Staffordshire Police launches local policing model that puts communities at its heart
Staffordshire Police has unveiled its new local policing model that will allow it “to respond in the way the public want and need it to”.
Chief Constable Chris Noble said it will give officers more time to focus on the issues that matter most to local communities.
Launched today (June 27), the force says the new local policing model for the county brings significant investment in the number of officers responding locally throughout Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent.
Designed to strengthen the force’s focus on local policing and partnerships, it will see emergency response officers operate from the same ten local areas as neighbourhood officers and police community support officers.
First announced in February 2022 by the newly-appointed chief constable, the changes have been made to enable officers to respond quicker to emergencies; develop enhanced local knowledge to solve problems; and have more time to investigate and provide a high-quality, consistent and caring service for victims of crime.
Mr Noble said: “I’m pleased we are now on day one of the new model. It’s been months of planning, analysis and consultation with colleagues and partners to build a model that will allow us to respond in the way the public want and need us to, also giving us more time to focus on the issues that matter most to local communities.”
Mr Noble said the model has also received the backing of Staffordshire’s police, fire and crime commissioner Ben Adams, who believes it will help deliver some of the commitments made in his Police and Crime Plan.
“It is critical we are more closely embedded in, and visible to, local communities so we can work most effectively with the public and partners to solve issues and prevent crime and I am confident this approach to policing enables greater ability to deliver against these aims,” added Mr Noble.
Staffordshire Police said the changes also support the force’s policing priorities for the next 12 to 18 months, due to be published shortly.
As part of the new model, bespoke harm reduction hubs will operate in every local policing area, made up of dedicated problem-solvers who will tackle high demand, high risk crimes and anti-social behaviour through prevention, effective partnership working and early intervention.
There has also been investment in the force’s specialist crime teams and securing more staff in the force contact and control centre. While the former supports teams who investigate the most serious and complex crime types, Staffordshire Police says the investment in the contact centre will seek to improve call answering times and better resourcing of the digital channels used by the public to report crime, such as Facebook, Twitter and the force website.
“While we need to respond faster and more efficiently to emergencies, it’s important we look at and understand the changing nature of crime and the complex and sustained numbers of call we have to respond to on a daily basis,” said Mr Noble.
“Our contact and control centre is key to informing our daily operations and significant work is being undertaken in order to achieve an improved service for the public at first point of contact.”