Comment – Changing the beat, by Dick Sorabji (PF 7/12/07)

Problem of targets in policing: local issues arise and police need to fight back, but risk penalties if they fail to keep up with national targets. Improve accountability by putting Councillors in charge of police.

Split for purpose – or chasing the targets and missing the point? (Public Service 1/6/07)

Police services are issuing more notices and making more arrests for minor incidents to improve their statistics.

Pathways to perfection (GU 7/2/07)

“Government policy spills out in directions antagonistic to efficiency. One West Country police force ran a call centre for fire and ambulance as well as the police. Unit costs were cut all round. But the government is setting up regional fire control rooms and insisting that the local ambulance trust merge with another, breaking up the cost-saving arrangement.”

£1bn police mergers scrapped (Times Online 10/7/06)

Centrally driven police mergers, intended to help fight organised crime, terrorism and help on national investigations, were scrapped in the face of resistance from chief constables regarding costs (eg. admin and IT systems) and funding methods (how to set the CT precept.)

CCTV is no silver bullet – it risks making life less safe (GU 1/11/07)

If innovation is about weeding out bad ideas early, CCTV is a problem. Images are poor, cameras badly placed and there is a lack of evidence that they reduce crime.

Police force assessment finds improving picture (PF 12/10/07)

Police forces improving use of resources. Better use of IT, better procurement and invest to save projects have led to improvements in service areas. Still more work to be done; 25% of forces were ‘poor’ on tackling crime and protecting the vulnerable. Incremental improvement vs. innovation.