Chief Constable's Annual Report 2006-07 - Police Service of ...

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DELIVERING ON SAFETYCriminal JusticeDepartment is headedby Assistant ChiefConstable Drew HarrisCitizen and SafetyEducation (CASE)programme£4,000 recieved from investigations went to ChildLine. ACCDrew Harris; Policing Board Chairman Sir Desmond Rea and DCIAlister Wallace present the cheque to ChildLine’s Karen Walker.PUBLICPROTECTIONOfficers within Criminal Justice Departmenthave worked closely over the last yearwith staff from a broad range of Agenciesconnected to the Criminal Justice System.Initiatives have been developed to improveprotection of vulnerable groups and thewider community in general. A furtherpriority has been the focus on volume crimeand offender management resulting inthe implementation of new procedures toimprove detection and enhance public safety.The Education Adviser in Community SafetyBranch (CSB) arranged for staff from ChildExploitation and Online Protection (CEOP)to train over 60 schools liaison officers in theSchools Internet Safety package ‘Think UKnow’. The training was extremely successfuland has led to this programme now beingdelivered in schools across Northern Ireland aswell as to teachers and other external groups.Between January-March 2007, all thoseofficers delivering the CASE Programme inschools received accredited Child ProtectionTraining facilitated by staff from Children InNorthern Ireland (a regional organisation forthe Children’s sector in Northern Ireland).POLICECOMMUNITYSUPPORT OFFICERSThe Police Service and the Policing Board,and backed by the Northern Ireland Officeplans to recruit 400 Police CommunitySupport Officers (PCSOs). These areuniformed civilian staff who will work insupport of frontline police officers.The Chief Constable and the Policing Boardhave agreed that the primary role of a PCSOshould be that of patrolling local areas,engaging with all sections of the communityto solve problems and address issues thatreally matter to people living in the area. Theintroduction of PCSOs in Northern Irelandis an essential element to the commitmentof the Police Service to deliver policingwith the community. This exciting newinitiative is designed to reduce crime andenhance perceptions of safety within ourcommunities.Coleraine Inspector Andy Lemon on patrolwith Lancashire PCSO Dave Johnson whovisited the town.8chief constable’sAnnual report 2006>07Formation ofyouth IAG forumA pilot youth Independent Advisory Grouphas been established across four districts andwill address the views and needs of youngpeople with regard to policing for the periodFebruary 2007-March 2008. Groups havebeen established in the Fermanagh, Down,Moyle and Armagh areas with young peoplebetween the ages of 14-18 years participating.It was launched in Cookstown by DeputyChief Constable Paul Leighton along withDonna Treanor, from BBC Northern Irelandand ‘X-Factor’ television personality Chico.Hate IncidentPractical ActionPolice joined with partner agencies, theHousing Executive and the CommunitySafety Unit at the Northern Ireland Officein a scheme that provides security equipmentand advice to victims of hate crime wherethe incident occurs at or near their home.HUMAN RIGHTS:CENTRAL TOMODERN POLICINGThe Police Service performance in relation toHuman Rights is scrutinised by the HumanRights advisors to the Northern IrelandPolicing Board. Assistant Chief ConstableDrew Harris is the Human Rights Championfor the Service and is charged with promotinga human rights culture throughout theorganisation.In response to the Policing Board’s HumanRights 2006 Annual Report, which contained45 recommendations for improvement,Criminal Justice Department published aHuman Rights Programme of Action. Thislaid out how each recommendation in thePolicing Board’s report would be dealt with.It covered policing functions across theService and received the co-operation of alldepartments. It has led to developments ininitial and in-service training, crime operationsand dealing with minority communities.IndependentAdvisory GroupsThese groups are an important source ofadvice and guidance to less representedsections of the community. Police haverecently initiated an IAG for members ofthe lesiban, gay, bi-sexual and transgender(LGBT) communities. They organiseda drama and discussion event duringintercultural and anti-racism weekhighlighting the difficulties faced by membersof the Irish Travelling community in theirday-to-day lives. The event also enabled IrishTravellers and Travellers’ support organisationsto gain an insight into public service delivery.‘IMPACT’ OF THESOHAM MURDERSThe IMPACT Programme was establishedfollowing the Bichard inquiry into the Sohammurders to meet recommendations in SirMichael Bichard’s report concerning the needfor IT solutions to improve the managementand sharing of information and intelligence bythe police service at national and local levels.The enquiry into the murders of HollyWells and Jessica Chapman by Ian Huntleyhighlighted the need for better informationsharing at a national level. National problemsrequire national solutions, so as part of PoliceService’s ongoing commitment to communitysafety, it has now joined the national scheme.The IMPACT programme, which is the parentof the IMPACT Nominal Index (INI), radicallyimproves the ability to share information acrosspolice service boundaries. It enables an officerin one Service quickly to establish whether anyother Service