Strategic Policing Board
23 September 2014 - 9.00am
Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner
Hoffmanns Way, Chelmsford.
Present:
Nick Alston (NA)
Susannah Hancock (SH)
Stephen Kavanagh (SK)
Betsy Stanko (BS)
Gary Sweeney (GS)
Keith Attwood (KA)
Lyle Watters (LW)
Philip Tolhurst (PT)
Claire Morrison (CM)
Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC)
Executive Director - PCC
Chief Constable
Independent Adviser to PCC
Independent Adviser to PCC
Independent Adviser to PCC
Independent Adviser to PCC
Independent Adviser to PCC
Secretary to Executive Director (Notes)
1. Welcome
NA welcomed all present to the meeting of the board.
2. Review of note and actions from last meeting
Notes were approved.
3. Introduction
The focus of the session: Our people – leadership, culture, organisational change
The Question: What kind of organisation do we need Essex Police to be to meet the
challenges of 5-10 years time? How will we get there?
SK provided an introduction of the issues and challenges that Essex Police are currently
facing. He discussed the following:
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Like most police forces, Essex Police is a hierarchical organisation, where as a result
of history and culture, process has in some cases been allowed to overtake
professional judgement.
There is in some areas a lack of innovation and change.
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There are areas of improvement. For instance, Essex Police have moved from being
43rd nationally for Police Staff sickness to 30th. Still some way to go, but early signs
of improvement.
There is an on-going need to revisit and refresh Policing values.
PSD have seen a rise in internal referral work, meaning that officers and staff are
prepared to report bad practice if they see it. A sign of a culture opening up.
The Force is very lean. The estates and IT are aging. There is work underway to
deliver significant change to both.
There are still too many officers on restricted duties – Police Regulations require
change to help address this.
Internal processes need re-defining so they can better respond to new challenges.
Partnership working is essential as we move towards solutions.
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SK then provided a breakdown of his vision for the future of Essex Police:
 Locally delivered policing services
 Digitally driven police force
 Further opportunities to collaborate with Norfolk and Suffolk Constabulary and the
Fire Service.
 Embed lost policing values - empower officers and make accountable for actions
 Move from traditionally based organisation to a forward thinking one
 Increase gender promotion
 Move from risk overt, process driven force and adapt to change
 Be more productive, use time and power more effectively
 Transform training for new recruits, embrace new technology and communication
 Invest in Estates and IT
4. Scene setting
3 of the Policing Advisor provided a short presentation, offering the PCC and Chief Constable
reflections on ways to improve Essex Police.
BS reported the following:
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There is a leadership problems across all Police Forces
Policing is naive to technology, and innovation is required to empower staff to work more
efficiently and effectively.
There is confusion over local and national policing services
Training for staff/officers requires transformation
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For example, simply by changing the way the Essex police officers and staff use language
with members of the public, this could result in better responses and better outcomes for
victims
Utilise the public in order to help transform and improve intelligence gathering
Make better use of PCSO time.
LW then provided a short presentation:
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The Force need to set out a clear vision for the future
Essex Police could obtain best practice from Forces around the world
Link leadership, culture and change with core values and vision at the centre
Be more open and transparent – build the workforce’s trust – let them know it is okay to
deliver bad news and talk openly
Create a culture based on core values and behaviours
Invite guests to observe weekly management team meetings
Create a path for communication and feedback from staff - Set up ‘let’s chat’ sessions with
staff in order to get sense of what is going on in the organisation
Senior management to experience day to day issues by working on frontline
Performance management – set key performance indicators and deadlines for
implementation – important to drive performance and behaviour
Talent management – identify talent and develop career paths – review teams weekly and
look at who requires development –move people around and possibly look at talent spotting
from other countries
Reward performance
Do Essex Police have the correct level of analytical skill available?
Set out clear governance
Break down data sharing barriers
GS then presented his thoughts from the perspective of the health service:
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Continuity is the key to embedding change within an organisation.
The health services have found that it is helpful to engage with the public and learn from
their experiences
Make key decisions in public – create a more open and transparent organisation. Allow the
public to understand the dilemmas and problems the organisation are facing
Training and development of staff and integrated services has also been very successful
within the health service
5. Actions:
NA to request for the Essex Police Domestic Abuse Strategy Board to run case studies of
DA incidents and the financial impact
SK to communicate work that has been carried out in response to the last staff survey
Guest speaker to be invited to next meeting to talk about technology
Additional Chief Officers to be invited to observe next meeting.