Performance and Measurement

Summary

Humberside Police covers North East Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire and the East Riding of Yorkshire, along with the urban area of Kingston-upon-Hull. This total area of 1,356 square miles centres on the Humber Estuary and serves a population of almost 900,000 residents. The area maintains its strong maritime heritage, with the Humber ports of Immingham, Grimsby, Goole and Hull accounting for over 15% of UK overseas trade. The principal conurbations are Kingston-upon-Hull, Grimsby and Scunthorpe.

The force has continued to make a significant positive impact across all aspects of performance. Of particular note were improvements in the sanction detection rate for all crime, satisfaction levels among victims of racist incidents and the level of acquisitive crime.

Local priorities for 2007/08 aim to further improve how calls from the public are handled and, with the continued development of Neighbourhood Policing, increase visibility, reduce criminal damage and incidents of anti-social behaviour.

There has been substantial improvement in the three areas that were graded Poor in the 2006 baseline assessment. The significant improvements made in the areas of volume crime reduction and volume crime investigation, among others, contributed to the decision by ministers in May 2007 to approve, on merit, the removal of the force from the list of those engaged by the Police and Crime Standards Directorate. Recommendations made in the 2006/07 professional standards inspection have had a positive effect, with the creation of a force vetting unit and the introduction of a covert, proactive counter-corruption capability within the professional standards branch.

The HMIC baseline assessment for 2006/07 found a drive and determination to develop Neighbourhood Policing and achieve all the objectives by the target date of March 2008. The force has been supported by the police authority’s commitment to invest in over 300 PCSOs, who will complement regular officers in delivering this new policing style in the 91 neighbourhood wards. The assessment highlighted the training of PCSOs as being particularly noteworthy.

A more robust performance management structure is now in place and this has contributed significantly to the major improvements achieved by the force in 2006/07.

Protecting Vulnerable People was another key business area examined during the 2006/07 baseline assessment and it was evident that the force was working closely with a range of partner agencies. Public protection, of the four elements examined, was a particularly strong area.

Compared with the previous year, force performance has improved in several areas. Total crime has fallen, as have domestic burglary and vehicle crime. Although violent crime has increased, so has the detection rate. The number of offenders brought to justice has also risen by nearly 10%.

The force is now seeking to consolidate its position and make long-term investments to further improve all-round performance and achieve the Chief Constable’s aim of delivering ‘outstanding policing for all of our communities’. The challenges for the future include:

• reaching the highest possible standards in delivery of Neighbourhood Policing;
• increasing the capacity of the organisation in real terms through workforce modernisation to sustain and improve crime reduction and detection performance;
• delivery of an ambitious change programme for custody involving both estates and business change;
• effective engagement of partners in building crime reduction and community confidence; and
• contributing effectively to the development of protective services in the Yorkshire and Humber region.

To meet these challenges, the force has developed its ‘Beyond Disengagement – Towards 2010’ vision, which will be supported by a robust corporate plan setting out the steps and milestones needed to take the force to new heights in terms of performance.