Neighbourhood Policing
The implementation of the Neighbourhood Policing model across H District has increased reassurance within many communities.
Through the introduction of formal community engagement all neighbourhood police teams produce quarterly action plans or SNAP’s (Safer Neighbourhood Action Plans) which clearly set out the standard and nature of community engagement to be adopted within each neighbourhood area, according to local needs.
These plans can include environmental visual audits, street briefings, police surgeries, surveys, postcard drops and Police and Community Together (PACT) meetings.
All methods used to engage with the community adopt the PACT principles of ascertaining and prioritising the top three problems within each area, community or neighbourhood, then working with partners and the community to allocate ‘actions’ according to responsibility and ability to solve the particular problem. And, there has already been a marked improvement in problem solving and community confidence in police and other statutory agencies.
In Larne the neighbourhood team has come up with a very innovative approach which combines a number of the methods of engagement into one event, and brings the community representatives wholly into the process.
Members of the particular community for that event are invited to meet police and partners on the street, adjacent to a particular problem area, at a time when the problem is most prevalent. A briefing by police about crime and crime patterns is followed by input from community representatives about what it is like to live in that particular area, listing the anti-social behaviour problems and crimes.
What makes this innovative is that the entire process is recorded on DVD, as is the subsequent environmental visual audit, which points out the boltholes, the graffiti, the broken streetlights and fences and general layout of the area concerned. The DVD can then be played to officers on Response duties, so that they have a better understanding of the problem, should they be called to the area during the course of their patrols. The system also allows us to show how people can see police cars as they approach the area, and show where offenders are most likely to run to when they arrive. It also lets officers hear directly from the residents themselves.
As a further innovation, community representatives have attended briefings at police stations, and on occasions have been allowed to assume the role of ‘Sergeant’ detailing resources according to need. This is done to give the residents an insight into the difficult decisions that police have to make hour by hour. This two-way communication is proving very useful to all concerned.
Meet the Larne neighbourhood policing teams
