Performance and Measurement

Summary

West Midlands Police is the second largest force in England and Wales, covering a largely urban area including the cities of Birmingham, Coventry and Wolverhampton and the unitary authorities of Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull and Walsall. The area has a diverse population and by 2011, it is predicted that Birmingham’s black and ethnic minority community will be almost 40% of the total population. Leisure, retail and conference amenities, together with Premiership and Championship football teams, attract millions of visitors annually, and the area’s motorway network is one of the busiest in Europe. The force’s 21 operational command units in 2007/8 dealt with 1,084,894 incidents, answered 679,005 emergency calls and solved 65,788 crimes including 36 murders.

During February/March 2008, the force policed the Labour Party conference at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham, attended by approximately 4,000 delegates. The Counter Terrorist Unit undertook several detailed, sensitive investigations including a year-long surveillance operation and successfully secured convictions for a plot to kidnap and kill a British soldier.

In 2008, HMIC graded the force as ‘Exceeding the Standard’ for major crime, recognising its achievements in combating the high level of threat confronting it. Crime fell by almost 11% in 2007/8 compared to the previous year, resulting in 30,000 fewer victims. Violent crime decreased by 9% and robbery by 17%. The overall detection rate for the period remained stable at 26.5%. For five years, the force has commissioned independent public surveys, with 89,000 residents interviewed so far. Results show 96% feel safe during the day, 92% feel they live in a harmonious neighbourhood and 80% feel that the police are doing a good job.

Business crime is a local priority and this has decreased by 13% compared to 2006/07. Criminal damage was targeted as an indicator of anti-social behaviour and reduced by 17%. Racially aggravated offences were reduced by 2.6% although the 6% target was missed. There was a slight increase in the number of road traffic collisions involving young drivers.

In 2007, the force was graded as Fair for Protecting Vulnerable People. Significant progress has been made by the introduction of Public Protection Units across the force, which handles investigations into domestic abuse, abuse of children and vulnerable adults, hate crime and missing persons as well as the management of sex offenders. The force has established clear operating principles to improve investigation standards, monitor and manage workloads and develop a performance management framework.

The force successfully introduced Neighbourhood Policing across all areas ahead of the April 2008 target date. It has pioneered ground-breaking ways to help people affected by gun and gang culture, working with community leaders and mediators to deter the use of firearms. The force achieved a reduction of 26.8% against a four-year target to reduce total recorded crime by 20%, and crime is now at its lowest level since 1989. The force continues to be an employer of choice, achieving the Times Aurora Award for where women want to work in 2007/8, a Gold Standard Award as one of the top ethnic diversity performers in the 2008 Race for Opportunity Benchmarking Survey, the Partner Organisation Trophy from Shaw Trust, a Gold Award against the disability standard benchmark and The best recruitment website at the National Online Recruitment Awards.

The force has set seven strategic priorities for 2008-11, to achieve its vision, “to reduce crime and disorder and make our communities feel safer”. Key challenges include the threats posed by terrorism, guns, gangs and knives. The West Midlands currently handles one third of all national counter-terrorism priority investigations. Ongoing Neighbourhood Policing developments aim to further improve trust and confidence among communities and the force’s ability to deliver citizen focused outcomes.