Leicestershire Police Incident Response Policy

Transcription

1 Leicestershire Police Incident Response Policy Policy Owner: Department Responsible: Chief Officer Approval: Superintendent, Contact Management Tasking Directorate ACC Operations Date of Next Review: October 2014 This document has been produced in conjunction with the Leicestershire Police Legislative Compliance Pack Review log Date Minor / Major Section Author / No change Oct 2011 Live All Supt. 309 Cottrill (BC) Feb 2012 Minor 4.5 Supt. 309 Cottrill (BC) Sept 2013 Minor All Chief Inspector Roe (BC) Page 1 of 6

2 1. Statement This policy defines calls for service and provides guidelines to influence and assist call handling decision makers. Account should also be taken of the data and counting rule standards within National Crime Recording Standards and the National Standard for Incident Recording. It also supports the National Contact Management Strategic vision. 2. Aims In recognising our duty this policy supports the delivery of the level of service demanded by the diverse communities of Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland to: Enable staff to effectively manage the demand into the organisation. Enable staff to use their professional judgement in assessing risk and vulnerability following the National Decision Model framework. Enable staff to quickly and efficiently identify, assign and deploy the nearest, available and most appropriate resource within agreed timescales. Provide a consistent and accurate incident record to help police and local communities tackle anti-social behaviour and other issues. Make every contact count. Maximise public satisfaction and confidence outcomes for the police service 3. Scope The Call Grades and Definitions are designed to bring consistency and compatibility with the following: Our duty is at the heart of everything we do and regardless of the challenges we face in the future, we will deliver the level of service demanded by the divers communities in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland We will do this by focusing on: Dealing with those who cause most harm Protecting the vulnerable Effectively deploying our resources to mitigate threat, harm and risk Working with partners to solve the problems identified by communities Trusting our people to provide a quality service Page 2 of 6

3 4. Ensuring the effective and efficient use of resources at all times. As part of the National Decision Model framework, Contact Management Staff will also consider: Caller - is the caller vulnerable / distressed and in need of immediate or urgent reassurance? Are they in danger or do any other factors exist that would necessitate police attendance? Crime - are there any lines of enquiry that would benefit from Police / Police Staff attendance? Context - is there a pattern of behaviour / incidents / crime that requires closer scrutiny from local officers (e.g. several burglaries in same street overnight) and / or attendance is required to prevent recurrence? Community - has the incident / crime caused unrest or concern with the caller or in the community which would justify police attendance for reassurance and confidence purposes? In so doing, we commit ourselves to the following attendance principles: We will attend emergencies as quickly and safely as possible We will attend neighbourhood priorities and where people are vulnerable, intimidated or upset (should this not be upset? All other links in the doc refer to upset) within 60 minutes (not sure this should remain as its pledge related if our staff are currently still working to that then leave it in but if not we should take it out?) We seek to meet customer wishes and provide agreed, scheduled appointments N.B. The Force retains flexibility to handle incidents outside of these principles when authorised to do so by the Control Room Inspector Emergency Response An emergency is any incident which is taking place, or has taken place were there is, or is likely to be, a risk of: Danger to Life Use, or immediate threat of use, of violence Serious injury to a person and / or Serious loss of,or damage to property OR Is otherwise assessed as requiring such as response. Page 3 of 6

4 An emergency response requires the immediate deployment of the nearest available and appropriate resource. The caller should be informed of the deployment and expected arrival time, unless the circumstances prevent this at the time Minute Response If attendance is necessary we will send a patrol within 60 minutes when The caller is upset 1 or is deemed vulnerable (e.g. by age, sex, race, health, location, etc.) The call relates to a Neighbourhood Priority 2 and attendance is necessary OR Is otherwise assessed as requiring such as response 4.3 Negotiated Response If the incident is not assessed as an emergency or 60 minute response, an alternative response must be agreed with the caller. Scheduled attendance through diary appointments Attendance at a local police station Resolution over the phone 4.4 Scheduled Response Where attendance is not necessary within 60 minutes the incident can be attended through the scheduled response diary system available for each BCU. This could take account of the following: The response time is not critical in apprehending offenders The matter is service oriented and a better quality of initial police action can be taken if it is dealt with by a pre-arranged police response by a Police Officer or other appropriate resource. The caller prefers or has requested this type of response. Wherever possible the appointment will be within 48 hours of the call unless this is not suitable to the caller. 1 Upset is where a person is suffering distress or is considered so vulnerable that although an emergency response is not required a response within 60 minutes is appropriate 2 Neighbourhood Priority is defined as a policing issue, which the community has identified as a priority that we will concentrate on over the coming months. Page 4 of 6

5 4.5 Resolution without Deployment Resolution without deployment is appropriate where the needs of the caller can be more appropriately met through telephone advice or intervention, through access to the Force and National Frequently Asked Questions databases, the involvement of another more appropriate agency or service or through some other method, e.g. attendance at a police station. In resolving issues over the phone, consideration must always be given to the Caller, Crime, Context and Community issues as stated above. Where it becomes apparent that any of these categories present concerns around response in ways that could affect confidence, the matter should be re-considered and a more appropriate response negotiated. In all cases, where incidents are resolved without deployment, the caller must be left with a clear understanding as to the reason why resources will not be attending. 5. Legal Basis Human Rights Act 1998 The Human Rights Act 1998 has been considered with regard to this policy and accompanying procedure. Proportionality has been identified as the key to Human Rights compliance. This means striking a fair balance between the rights of the individual and those of the rest of the community. There must be a reasonable relationship between the aim to be achieved and the means used. Data Protection Act 1998 Data Protection issues have been considered with regard to this policy and accompanying procedure. Adherence to this policy will therefore ensure compliance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and internal Data Protection policies. Diversity Policies Equality issues have been considered with regard to this policy and accompanying procedure. Adherence with this policy will therefore ensure compliance with Equality and Diversity legislation and internal Equality and Diversity policies. Freedom of Information Act 2000 Freedom of Information issues have been considered with regard to this policy and accompanying procedure. Adherence with this policy will therefore ensure compliance with the Freedom of Information Act 2002 and internal Freedom of Information policies. Page 5 of 6

6 Health and Safety Act 1974 Health and Safety issues have been considered in relation to this policy and accompanying procedure,but those that the policy concerns should still ensure that they comply with the requirements of the Force Health and Safety Policy 6. Monitoring Compliance with this policy will be monitored through the auditing of the National Incident Recording Standards and National Crime Recording Standards. It will also be monitored by Performance Review who will produce performance statistics in relation to the attendance at Emergency and Negotiated incidents. The policy is owned by the Contact Management Department who will be responsible for its review and renewal. Page 6 of 6