holds information on a person ofinterest in any of their main operational systemsin the areas of crime, custody, intelligence,domestic violence, firearms and child protection.In 2006, the Police Service was involved in theback recording conversion of records held in theareas of domestic violence and custody. Workhas already commenced on the back recordingof custody records. The INI at present holdssome 52 million records nationally, 1.1 millionof which come from PSNI databases. Thisrepresents a major advance in the protectionof children and vulnerable adults, vetting,and in the investigation of serious crime.BailThe Police Service had for some time beenconcerned about the information availableregarding defendants released on bail bythe courts. A previous arrangement withNI Court Service whereby details of bailgranted and varied were faxed to policehad only limited success and a number offundamental difficulties were identified.Working in partnership with the NICourt Service, an electronic solution wasdeveloped resulting in the delivery of timelyand accurate exchange of bail informationon a daily basis. Police computer recordsnow hold comprehensive details of all bailgranted, varied and cancelled from theprevious days business at Magistrates’,Crown and High Courts.Guidancefor OfficersOne of the challenges facing the PoliceService – and particular front line officers– is the increasing volume of new legislationbeing introduced. This year saw the majorrevision of legislation governing policepowers to stop and search, powers ofentry, search and seizure, powers of arrest,detention and questioning and treatmentof persons by police. The information onthe changes was conveyed to every officerand member of police staff in an easilyunderstood format via email. Guidance wasposted on the staff intranet and suppliedto the Training Branch for more detaileddissemination.MANAGINGVOLUME CRIMEOfficers from Criminal Justice Departmentsit on a multi-agency working group onreducing delay in the criminal justice systemand improving quality of prosecution files.As a consequence of this work, a scheme hasbeen developed whereby first time offenderscan be referred to the Public ProsecutionService, a direction made and a Cautionor Informed Warning delivered with hoursof the admission.Volume Crime Management has beenpiloted in three sites all reporting thatit improved the quality of investigation(consequently prosecution) files alsoimproved and that the quality of crime datais more accurate and supervision and generalmanagement of volume crime has improved.
THE COST OF POLICINGofficers from the commencement of the scheme.The Department ofFinance and SupportServices is led byDirector David BestThe total available Main Police Grantrevenue funding for 2006/07 includingnon-cash was £749.4m. Total net cashrevenue expenditure for 2006/07including non-cash was £743.3m, resultingin a surplus of £6.1m (0.8%) of theavailable grant. Actual capital spendwas £35.6m against available funding of£36.1m, resulting in a surplus of £0.5m.The aim is to deliver measurable benefits. Thepie charts to the right detail how the moneywas spent for main police grant revenue andcapital. The surpluses of budget over spend,reflect the continued success of devolvedbudgeting and local empowerment of DCU’sand Headquarter departments.Police Pensions spend was £149.8m, includingInjury on Duty Awards of £13.7m. This isabated by employer and employee contributionsof £84.8m, resulting in a net position of £65.0magainst a cash grant of £66.8m and an underspend of £1.8m for 2006/07.Patten Voluntary Severance expenditurefor the period was £32.2m, which represents 316officers leaving the service, and a total of 2,757Patten Compulsory Severance (Full TimeReserve) spend was £23.8m, with 205 officersleaving during 2006/07. This represents a totalof 494 officers leaving under the scheme fromcommencement in 2005/06, and leaves 475 onoperational contracts as required by the termsof the scheme.Patten Non Severance spend was £21.3m for2006/07, against available funding of £22.8m. Thefunding was used to implement the programmeof change agenda primarily in the followingareas – external recruitment of police andcivilian staff and employment of staff under thecivilianisation strategy, releasing police officersback to frontline service delivery, improving theappearance of police stations; and implementingthe information technology strategy.During the year a project was undertaken tochange the format of financial reporting withinthe Police Service to a Resource Base, and awayfrom Cash Accounting.This new format of reporting is now availablefrom April 2007 and for subsequent accountingperiods.There has been a continued roll out of thee-government agenda, with the developmentof an automated invoice approval systembeing introduced within DCUs and someHeadquarter Departments. This delivers apaperless electronic solution that will improveefficiency in the payment processing areas, andshow improved payment times to suppliers.psni(MAIN GRANT)NET revenuespend06/07psni(MAIN GRANT)NET CAPITALspend06/07£m %Police pay 484 65Civilian pay 84.9 11Non-cash items 47.8 6Incidentals 42.4 5Accommodation 38.0 5Telecoms & I.T. 27.2 4Supplies/Catering 12.8 2Transport 11.6 2........................................................Gross total 748.7Less receipts (5.4)Net revenue spend 743.3 100£m %Accommodation 21.2 46Telecoms & I.T. 15.6 44Transport 3.6 9Supplies/Catering 0.3 1........................................................Gross