘priority’ incident. In this respect the public will
receive a more responsive service.
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The table below shows Essex Police targets against regional 1 compliance with the
NCHS and the National Policing Pledge. For clarity it is proposed that Essex moves
to the regional targets shown below.
Category Regional
Time
(minutes)
Regional
Targets
Essex
Time
(minutes)
Essex
Target
Emergency Urban 15 90% 10 93%
Emergency Rural 20 90% 20 93%
Priority Urban 60 90% 20 90%
Priority Rural
30 90%
The table below illustrates current regional comparisons, highlighting Essex having
an average of 1.3% of its total incidents graded as emergency compared to the
regional average of 8.3%.
70000
60000
50000
40000
30000
20000
10000
0
1.3% 6.7% 9.8%
13.7
%
6.6%
11.8
%
Essex Suffolk Herts Norfolk Kent Cambs
Emergency Incidents
All Incidents
Accepting the increase in ‘emergency’ graded incidents and taking into account the
slight reduction in response target time from 10 minutes to 15 minutes, on
numerical analysis only it is predicted that the Force would meet the response times
for urban and emergency incidents 75-80% of the time. Although this is lower than
current performance levels (90.7% against a target of 93%), it would be comparable
to other Most Similar Forces such as Kent whose performance is currently 79%
against a target of 90%.
1
Only Essex and Norfolk currently employ the same targets for both emergency and priority responses.
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Performance will be dependent on the number of officers available to be deployed
to the increased number of ‘emergency’ incidents envisaged. If the number of
officers was to increase then performance would tend to improve, similarly if it was
reduced then performance may reduce. Furthermore, officers deployed to
‘emergency’ incidents post any change, may be more inclined to make use of the
blue lights and two tones to make progress. Similarly partners such as Highways
Agency Traffic Officers (HATOs) who jointly respond to incidents on motorways and
major road networks are included in the response time data, with their arrival times
being recorded as an alternative to that of the Police if they arrive first.
Although in many ways the public will receive a better service, the perception of
police officers having more time to attend and a slightly lower performance target
will need to be carefully communicated. This is to a degree offset by the significant
and predictable rise in the number of ‘emergency’ incidents, which should be
welcomed as they would previously have attracted a slower response. To this end,
the appropriate context will be provided to the public to help them understand the
changes and benefits that are to be expected, this will be managed through the
Pledge communications plan. Together these improvements will provide greater
compliance to the National Policing Pledge.
It is not anticipated that there should be any changes to the manner in which
performance is monitored and managed. Monitoring will be enhanced by the ability
to make more meaningful comparisons across force groups, and share best
practice.
5.0 Proposals
That Essex Police Authority support the amendment to the Essex Police Pledge to
increase the response time for emergency urban incidents from 10 to 15 minutes by
adopting the National Call Handling Standards and definitions as described within
the recommendations. These changes will be implemented on the 1 st April 2010
and will ensure the Essex Police Pledge reflects the National Policing Pledge.
6.0 Summary
Nationally, the vast majority of forces currently support the National Call Handling
Standard, as underpinned by the National Policing Pledge. Although Essex Police
has had higher targets and standards than many other forces, this did not comply
with the NCHS or the National Policing Pledge and HMIC commented on this
recently. In aligning with the NCHS and National Policing Pledge, Essex Police
would fully comply with national expectation and this would make comparisons of
performance with other forces simpler and more meaningful.
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Appendix A
Extract from the National Contact Management Strategy
The original National Call Grades (2005) were supported by definitions. The
national guidance provides specific definitions around emergency and nonemergency
contact and an understanding of how the Pledge promise can be used
as a set of standards for service that the public can use as a measurement of what
they can expect. Many forces will underpin the national contact grades with a local
approach, for example, their own definitions and narrative, which will have been
designed in conjunction with partners and local communities.
Chief Constable Julie Spence, ACPO Lead for Citizen Focus (2009) stated that:
“The Pledge has at its core the delivery of good service. However good service
cannot be measured by numbers alone and care should be taken to ensure that a
mechanistic service is not the unintended consequence of a restrictive performance
regime. I am aware that some seek specific definitions on all aspects of the Pledge
so that performance against it can be clinically assessed. I urge you to resist the
temptation to approach the Pledge in this way as the provision of poor service
would undoubtedly be the consequence”.
