Neighbourhood Policing Strategy 2023-2026

• Visible and trusted policing
• Prevent offending
• Safer and stronger communities
• Tackling crime
• Support victims
• Sustain Norfolk Constabulary

I welcome the Chief Constable’s work on increasing the visibility of policing, which I believe is what Norfolk’s residents are asking for. Visible and trusted policing is Pillar Two of my Police, Crime and Community Safety Plan.

I recognise that the demand currently being place on the Constabulary by the public is such that officers are being drawn from visible community policing into response and I hope that this strategy will manage and mitigate this issue.

The Neighbourhood Policing Strategy will help to meet at local level what I refer to as the silent majority’s expectations and I very much welcome this approach.

Giles Orpen-Smellie
Police and Crime Commissioner

The defining features of neighbourhood policing can be traced back to Peelian principles and are as important today. They are at the inception of the police service: the clear emphasis on prevention, the recognition that the police are part of the community and police by consent. There are clear benefits to consulting communities on how and where local police resources are best deployed and how neighbourhood policing is delivered. Policing delivery continues to evolve in the context of reducing budgets and changing demands; however, Neighbourhood Policing with its intrinsic links to the original foundations of policing will always be an essential and important element of modern policing.

The College of Policing defines the core principles of neighbourhood policing as being:

• Police officers, staff and volunteers who are accessible to, responsible for and accountable to their communities.
• Engagement with communities that builds trust and develops a sophisticated understanding of community needs.
• Collaborative problem solving with communities, partners, and private, public, and voluntary sectors.

Highly visible and locally connected Neighbourhood Policing Teams are the foundation of our force, with local teams providing a key between the Constabulary and our communities, building trust and confidence.

This strategy sets out how we will ensure that our Neighbourhood Policing Teams are visible, accessible, and connected to their communities, ensuring that they understand, focus, and respond to the issues that most affect them.

Through this approach, we will deliver exceptional policing services for the people of Norfolk and improve the quality of life for every resident we serve.

We are committed to delivering a truly local neighbourhood police service, underpinned by the principles of modern neighbourhood policing as set out in the College of Policing Modernising Neighbourhood Policing Guidelines, The ‘Clear, Hold, Build’ framework and the Home Office Strategic Policing Requirement. Also, the recent HM Revenue and Customs Serious and Organised Crime Inspection and The Baroness Casey Review into the Metropolitan Police further highlights that neighbourhood policing must underpin the Constabulary’s response to crime and anti-social behaviour.

A strong neighbourhood policing model that operates in accordance with these principles, whilst recognising the need for local flexibility, will be a key part of delivering the Norfolk Police, Crime and Community Safety Plan and achieving the Constabulary’s vision of providing exceptional policing for Norfolk, underpinned by our Mission and Principles.

To deliver neighbourhood policing, which builds trust and confidence amongst our communities and is effective at preventing and reducing crime and disorder, we will:

• Deal robustly with anti-social behaviour
• Have a visible presence in our communities
• Be prevention focused and seek to intervene early
• Embrace and develop opportunities for Norfolk citizens to have an active role in local policing
• Make best use of our specialist capabilities

Norfolk is divided into seven policing areas, aligned to district council boundaries. Within this model we have seventeen Local Policing Commands, each overseen by a district command structure. Our Local Policing Commands incorporate dedicated neighbourhood teams. The officers who work in these teams have ownership and accountability for dealing with the crime and anti-social behaviour in their area.

Each district has an Operational Partnership Team (OPT). In these teams, police and partners work together to problem solve longer term issues in order to try to reduce the demand caused by specific individuals and locations. Our OPTs have close links with Early Help Hubs that are housed within district council offices. The hubs ensure there is a strong partnership focus on addressing emerging needs through early intervention.

Our District Engagement Officers are responsible for developing Citizens in Policing at a local level, coordinating, and delivering proactive local community engagement, and monitoring levels of tension in their communities.

Our Local Communications Officers perform a crucial role in keeping the public informed about the activities and outcomes of local Neighbourhood Policing Teams through social media and other communication channels.

This model ensures that we have local teams dealing with local issues, and provides countywide coverage so that all our communities, including those living in our most rural areas, have ready access to policing services, are engaged and have the opportunity to participate in the setting of local priorities.

Our Community Safety Department supports the operational delivery of neighbourhood policing as well as supporting the wider County Community Safety Partnership. There are specialist teams focussed on problem solving, crime reduction, anti-social behaviour, designing out crime, Licensing, Citizens in Policing, rural crime, mental health, Integrated Offender Management, Equality, Diversity & Inclusion, children & young people and Police Cadets.

Neighbourhood policing delivery and performance is overseen by a formal governance and meeting structure.

Our Neighbourhood Policing Command Structure:

• Executive Lead (Director) for Neighbourhood Policing
  Assistant Chief Constable Local Policing
• Strategic Lead (Department Head) for Neighbourhood Policing
  County Policing Command Chief Superintendent
• Tactical Lead (Specialist Commander) for Neighbourhood Policing Community Safety Superintendent/Chief Inspector
• Thematic Lead (Specialist Inspector) for Neighbourhood Policing Community Safety Inspector
• Operational leads (District Commander) for Neighbourhood Policing
  District Commanders
• District Inspectors
  Responsible for Operational Partnership Teams, Local Policing Neighbourhood Sergeants, Beat Managers, District Engagement Officers, Neighbourhood Policing Teams, Moonshot Teams and Response.

