Performance and Measurement

Summary

West Yorkshire is the largest urban area in the Yorkshire and Humber region, with a diverse population of 2.1 million, 11% of whom are from black and minority ethnic backgrounds. West Yorkshire Police consists of nine territorial divisions, aligned to the five local authorities and Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships. Neighbourhood Policing teams have been introduced across all divisions, and the force has one of the highest numbers of PCSOs outside the Metropolitan Police Service. It is a leading force in tackling anti-social behaviour. A new Chief Constable was appointed in 2006; under his leadership, and with the support of the police authority, an appraisal of the force was commissioned to identify how it should do business in the future. The subsequent plan identifies opportunities for improving services in the light of new and emerging local, regional and national policing requirements.

The force has continued to see a reduction in reported crime, with a 3.6% reduction in overall crime in 2006/07 compared with the previous year. Major reductions have been achieved in the categories of violent crime and theft of motor vehicles. There has been a small reduction in offences brought to justice, whereas sanction detections have remained stable. User satisfaction has increased across all indicators.

The force has recognised that there are areas for improvement within user satisfaction and citizen focus; it is consistently average or below average in these areas when compared with similar forces. It has taken positive action with the introduction of the Excel initiative, aimed at improving the quality of service provided to the public. There are some encouraging performance statistics regarding how the force deals with victims of burglary, but service levels for victims of violent crime and road traffic collisions still need to be improved. In order to address concerns regarding ease of contact, a force call bureau is being introduced and expanded to deal with the full range of calls from the public, with the aim of dealing with the majority of calls at the first point of contact. The pilot site is already showing potential – 90% of calls are now being answered, whereas previously 65% were abandoned.

The force did not receive any Poor or Fair/Deteriorated grades from the 2006 HMIC baseline assessment and no major areas for improvement were identified. The force homicide and major enquiry team has been involved in a number of notable investigations. These include Operation Geneva, which resulted in numerous convictions for the murder of one police officer and the wounding of another; Operation Pharaoh, which led to convictions for the murder of a taxi driver; and Operation Perth, which saw the arrest and charge of a man in connection with a 1972 murder. In total, the team has investigated 44 recorded homicides in the year to April 2007, 40 of which have already been successfully detected.

Over 400 disruptions of criminals affecting more than one territorial command or a neighbouring force have taken place and over £4.5 million of criminal assets confiscated. The force received a national award for excellence in financial investigation and achieved national accreditation for its special operations unit. West Yorkshire Police is being used as an exemplar force to demonstrate the potential benefits of workforce modernisation. It has also been leading the development of regional responses to counter-terrorism and serious and organised crime.

Key diversity initiatives have been identified for progression during 2007/08; these will improve consultation and its impact on force policy and practices.