The following grades have been agreed by (will form part of consultation at ACPO
Cabinet). They are not designed to inhibit or restrict force’s local and individual
definitions or responses; they set out a minimum expected response.
National Contact Graded Responses - Critical Success Factors/Guidance:
• Using the contact grades as a framework to prioritise and standardise the
response to calls for service,
• Ensuring that contact handlers understand the importance of using the national
contact grades to prioritise and deliver local needs and expectations.
Emergency/Immediate Contact
An emergency/immediate contact encompasses circumstances where an
incident is reported to the police which is taking place and in which there is or is
likely to be a risk of:
• Danger to life,
• Use, or immediate threat of use of violence,
• Serious injury to a person and/or
• Serious damage to property.
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Where the contact relates to an allegation of criminal conduct, it will be dealt
with as an emergency if:
• The crime is, or is likely to be serious, and in progress,
• An offender has been disturbed at the scene,
• An offender has been detained and poses, or is likely to pose a risk to other
people.
Where the contact relates to a traffic collision, it will be dealt with as an
emergency if:
• It involves or is likely to involve serious personal injury,
• The road is blocked or there is a dangerous or excessive build-up of traffic,
• Where the above circumstances do not apply, a contact will be classified as an
emergency if:
o The circumstances are such that a police contact handler has strong and
objective reasons for believing that the incident should be classified as an
emergency.
An emergency contact will require immediate response in line with
Force deployment priorities.
Emergency/Immediate Response
Where an emergency contact requires an emergency/immediate police
Response, the caller should expect the following as standard:
• The contact handler to give an estimated time of arrival, where appropriate,
getting to you safely, and as quickly as possible,
• In Urban areas, we will aim to get to you within 15 minutes and in rural areas
within 20 minutes.
Non-Emergency Contact
A contact will be classified as non-emergency if it does not meet the emergency
criteria outlined above. The consequences of classifying a contact as a nonemergency
mean only that the police response may not be immediate, and may
encompass a range of solutions, some of which will not require the attendance of
an officer.
A non-emergency contact attracts three levels of initial response:
• Priority/prompt response,
• Scheduled appointment,
• Resolution without deployment.
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Priority/Prompt Response
A priority/prompt response will be required where the police contact handler
acknowledges that there is a degree of importance or urgency associated with
the initial police action, but where an emergency/immediate response is not
required. Where a non-emergency contact requires a priority/prompt police
response; the caller should expect:
• The contact handler to give an estimated time of arrival,
• If you are vulnerable or upset, we will be with you within 60 minutes,
• If you are calling about an issue that we have agreed with your community will
be a neighbourhood priority and attendance is required, we aim to be with you
within 60 minutes.
These typically arise in the circumstances where:
• There is a genuine concern for a person’s safety,
• An offender has been detained but poses no risk to others,
• A witness or other evidence is likely to be lost,
• A person involved is vulnerable or upset,
• Force/neighbourhood priorities require a priority response,
• Hate crime.
Scheduled Appointment
Any contact that does not require an ‘immediate’ or ‘priority’ response but still
requires police attendance, will result in a scheduled appointment response.
These circumstances typically arise where:
• The response time is not critical in apprehending offenders,
• The matter is service–orientated and a better quality of initial police action can
be dealt with by:
o A pre-arranged police response by a suitable police resource,
o Attendance at a police clinic or surgery at a time and location of the caller’s
choice.
Where a non-emergency contact requires an appointment to be scheduled, the
caller should expect the following standards:
• If appropriate, an appointment will be made at a time that fits in with the caller’s
life and within 48 hours of them making contact.
Resolution Without Deployment
Resolution without deployment occurs where the needs of the caller can be
adequately met through provision of advice, information, a helpdesk function or
signposting to another lead agency/service.
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This includes signposting to the Police National Legal Database Frequently Asked
Questions (PNLD FAQs) database www.askthe.police.uk .
A non-emergency contact that does not require police attendance will be dealt
with over the phone, the caller should expect the following standard:
• If it is agreed that attendance is not necessary we will give you advice, answer
your questions and/or put you in touch with someone who can help.
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