Our Neighbourhood Policing Meeting Structure:

• Neighbourhood Policing and Response Policing Engagement & Investigations Board
  ACC Local Policing
• Neighbourhood Policing Improvement Board
  Head of Community Safety
• District Operational Neighbourhood Policing Meetings
  District Commanders
• Force Tactical and Tasking Coordination Group
  ACC Local Policing
• CPC Quality, Standards and Performance SMT
  Head of County Policing Command

We will continue to invest in specialist teams and technology to support the effective delivery of neighbourhood policing; utilising our Community Policing Team, Rural Crime Team, Safer Schools Partnership and drone technology. This will be supported by our Safeguarding and Investigation Directorate, which will use the most up-to-date technology and policing techniques.

The College of Policing Neighbourhood Policing Guidelines outline three core pillars for delivering effective neighbourhood policing:

• Engaging Communities
• Problem Solving
• Targeting Activity

Our strategy defines how we will deliver against each of these core pillars, thereby achieving effective two-way communication, protecting the most vulnerable in our communities and delivering evidence-based collaborated solutions to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour and the impact that these have on our communities. By prioritising our actions against the three core pillars, our Neighbourhood Policing teams will provide local policing which builds trust and confidence.

The effective delivery of neighbourhood policing in Norfolk will be achieved by our Neighbourhood Policing teams which will be given sufficient support, direction, time, and resources to work in a proactive and preventative way. We must continue to adapt to the challenges of changing crime and the evolving needs and expectations of our diverse communities, making the best use of modern tools and technology.

Engaging Communities

Why it is important?

Effective two-way communication and accessibility inspires public confidence and increases satisfaction in our service the service.
It helps us to better understand our communities, solve problems effectively and deliver targeted activity.

How we will achieve it:

• We will be visible, accessible, responsible for and accountable to our communities.
• Consistent and effective engagement that builds trust so that we can truly understand the community’s needs.
• Bespoke engagement to meet our communities differing needs.
• Break down barriers to hard to reach groups.
• Deliver focused engagement and target our activity where there is the greatest need.
• Use multiple channels of engagement to provide information and reassurance.
• Ensure communities are aware of policing priorities and how to influence them.
• Ensure the communities will know their local neighbourhood officers and how they can contact them.
• Monitor community tensions and respond to try to reduce these.

Solving Problems:

Why it is important?

By identifying and solving local community problems, we can try to successfully reduce crime and to build trust and confidence within our communities.

How we will achieve it:

• Proactive prevention strategies with partners.
• Take ownership of problems at a local level and be innovative with our solutions.
• Involve and empower local communities with self-sustaining solutions to problems.
• Employ the Scan, Analyse, Respond and Assess (SARA) problem solving model using evidence-based targeted activities.
• Utilise specialists to design out crime, analyse patterns and advise on problem-solving techniques.
• Question and answer our problem-solving activity using tactical advisors/quality performance meetings.

Targeting Activity:

Why it is important?

Focusing police resources by targeting people and places most at risk or causing the most harm will have the greatest impact on crime and anti-social behaviour.

How we will achieve it:

• Focus activity on the greatest, threat, harm, demand and concern to our communities.
• Use targeted policing to tackle community priorities and engagement.
• Employ evidence-based problem-solving with partners and Neighbourhood Policing Teams.
• Utilise internal and external data to develop intelligence-led targeted activity.
• Deploy visible policing through intelligence informed patrols.
• Use specialist resources, technology, policing powers, and diversionary opportunities within our proactive, intelligence-led teams.
• Use prevention focused policing: Identifying, and disrupting those causing the greatest harm.

To achieve the core objectives of this strategy, we also need to ensure we focus on the four remaining pillars that support the effective delivery of Neighbourhood Policing, as defined by the College of Policing.

• Promoting the right culture
• Developing officers, staff & volunteers
• Developing & sharing learning
• Building analytical capability

Developing Officers, Staff & Volunteers and Developing & Sharing Learning:

Why it is important?

To improve neighbourhood policing we need well-trained people in specialist roles working with partners and academia to identify best practice.

How we will achieve it:

• Regular and specific continuing professional development for Beat Managers.
• Succession planning for Neighbourhood Manager roles.
• Officers working in neighbourhood policing roles will have PDR objectives which are aligned to delivering this strategy.
• Keep neighbourhood officers assigned to this core function.

Promoting the Right Culture:

Why it is important?

When police have the right culture, community confidence will increase resulting in a willingness to report crime and engage in collaborated problem solving.

How we will achieve it:

• Treat communities fairly with dignity and respect.
• Encourage the expression of communities’ view and take action where appropriate.
• Develop all contact with police as an opportunity to build trust.
• Work with communities to identify problems and develop long-term solutions.
• Be a workforce that is representative of our communities.

Building Analytical Capacity:

Why it is important?

Data analysis will ensure problem solving activity understands the root causes of problems and those causing most harm.

How we will achieve it:

• Neighbourhood policing teams will have access to data to investigate local problems.
• Use trained analysts for detained analytical work.
• Share data with partners for effective problem solving and targeted activity.
• Provide neighbourhood policing officers with analytical products to focus efforts where demand is greatest.
• Adopting the Neighbourhood Policing Performance Framework.