Today, all B&NES Councillors received this letter from the most senior Policeman in the Authority:

Dear Colleague

Total crime reduction -7.4% compared to last year
Crime detection 36.5%
Customer satisfaction 85.6%

In my last letter I focused on levels of crime and the significant reductions in some key priority areas over the past few years. In this letter I thought I would focus on the levels of satisfaction expressed by the people who use the service.

One of the most significant messages which came back from those that use our service is the lack of feedback / follow up information they receive after reporting an incident or crime to us. I was very keen on my arrival to make a real difference to level of service we provide in this area. I appointed a person in a new position of Victim Advocate. This person works in the Police Station on behalf of victims of crime ensuring that people are kept up to date and have easy access to information relating to the case. We also put into place a much more rigorous process to ensure officers provide more regular updates in person. These efforts have been well received and as a consequence the levels of satisfaction have improved in respect of follow up information.

Levels of satisfaction for follow up information
Crime type Sept 08 Sept 09
Burglary 77% 90.3%
Vehicle 60.1% 66.7%
Violent 70.1% 77.2%
Anti social behaviour 43.9% 48.9%
Overall (follow up) 66.4% 73.9%

We have the highest overall customer satisfaction results in the force and have moved from 11/15 to 5/15 in our national position. I am particularly pleased that satisfaction for the overall service we provide for burglary is 97.1%. There is still much to do and I am not complacent, but it is good to see that we are moving in the right direction.

A little while ago I put in place a new approach to providing information to people who call us about anti social behaviour incidents. I hope that the 800 or so follow up phone calls we have made will increase people’s satisfaction with the service we provide. It is too early to see the results in these figures, but early indication from the staff making the calls are that people are delighted to be getting contacted. I am looking for a considerable improvement on the current 48.9% above.

Two areas of concern for us, one of which remains a problem, is a current small spate of distraction burglaries whereby elderly people are tricked into letting people into their homes only to find they have been conned and some of their property has been stolen. We are constantly working with the various agencies who link into elderly people to increase awareness and to put in place preventative measures. Equally we are putting a lot of energy into trying to catch the people responsible. The second issue relates to two robberies on students in the Lower Bristol Road on two separate nights. We immediately mounted an operation and a third robbery occurred on Friday night. Our response was immediate and with the use of a police dog and some swamping of the area by officers two men were arrested nearby and property and weapons were found. I can’t go into detail for operational reasons, but I am hopeful that these people will be charged and go to court.

Kind regards.

Yours sincerely

Gary Davies
Chief Superintendent
B&NES District Commander