March 2016

Greater efficiency, streamlining administration and prioritised investment has enabled Cheshire Constabulary to put more than 2,000 officers on our streets – and increase protection for the most vulnerable in our communities.

Two thousand reasons to cheerFrontline policing bolstered to ensure we’re here where you need us, when you need us

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The figure – which is the largest number of officers the Constabulary has had on the books for a number of years – was reached when the latest intake of recruits completed initial training earlier this month.

A further 180 recruits are expected to join the Constabulary over the coming twelve months, which means that – with retirements – the force will have 2050 officers by this time next year.

“This is a highly symbolic figure to reach”, said Chief Constable Simon Byrne.

“As a result of the efficiency programme we have run over the last 18 months, and the introduction of a new policing model, we’ve been able to raise the bar on the officers in the force, despite real budget pressures as a result of the Government’s austerity programme.”

The latest round of recruits will increase the number of officers that are working on the frontline to police our communities.

This will also enable the force to move more officers into high risk areas like the force’s public protection team and the taskforce, which tackles cross-border criminality, road crime and drugs.

A FAMILIAR face has returned to Cheshire Constabulary to take the reins as the new Assistant Chief Constable.

Sarah Boycott has been a Cheshire officer for the past 24 years, working her way from the rank of Constable up to Chief Superintendent. She has spent the past 18 months on secondment at HMIC (Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary), and now returns home to take up her post as Assistant Chief Constable.

Her arrival follows the retirement of ACC Guy Hindle. She will fill the role on a temporary basis until a permanent appointment is made.

She said: “Being away from Cheshire makes you really appreciate how good this force is. We have lots of excellent people who are committed and keen to make a difference to our communities, which is very close to my heart.

“My priority is to ensure we are there for our communities, encouraging them to participate in policing and helping us focus on the issues that matter locally. I want to continue the fantastic work already in place and build our partnership with local communities and the agencies we work with locally to make Cheshire a difficult place for those committing crime and anti-social behaviour to operate.”

Sarah was born and raised in the Nantwich area and joined the Constabulary in 1992 where she was assigned to her local beat in Crewe.

She has spent most of her career in a variety of frontline operational roles, interspersed with more specialist positions. From 2009, Sarah worked in Northern part of the Force area, latterly as area commander. She was integral to the development of the new neighbourhood policing model, before her secondment to HMIC last year.

She is Chair of the Cheshire Women’s Network, and is committed to supporting women to be the best they can be and to have an influential voice in policing.

Sarah returns home to take the reins as ACC

Thunderclap for CSELocal authority workers, police, fire and NHS staff all gave their ‘helping hands’ to a campaign raising awareness of Child Sexual Exploitation.

Employees wrote messages of support and calls to action on their hands and took photos of them – making a powerful statement that child sexual exploitation will not be tolerated in our communities.

The Constabulary used these images to initiate its first ever ‘thunderclap’ - a social media tool used to simultaneously post a message from hundreds of accounts - on March 18. Our message reached an audience of more than 600,000 people.

Chief Constable Simon Byrne said: “Social media is a powerful tool and we wanted to send a powerful message to young people across Cheshire that there are helping hands waiting for you if you are a victim of CSE.

“Working together with our partners across Cheshire, we’re here where you need us, when you need us by ensuring that those preying on vulnerable victims are brought to justice, and that victims of this abhorrent crime are given the support they need.”

The Constabulary is continuing to take steps to ensure its workforce is as diverse as possible with the introduction of the Insight Programme.The initiative is aimed at people interested in joining Cheshire Constabulary who are aged 18 and above, and from not only the BME community but with any protected characteristic under the Equality Act.

The ‘Insight’ programme enables individuals to learn more about the force, improve confidence, develop presentation and communication skills and provide awareness of the process in relation to the recruitment of various roles.

It also hopes to help break down barriers between the community and local police force and help to instil confidence in the recruitment process.

PCSO Dionne Johnson, who is leading the programme, said: “I am really pleased to have the Insight Programme available to those with protected characteristics.

“We are working very hard to ensure anyone who falls under the Equalities Act feels that Cheshire Constabulary is the employer of choice.

“We want anyone with a protected characteristic to know that we care, and we are ensuring the Constabulary has a representative workforce and is inclusive of all members of our different

communities.”

The Insight Programme also recently featured on the Sunday Politics Show.

In October, Home Secretary Teresa May highlighted that four police forces in England and Wales (Cheshire, Durham, North Yorkshire and Dyfed-Powys) do not have a single black police officer.

