Questions
- What is neighbourhood policing?
- How does Neighbourhood Policing differ from the Community Policing we had previously?
- What is Neighbourhood Policing intended to achieve?
- What is the role of the different policing departments?
- How can I contact my Neighbourhood team?
- What can I expect from my Neighbourhood Policing team?
- What is the makeup of a Neighbourhood team?
- What are the roles within a Neighbourhood Team?
- How was my neighbourhood designed?
- How can I get involved?
- What is PACT?
- What are community priorities?
- How are community priorities decided?
- How will other agencies link into this process?
Answers
What is neighbourhood policing?
Neighbourhood Policing is based on teams who work within specific locations or "neighbourhoods". They provide reassurance and accessibility through a consistent visible presence. They also have a good knowledge of the area, its community and any issues or problems associated with it. They work with the community and partner agencies to address long term issues that effect people's quality of life.
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How does Neighbourhood Policing differ from the Community Policing we had previously?
The Devon and Cornwall Constabulary has a long history of Community Policing, with Community Officers having responsibility for certain "beats". The difference with Neighbourhood Policing is an increased team approach with the advent of PCSO's and a greater inclusion of Special Constables. There is also a much greater emphasis on these teams being responsive to the needs of the community and actively working to include communities in setting local priorities.
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What is Neighbourhood Policing intended to achieve?
Neighbourhood Policing is intended to provide a service that is responsive to local needs. It is intended to engage the community so they are able to influence the priorities and actions of their local officers and see that they are doing so. It is intended to ensure Neighbourhood Teams focus on the issues that really matter to local communities, no matter how big or small, so people feel safe and confident their concerns will be dealt with.
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What is the role of the different policing departments?
Not all of the constabularies resources are in Neighbourhood Policing. There is also a Patrol department that provides 24-hour cover for live incidents over a much wider geographic area. There are also investigative departments to investigate specific types or more serious crimes. In addition to these there are a number of specialist departments including Traffic, Dogs and Firearms. If you report an incident it will not necessarily be your local officer that attends. They will be aware of all crimes and incidents that happen in their neighbourhood and will follow them up if they are part of a trend or have a particular impact on an individual or a community.
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How can I contact my Neighbourhood team?
You can use this web site to find details of your Neighbourhood Team, from the maps, lists of neighbourhoods or by entering your postcode. There is also a "contact us" option on each page, which enables you to e-mail your team directly.
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What can I expect from my Neighbourhood Policing team?
Your Neighbourhood Policing team will be highly visible in your area. They will provide suitable means by which the community can contact them and identify their priorities for action. They will be responsive to those community priorities. They will provide information to the community on what work is being done to address the priorities and the results of this work. Your Neighbourhood Team will work with the community and partner agencies to deal with the long term, often relatively low profile, issues that have an effect on peoples quality of life.
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What is the makeup of a Neighbourhood team?
Every neighbourhood will have at least one Neighbourhood Beat Manager and one Police Community Support Officer dedicated to it. Some neighbourhoods will have more than one of either or both of these roles. This is for reasons of population, geography or demand. In addtition many neighbourhoods have one or more dedicates Special Constables working within them and some have volunteers supporting the team in tasks that do not require police powers or equipment. Each neighbourhood team is supervised by a Neighbourhood Team Leader, who supervises a number of such teams.
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What are the roles within a Neighbourhood Team?
The Neighbourhood Beat Manager (NBM) is a police constable. They have the full range of police powers and are responsible for delivering Neighbourhood Policing within their area by utilising all the resources available to them. An NBM will only be taken from their neighbourhood to provide a police response in other areas under exceptional circumstances.
The Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) is a uniformed role with limited powers. They are there to provide a visible uniformed presence and through this public reassurance. They provide a link between the community and the police, giving information to the public and also gathering intelligence and information from the community on issues of concern to them. Due to their consistent visible presence the PCSO will have a high level of knowledge about the community they serve. This is invaluable in supporting and informing the police response to planned or spontaneous incidents. The PCSO will work with the community NBM and partner agencies to solve long term local issues. The role of the PCSO does not include dealing with confrontational issues. Where they come across such incidents they can call a police response and provide evidence as a credible witness. Due to their specific role and limited powers a PCSO should not be taken from their role in a neighbourhood for any reason.
The Neighbourhood Team Leader (NTL) is a Police Sergeant. They provide supervision and support to a number of Neighbourhood Teams.
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How was my neighbourhood designed?
Neighbourhoods are based on Council ward boundaries. This reflects the partnership approach to Neighbourhood Policing and ensures that at the very least police and council resources are aligned to respond to identified problems. a neighbourhood may include more than one council ward. This is to balance police resources as evenly as possible across the force area. In addition factors such as levels of demand and similarities between wards is taken into consideration when creating neighbourhoods.
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How can I get involved?
Your Neighbourhood Policing Team is there to provide a service that is responsive to local needs and accountable to the community. To identify what is important to the community they need your participation. This can be by providing information on what you consider to be the issues they should concentrate on within the neighbourhood. This can be done in a variety of ways and you will see surveys and events promoted locally, to allow this, under the PACT logo. You can also contact your team direct via their contact number or on the "contact us" e-mail system on this site.
If you want to be involved in the Neighbourhood Policing Team there are opportunities through the Special Constabulary, Neighbourhood Watch or Police Volunteer Programme, details of which are listed on this site.
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What is PACT?
PACT stands for Partners And Communities Together. It is the banner under which the Devon and Cornwall Constabulary conducts community engagement to identify local priorities. The area we police varies hugely from highly populated urban areas to widely dispersed rural communities. Within these areas there is also variation in the population from those who are willing and able to make their opinions heard to those who cannot. For these reasons, although the banner will remain consistent, the methods of engagement may vary significantly. Engagement methods may include public meetings, surgeries, street or door to door surveys, post cards and boxes in prominent locations, contact with local community leaders, estate walkabouts or any other method relevant and effective in the local area. For more details see the PACT page on this site.
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What are community priorities?
Each Neighbourhood Team will have three community priorities that they will work on, with the community and partners, to address. The priorities will be publicised and are displayed on the individual neighbourhood pages on this site. Priorities will be rolling so as one is resolved a new one will be adopted. The priorities will be locally based and represent the concerns of the local community.
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How are community priorities decided?
The Neighbourhood Team will use the PACT process to engage with the community and identify issues of concern to them. This may identify more issues than can immediately be worked on. There may be direct conflict between some of the issues raised. Some issues may be simply resolved and this will be done rather than including them as long term priorities. Some issues may be so broad or unrealistic that there is little prospect of them being dealt with , but work on a more tightly defined problem could be appropriate.
There will be a local process to deal with these complexities and identify three priorities that are clearly defined, representative of the communities concerns and capable of being achieved. This may be a public meeting or it may be a smaller meeting at which the police, partner agencies and community representatives are present. This meeting will agree the priorities and who will do what to address them.
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How will other agencies link into this process?
Many agencies are able to have an effect on the issues that concern local communities. This may be on their own or by working with others. Any local agency or group who can assist in resolving issues should be included in the PACT process. Some can influence a wide range of issues and should be automatically included. Others may be asked to participate in response to a specific problem. It is important that the community priorities are seen as belonging to the group, including the community, rather than individual agencies. All should participate in a response, where they are able, to ensure the community sees action and issues do not fall through the gaps between agencies.
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