The first set of comprehensive value for money profiles relating to police forces in England and Wales highlight that Dyfed Powys Police is delivering a good service at a relatively low cost.
The profiles, developed by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC), look at income and expenditure, the make up of our workforce, offences committed and levels of satisfaction and confidence in our communities. In terms of costs to the public, the main issues highlighted by HMIC were:
- Dyfed Powys Police will spend £105m of public money in 2009/10
- The force costs more per head of population for officers and staff than the peer force average, but less ;for non-staff costs such as premises and transport
- Dyfed Powys employs 1,940 people, equivalent to 3.8 staff per 1,000 residents, more than the peer average
- It has more police officers than the peer average but fewer police community support officers (PCSOs) and fewer police staff
- Around 51% of the force personnel are in front line uniformed policing work – primarily, neighbourhood policing; officers responding to emergency and other calls; and specialist operational duties such as traffic policing and dog-handlers. This is above the peer average
Welcoming the assessment, Chief Constable Ian Arundale said:
“We are working hard with the Police Authority to deliver a service that is continuously improving but represents good value for money for the Dyfed Powys council tax payer.”
“We all know that public finances are likely to be under extreme pressure in the next few years, but we have plans in place to protect our front line service delivery, ensuring that you are satisfied and confident in your local police.”
The main points coming out of the first set of VFM profiles are outlined below.
Income and Expenditure
- The force has the lowest level of expenditure per head of population for PCSOs. This is because the Force and Authority declined an accelerated funding package for extra PCSO recruitment offered by Home Office several years ago as there was no guarantee of future funding and there were concerns that local council tax payers would have to foot the bill.
- Costs per police officer are marginally higher than average, although levels of police officer and police staff overtime are below average. This is mainly down to the geography of our area and the fact that with the exception of some larger towns, we generally have a sparse, largely rural population.
- Virtually all non-staff and supplies and services costs are below or at worst marginally above average
- The proportion of the Force budget comprised by local funding is the 7th highest in England and Wales, with the level of Band D Council Tax being the 11th highest. Dyfed Powys Police gets the bulk of its funding centrally from government (Home Office and Welsh Assembly). This is allocated for general purposes on a formula basis or for specific purposes via specific grants. The formula used to allocate central grants is mainly based on predicted numbers of incidents and crimes. As a relatively safe area to live, Dyfed Powys Police’s formula allocation is low per head of population.
- The Police Authority can supplement this locally through Council Tax. Although the council tax level in the Dyfed Powys Police area is lower than that of its three most comparable Forces (Lincolnshire, North Wales and Norfolk), it is £17 a year higher per Band D property than the average for England and Wales. Dyfed Powys has to meet the challenge of keeping low levels of crime and incidents per head of population whilst policing responsively the largest geographical force area in England and Wales.
- As an extremely rural force, Dyfed Powys currently receives funding to meet the specific challenges posed by policing the largest geographical force area in England and Wales, but this funding is under threat and if lost, could be an additional burden to council tax payers
Workforce
- The number of police officers employed by the Force is marginally above the average per 1,000 population, but the comparative number of police staff employed is lower
- The Force has above average numbers of police officers at all ranks
- The Force has the eighth highest proportion of community officers per 1,000 population, but these officers deal with the lowest number of crimes. As an extremely rural and geographically large force, our officers face significant challenges in providing a visible and accessible service, but this is an area that the Force and Authority are working together to improve. As well as providing a reassuring presence in your communities, officers are involved in a range of daily tasks focusing on crime reduction, community engagement and much more.
- Between March 2006 and March 2009, the Force recorded above average increases in staff engaged in local and community policing, specialist functions, operational support and the control room. Increases in business support have been minimal and below average
This is in line with our local Policing Pledge, which says that our Neighbourhood Policing Teams will spend as much time as possible in local communities
- Staffing in business support (such as finance, human resources and IS&T) functions is marginally above average
- The Force has the third lowest levels of staffing per 1,000 population in investigation, with extremely low levels in relation to CID generally and fraud specifically due to the low levels of crime, particularly serious crime, experienced in our force area. Higher than average numbers of staff are employed to deal with child abuse, sexual offences and domestic abuse because we recognise the seriousness of these types of offences and the high risk that could be posed to vulnerable members of our communities
Offences
- Crime levels are extremely low and either the lowest or in the bottom six for all offences (with the exception of drug offences). We tend to record more drug offences than some other forces, because this has been highlighted as a priority by members of the public when we consult with them and so we take a strong proactive stance in dealing with drug crime, particularly drug trafficking
- Changes in the number of recorded offences paint a very positive picture, with higher than average reductions in nearly all crime categories
- Reductions in burglary are less pronounced (although numbers are already extremely low) and although a reduction in vehicle crime has been achieved since 2005/6, it is the lowest in England and Wales
Outcomes and Satisfaction
- The force has the highest sanction detection rate (44%) in England and Wales
- Detection rates for vehicle offences are just above average but are weaker than other areas of our crime performance and this is something that senior management are focusing on
- The Force has the lowest volume of 999 calls per 1,000 population, but the highest percentage answered on time. The number of calls dealt with per member of control room staff is below average
- In terms of public confidence, the force is slightly below average levels in England and Wales but significant work is ongoing to improve on this position. The number of people who perceive drugs to be a big or fairly big problem is about average
- The Force has the second highest proportion of people in England and Wales who believe that we are dealing with local concerns and amongst the lowest numbers of people perceiving high levels of anti-social behaviour
- There is a large difference in the satisfaction levels of people from white and black minority ethnic (BME) communities as recorded through survey work. This is an area of significant work for the force at present and some improvements have already been achieved
- Overall satisfaction levels are the eighth highest in England and Wales
The Value for Money profile provides a wealth of new information that has never previously been available to forces or the public. The results will be used by senior managers and the Police Authority to further enhance efficiency and effectiveness and provide the visible, reassuring service that you expect.
