Consultation
- visits to SNAP discos
- schools and colleges
- resident associations
- Crime Reduction and Environment Week
- shopping centres
- health projects.
Consultation with local communities is an important part of policing in England and Wales. The requirement for police authorities to consult with their communities was first included in legislation under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) (1984) (Section 106)
Police Authority Community Consultation Objectives 2006/07
The Community Affairs Committee at its meeting in April 2006 agreed that the Police Authority Community Consultation Programme for 2006/07 will be governed by the following objectives:
To facilitate better understanding by the communities in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight of the role of Hampshire Police Authority.
To consult the communities in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight so as to provide and obtain sufficient and reliable qualitative and quantitative information to inform the Local Policing Plan for 2006/07.
To consult the communities in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight on general and specific issues as advised by the Consultation Officer in communication with the Members of the Committee.
To listen to the needs of the communities in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight and to monitor and as appropriate, challenge the Constabulary on its response to issues raised through the consultation process.
To design and launch a five-year exercise involving consultation with young people.
Hampshire Police Authority is committed to a programme of consultation. Policing by consent of the public is paramount to the successful operation of the police service, within the resources available.
New consultation arrangements, called Police Authority Community Consultation (PACC), were introduced in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight in April 2002. The purpose of this structure was aimed at widening the range of methods used to ensure the opportunity for dialogue was made available to all.
By focussing on targeted groups within the community, our consultation is based on quality rather than quantity. Between April 2005 and March 2006, the Authority consulted many groups including young people, the disabled, members of the gay, lesbian and transgender community, race and faith groups, members of the rural community, businesses, resident associations (to name but a few) at approximately 50 events across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.
Issues and concerns for communities
Hampshire Police Authority (together with our colleagues from Local Authority Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships, including Hampshire Constabulary) held more than 60 consultation events during 2004/05 across the two counties.
The Police Authority Community Consultation (PACC) groups held specific events with:
·Members of minority ethnic communities
·Users of mental health services who live in the community
·People who run businesses in the two counties
·Residents aged between 21 and 30
·People with physical disabilities who live in the community
·People who use or who are affected by facilities or projects that have received Police Authority Crime Prevention Panel grant funding.
In previous years the Authority had found that consultation outcomes tended to focus upon areas of anti-social behaviour. In response to this the Authority designed a questionnaire that asked consultees about various aspects of anti-social behaviour for use throughout 2004/05. The Authority received more than 1100 questionnaires.
The top three concerns were:
Speeding and anti-social use of vehicles
Young people congregating
Drunk or rowdy behaviour
The Police Authority consultation process informs the development of local policing priorities. These priorities can be found in the local policing plan.