The BBC carried out an interview with Cheshire’s Chief Constable Simon Byrne at the time to discuss the issue. They returned earlier this month to follow up the story – and find out what Cheshire is actively doing to address the points raised by the Home Secretary. The programme aired on March 20.

Cheshire has a very small ethnic minority population (approximately 3 per cent of the population).

Town trouble hotspot closed downCheshire Constabulary has successfully applied for a closure notice to temporarily shut down a nightclub in Warrington.Officers entered the Reef Bar in Bridge Street at around 3.45am on Sunday, March 20. Customers were asked to leave the premises and were subsequently checked by the Force drugs dog, while specially trained officers carried out a thorough examination of the premises itself.

Six people were arrested during the operation and a large quantity of controlled drugs were recovered. Consequently, a closure notice was served on the

premises - which was later ratified by the courts with a six-week closure order.

Part of the Operation Impact campaign, this was the latest activity in the Constabulary’s efforts to tackle those whose supply and use of illegal drugs brings misery to others.

Warrington Local Policing Unit commander, Chief Inspector Pete Shaw, said: “Warrington town centre’s night time economy has, for some time, been a very challenging environment to police.

“Large numbers of people are arrested in town most weekends and it is too common for assaults to take place and for officers and members of the public to be injured by people under the influence of drugs and alcohol.

“This particular nightclub had been highlighted as the cause of much of the disorder in town and it was tonight closed down by officers under the Anti-Social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014.

“The operation strikes a blow to those intent on making Warrington a violent and unpleasant place to be and clearly demonstrates that drug abuse in Warrington will not be tolerated by Cheshire Constabulary.”

Positive action to maximise diversity

Cheshire Constabulary has demonstrated its vision of being a force fit for the future by investing in 1,700 tablet computers - which could mean an extra 340,000 hours of police officer time on the streets.

The Constabulary is looking to provide the majority of officers with the latest mobile computing devices later this year.

“It’s a real opportunity to improve the productivity of our officers” said Chief Constable Simon Byrne.

“By having mobile computing power in their pockets, connected to force systems, there will be no need for officers to return several times per shift to a station to complete routine reports. Instead, they can file reports from victims’ homes, from libraries or council offices, even in town centres themselves – wherever wifi or 4g connections allow.

“As importantly, they will be able to access force systems and share intelligence in real-time – which means that information about a suspect or missing person can be shared across the county in seconds, rather than hours as it is currently.

“We estimate that providing these devices – properly connected to the systems we use – will save an average of an hour per officer per patrol. That’s the equivalent of putting an extra 200 officers on the streets.”

The Constabulary is now assessing some of the

products available to us from Samsung, HP and Lenovo, both for cost and for how well they match up to the needs of officers as they patrol our streets.

The roll-out of mobile tablets is planned for later in 2016. It comes on the back of a six month pilot, which has resulted in a decision to procure Microsoft Windows 10 based tablets for ease of connectivity to police IT systems.

The force is currently reviewing potential tablet computers from some of the world’s biggest providers. Work is already underway in-house to develop a range of applications that will enable officers to use back-office systems while on the move – as well as developing new ways of working that reduce bureaucracy and improve efficiency.

Officers and staff celebrated a milestone earlier this month when the Constabulary’s Twitter account clocked up its 100,000th follower.

For the past seven years the Constabulary has embraced the popular social networking site to deliver news, highlight incidents and issue witness appeals to tens of thousands of Cheshire residents.

Twitter has been used to communicate a broad range of news, from the tragic to the humorous and from the serious to the downright bizarre.

Cheshire has become known for a style that is both informative and engaging, and in more recent times has hit local news headlines for its use of puns in some of its more irreverent updates – including news of a pony in the road who was a little hoarse, and the arrest of a shady sunglasses thief.

Among those incidents that have attracted the most interest are the Bosley tragedy, a warning of

potentially lethal legal highs and a light-hearted ‘appeal’ for someone to claim their cannabis.

Chief Constable Simon Byrne is a keen ‘Tweeter’ himself. He said: “At Cheshire we pride ourselves in making the best use of technology to improve policing and make us more open and accessible.

“Social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook have become an integral part of how we interact with our communities. They allow us to provide the public with information almost instantaneously, and are a tool to help deliver our messages directly to people.

“Our officers recognise this is a legitimate part of their relationship with the public, while it is also proving useful for gathering intelligence, informing the public of organisational developments and change, and encouraging people to report incidents to us.”

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Investment in modern day policing

And finally.....