total 40.7Capital receipts (5.1)Net revenue spend 35.6 100THE POLICE ESTATEThis was the second year of the Service’sEstate Strategy, which was approved by theNorthern Ireland Policing Board, and whichwas the subject of discussion with DistrictPolicing Partnerships.The Estate Strategy detailed workprogrammes requiring an investment over£200m spanning the period 2005–2011. Itrepresents a significant new build stationprogramme, substantial maintenance andrefurbishment works, normalisation andsoftening work programmes, combinedwith a review of under-utilised stations.Significant projects included the completionof a Combined Operational Trainingdevelopment at Magilligan and an enhancedPACE Custody/CID facility at Bangorstation. Construction of a new £14m DCUHeadquarters at Omagh commenced andwork on a new £21m DCU Headquarters atMusgrave Street is due to commence shortly.A custody upgrade project commenced at anumber of sites including Ardmore (Newry).Similar projects are planned for Lisburn,Ballymena and Waterside. Significantmaintenance upgrade projects continuedat Strand Road, in Londonderry; AntrimRoad,Belfast; Enniskillen and Lisnasharragh,in east Belfast with minor works projectsat Seapark, at Carrickfergus; Lislea Drive,Castlereagh and Garnerville, in Belfast andMahon Road, in Portadown.The normalisation process currently beingundertaken by the Ministry of Defencerequired a substantial number of workprojects to be completed at MahonRoad, Crossmaglen, Newtownhamilton,Newtownbutler, Irvinestown and Forkhill.The ‘softening’ of the estate, required to complywith Patten Recommendation 53, continued toprogramme at 45 facilities. This programme willcontinue during 2007/08.The development of the new Police Collegeproject continued to plan and an OutlineBusiness Case has been submitted to the NIOand is currently under consideration.THE CHANGING FACEOF TRANSPORTAs ‘normalisation’ progresses there has been achange in direction for vehicles moving fromarmoured to softskin, and the developmentof vehicles suited to single person patrolling.Approximately 650 ‘black box’ Incident DataRecorders have been fitted to police vehicles,which are used to record driving conditionsimmediately prior to an incident.A programme of fleet reduction andrationalisation is currently underway to ensurethat the optimum use is made of operationalvehicles, and also to concentrate vehiclepurchases on a reduced number of three coremanufacturers. Over the next three years thereis expected to be a minimum 10% drop inthe fleet size. The plan will be to ensure thatthis reduction is made while at the same timeensuring operational policing needs are met.PROCUREMENTAND LOGISTICSThe role of ‘Supplies’ has changed over thelast few years and has evolved to become‘Procurement and Logistic Services’. The aim isto provide high value-added services for Policingin Northern Ireland by creating and developingcentres of excellence for technical researchfor equipment and uniform, best practicein procurement and modern stores facilitiessupported by excellent business processes.Following the opening of the centralised facilityfor holding, tracking and administering allmurder archive files in 2005/06, March 2007saw the opening of its sister facility whichhouses all exhibits relating to serious crime. Thisis managed by a civilian workforce, supportedby electronic tracking and top class businessprocesses and procedures.Logistic Services achieved expendituresavings of £1m [7%] based on reduced pricingagreements with suppliers and increased use ofdownloadable electronic formats on the Service’sintranet. DCUs and Departments were able toplace electronic orders directly with suppliersthrough use of on-line catalogue, linked to onlineorder forms. As a result 94% of our orderswere electronic on-line delivered direct toend users with automatic invoice matching.The extension of the GovernmentProcurement Card [GPC], which permitselectronic ordering by devolved budgetholders direct from suppliers for highvolume, low value, centrally contracted items,including travel has accelerated. There weresixteen thousand transactions last year withannualised spend running at £3.5m, anincrease of £1.9m over the previous year.With regard to procurement across theService, there was an annual procurementbudgeted spend of £173m in 2006/07, 95%of which was procured under PSNI contractterms. £7.8m [10.3%] savings were achievedon new contracts awarded during the year.Over the last two years PSNI has achieved£11.8m savings against the ACPO/Treasurytarget of £11.1m over three years. Our supplybase reduced from 5,130 to 3,466 suppliers.FINANCEA clean audit opinion was received fromthe National Audit Office on the financialstatements for the year ended 31 March 2006.A certified copy of the accounts is available onthe Police Service website.Systems were further enhanced in line withthe Service’s finance strategy, positioning thePolice Service at the forefront of deliveringelectronic services. Developments included theimplementation of new payment and payrollsystems together with new arrangements forresource management and reporting.chief constable’sAnnual report 2006>079
Page 1 and 2: Chief Constable’sANNUALREPORT2006
Page 4 and 5: TAKING ON THE CRIMINALSORGANISEDCRI
Page 6 and 7: POLICING WITH THE COMMUNITYBALLYMEN
Page 10 and 11: INTEGRITY IS NOT NEGOTIABLE10Deputy
Page 12: DRIVE TO SAFER ROADSThe drive to ma

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