Force performance 'remarkable' in exceptional year

 

 

Despite a year of exceptional demand, Kent Police is still providing a satisfactory service to people in the county, Home Office figures published today (Tuesday, 24 October) reveal.

 

The force’s services are all graded fair, good or excellent in this year’s Home Office Police Performance Assessment, which compares the 43 forces in England and Wales in seven key areas of policing.

 

In one part of the annual assessment Kent is ranked as eighth best in the country, second in the south east and top of the group of similar police forces with which it is compared.

 

Chief Constable Michael Fuller said: ‘This is a remarkable achievement considering the unprecedented demands of the past year, including February’s Securitas robbery, the heightened terrorism alerts and 12 murders.’

 

The force’s murder detection rate remains at 100 per cent this year and only last week Brett Clifton was sentenced to life imprisonment for the terrible murder in January of Terry and Vera Martin, the elderly Faversham couple.

 

Said Mr Fuller: ‘The combination of major crimes and security alerts placed enormous pressure on our resources. Some forces would have had difficulty coping, but our teams responded magnificently – and we were still able to provide business as usual.’

 

Not surprisingly, the Home Office report rates Kent as good and improving in the investigating crime category. Around 25 per cent more investigations are resulting in some kind of action being taken against offenders, including being charged, cautioned, having cases taken into consideration or getting a penalty notice.

 

In June this year the force had its highest ever total of people being convicted or dealt with in other ways, with 3,340 offences successfully brought to justice.

 

In the Home Office assessment, the force is graded excellent in the way it uses resources and good in providing assistance.

 

But, the Chief Constable warned, Kent will not be complacent and is already working to improve its performance in reducing crime and citizen focus, which are rated fair – a satisfactory standard – compared with other forces, but as deteriorating compared with Kent’s performance last year

 

The force is already taking action on both of these as part of its ongoing work to provide a high quality service to the people of Kent and Medway.

 

By restructuring from nine areas to six, it aims to provide an increased uniformed presence on the streets and has promised that by 2008 every neighbourhood in the county will have a dedicated uniformed officer.

 

Currently nearly 270 police officers and staff have specific local responsibilities, working individually and in neighbourhood teams. Recruitment has started for 273 more police community support officers (PCSOs) by April 2007 – Kent is the fourth most successful force in the country in recruiting PCSOs and currently has 108 in post.

 

The force also intends to increase the size of the specialist teams providing what are called ‘protective services’ by 100 officers and staff. This covers: frontier policing; major, serious and organised crime; counter terrorism; policing the major roads network and responding to major emergencies.

 

The annual Home Office report brings together two previous sets of measures. In one, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary’s Baseline Assessment, Kent is rated eighth in the country, top of its group of similar forces and second best in the south east, just one point below the top ranking force.

 

The Chief Constable said: ‘Kent always strives to be a high-performing force, but we’re certainly not complacent. We know there are areas where we need to improve and we’re already taking steps to do this.

 

‘The move to six policing areas and our commitment to increasing neighbourhood policing will allow us to focus our resources more effectively to target the issues and problems that matter to the people of Kent.

 

‘We closely monitor crime trends so that we respond quickly and appropriately – this year we have run campaigns and operations to tackle drugs, burglary, anti-social behaviour, rural crime, people smuggling, drink-fuelled violence, nuisance bikes and vehicles, knives and unsafe and illegal vehicles.

 

‘We have just launched our autumn operation focusing on crime and anti-social behaviour over the half-term, Halloween and Bonfire Night period. We will continue to respond to local and countywide problems in this way.

 

‘However, although crime is relatively low in the county, fear of crime remains too high. We know we need to work more with communities, especially minority groups, to make sure that we increase public confidence.

 

‘We work increasingly closely with groups and individuals across Kent and Medway. We consult constantly, through surveys, public meetings and our citizens’ panel, to give us an accurate picture of people’s concerns and problems and how they would like us to respond.’

 

Chair of the Kent Police Authority Ann Barnes said: ‘‘The Authority is naturally disappointed with these results because we want to see Kent as a top performing force.  After all, we want the people of Kent to get the best possible service. However that said, we have not received any poor scores and I think this is very good news for the taxpayer and shows that we are getting value for money. Kent Police has scored excellent for the second year running in use of our resources showing how public money is being spent efficiently and effectively.’