Bedfordshire Police Headquarters

Bridgebury House, Woburn Road, Kempston, Bedfordshire, MK43 9AX

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Bedfordshire Police and Crime Commissioner

Annual Survey

OPCC Annual Survey 2023 / 2024

Police and Crime Commissioners (PCC) Survey Results 2023 – 2024

The Police and Crime Panel were provided with a summary of the Commissioner’s Annual Consultation with local residents in February 2024.

Click below to read the findings of the 23-24 Annual Survey.

OPCC Annual Survey 2022 / 2023

Police and Crime Commissioners (PCC) Survey Results 2022 – 2023

The Commissioner launched his Annual Survey on 1st November 2022.

The OPCC used a mixture of social media and mainstream media to bring the survey to local residents’ attention. A total of 603 people completed the survey.

The survey led to 152 (25%) sign-ups for the newsletter and 77 (13%) sign-ups for further information about volunteering for OPCC.

The Police and Crime Panel were provided with a summary of the Commissioner’s Annual Consultation with local residents in February 2023.

Click below to read the findings of the 22-23 Annual Survey.

OPCC Annual Survey 2021 / 2022

Police and Crime Commissioners (PCC) Survey Results 2021 – 2022

We recently conducted a pan Bedfordshire survey and wanted to share the headline results with you.

Overall

  • A total of 555 residents of Bedfordshire answered the survey.
  • Various research has shown that the availability of positive role models (mentors) for individuals that are more likely to enter into offending, can have a dramatic impact on the likelihood of those individuals not taking the path of criminality. The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) will work with partners and the business community to create a pool of relevant and experienced individuals that will help shape future life paths for those that take this opportunity.

These individuals will be involved and support by listening and entering into conversation around;

  • Future work opportunities / career aspirations
  • Understand existing skills and talents
  • What their plans are for the future
  • What issues are impacting upon them in their private life
  • How to seek assistance and support from external partners and agencies
  • Signpost them to external partners and agencies
  • How they can support them
  • How to build their confidence 

When asked ‘do you believe this approach would have a positive affect?’, 68% of respondents said yes.

  • 6% of respondents found the OPCC website wasn’t accessible. When asked why they felt this way, the most common response was that they prefer to speak to a member of the OPCC face to face or via email/phone rather than use the website to find the information.
  • 85% were not aware that the Delivery Board meetings were recorded and available to view on the website. 84% were also not aware they could raise questions to be asked at these meetings by emailing the OPCC.
  • Again, we struggled to receive the views from 16-24 year olds as they only made up 0.45% of respondents, which is lower than last year’s survey.

Crime

What the results told us:

  • When asked ‘are there any areas in Bedfordshire that you feel unsafe?’, 59% of respondents voted yes.
  • Within the survey, across the whole of the county, Luton was mentioned the most as an unsafe area from respondents. With some respondents mentioning specific areas across Luton.
  • 63% of respondents didn’t feel there was sufficient support available for those who wish to move away from criminality. When asked why they felt this way, the most common responses were lack of funding and lack of resources.

What the OPCC will do:

The commissioner is continuing to meet local Parish/ Town Councillors to understand the issues faced across Bedfordshire. With a focus on Luton and looking at how the force can impact on these areas to increase the feeling of safety.

Safer streets funding has been secured to focus on neighbourhood crime and ASB in the South Luton ward and initiatives will be implemented over the next 12 months. The Safer Street fund will be performance monitored and the results will reflect the safety of the targeted areas. This project will also build a strong platform for the OPCC to work with partners in engaging in similar concepts.

The OPCC have started a ‘Spotlight’ social media campaign to highlight the services which they commission. This is working towards highlighting the service, who they are, what they do and who they can support. This work will continue to promote the services, especially those who are commissioned to support those that want to move away from criminality.

Over the summer, the PCC supported the Summer Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme, hosted by the 3 local authorities, by providing each attendee with a Water Bottle with a QR Code which links through to the commissioned services who are there to support all communities across Bedfordshire.

