Performance and Measurement

Summary

Cleveland Police covers the four unitary local authorities of Hartlepool, Redcar and Cleveland, Middlesbrough and Stockton; the four operational districts are coterminous with the local authority boundaries. The force area is predominantly urban, with densely populated areas, and closely resembles metropolitan authorities in its socioeconomic characteristics and policing needs.

During 2006/07, the force relocated key operational functions to state-of-the-art facilities built under a private finance initiative, notably new district headquarters in both Middlesbrough and the district of Redcar and Cleveland. The transfer to the new accommodation was achieved without any deterioration in operational performance.

Since disengagement from the Police and Crime Standards Directorate in June 2006, the force has improved operational performance still further including an overall crime reduction of 4.9%, together with reductions in violent crime, vehicle crime, domestic burglary and robbery. The rate of sanction detections has improved by 5.2 percentage points to 29.3%. The most substantial improvement has been in violent crime, where 55.1% of reported offences were detected, an increase of 14.5 percentage points on the previous year. Significant improvements have also been achieved in crime-recording processes, moving from a data quality rating of Poor in 2004, to Good in 2006/07.

The force’s local policing priorities are designed to build on these improvements by further reducing and combating crime, tackling anti-social behaviour and alcohol-related disorder, and providing a citizen-focused service that inspires confidence.

The HMIC baseline assessment for 2006/07 found that the force was committed to the introduction of Neighbourhood Policing across the force area and was building on the success of the pathfinder site in Hartlepool, which was among the first in the country to drive forward the Government’s vision of Neighbourhood Policing. An independent evaluation found that the public had seen a noticeable difference in police visibility in Hartlepool; public confidence has improved and fear of crime has decreased. A survey undertaken in Hartlepool as part of the overall HMIC assessment showed very positive results, among the highest in the country.

The force remains committed to providing a citizen-focused service. Victim satisfaction has improved significantly over the past year, particularly in relation to being kept informed of progress, where satisfaction has risen from 54.9% to 65.3%.

The HMIC assessment also identified that the force’s innovative approach to performance management and activity-based costing has established Cleveland as one of the leading forces in the country in this business area.

The final area to be inspected during the 2006/07 assessment was Protecting Vulnerable People. It was apparent that there had been significant investment in public protection and this has been translated into improved performance. The processes to investigate missing persons were also assessed as above the national standard. A new, state-of-the-art, sexual assault referral centre is to be opened in autumn 2007.

The force is also making progress in areas identified as requiring improvement during previous HMIC inspections. Progress, particularly in crime and operations, is apparent with changes to structures, additional staff resources, clearer accountability mechanisms and improved IT systems. In the 2006 baseline assessment, the force was graded Poor in one area (training), but it is working closely with HMIC to improve delivery. Progress has been made in course structure and content, filling of key posts and quality assurance.

A challenging modernisation programme has been undertaken in collaboration with the police authority. This provides a stable platform from which the force can maintain and improve current operational performance, close the protective services gap by working in partnership with other forces across the region, and fully implement Neighbourhood Policing, in particular by strengthening community engagement.