Victim

What the results told us:

  • 69% of respondents were unaware of the number of police stations and hubs within Bedfordshire. This is a rise of 9%. As a result, 70% of respondents have not used the current available stations.
  • 49% of respondents were unaware of Bedfordshire Victim Care Services (BVCS) (previously known as Signpost). 94% of respondents had never used any of the services offered by BVCS. Positively, 68% of respondents would use BVCS if they became a victim of crime.
  • 85% of respondents were unaware of the Street Safe app.

What the OPCC will do:

Bedfordshire Police constantly use social media to highlight the different hubs and stations they own. The OPCC want to also work to highlight that stations and hubs are around the county for residents to visit.  

The BVCS will review its communications strategy and expand it where necessary. It will also review the referral rate from the force and carryout some internal communications to increase the referral rate.

As part of the Safer Street project the OPCC will promote the Street Safe App and what is done with the information to help improve the feeling of safety.

Watch Schemes

What the results told us:

  • 128 respondents were not aware of any of Bedfordshire’s Watch Schemes.
  • 80% of those who were aware of Watch Schemes, knew about Speed Watch.
  • Of all respondents, 11% would like to receive more information about the various Watch Schemes.

What the OPCC will do:

The OPCC and Bedfordshire Police have increased funding for the Watch Schemes and will engage with the team that supports these to get greater promotion and engagement in these schemes.

The OPCC have passed on the email addresses from those who asked to sign up and/or asked for more information about the Watch Schemes. The Watch Scheme team will be providing those with further information. More information on the Watch Schemes.

The items the OPCC will be monitoring or conducting directly due to this survey are:

  1. Safer Streets Project performance review
  2. Scrutiny of the work of the Neighbourhood Enforcement Team
  3. Promote the Delivery Board to get better engagement from the public
  4. The OPCC is holding a business conference where the various organisations will be highlighting support and advice for the businesses of Bedfordshire

PCC Survey Results 2020 /  2021

Overall

  • A total of 318 residents of Bedfordshire answered the survey.
  • 65% of respondents would like to see a more visible return to policing and to ensure that police are there when they need them. We have used this information to reinforce the position of the PCC
  • Again, we struggled to receive the views from 16-24 year olds as they only made up 0.79% of respondents views in the survey. The OPCC expected this result from survey results in previous years which is why we launched the Bedfordshire Youth Council in August 2020. We will be issuing the same topics from this survey through our online platform for BYC members to engage with as we fully appreciate a survey methodology does not work for all people. The results of that campaign will be looked at for a specific item of work and reported upon.
  • We have also decided to launch a factsheet and bespoke survey to the town and parish councils to encourage further dialogue in place of our annual council event which cannot take place this year due to Covid-19.


Crime
What the results told us:

  • Similarly to last year, burglary and anti-social behaviour are the two crime types that people feel most affects them in their local area. When asked about other issues that affected communities (that were not listed) the highest response for concern was county lines / drug dealing.
  • 69% of respondents feel safe or very safe in the area that they live, which is a 12% increase compared to last year.


What the OPCC will do:
The OPCC were pleased to note that the rate at which people feel safe has increased, however clearly we wish to pursue a further increase in this number so everyone can feel safe where they live work or visit. The Safer Street fund that the OPCC won in July 2020 will be performance monitored and if the results how us that residents and businesses alike feel safer after such a project this builds a strong platform for the OPCC to work with partners in engaging in similar concepts. 
 
Burglary was placed as a focus for the Strategic Board and the PCC will be updating the Police and Crime panel on progress in this are on December 9th 2020. Anti-Social Behaviour is a focus of the Neighbourhood Enforcement Team, a team the PCC is pleased to report is now at full strength as promised. The OPCC will monitor the progress of the teams focus on ASB to ensure its work continues to be a focus of Bedfordshire Police.
Drug use and dealing is a key focus operationally for the Boson team at Bedfordshire Police. They have had significant results this year and have been able to operate due to additional funding secured from the Home Office, however the OPCC will support them further by working with partners to introduce conditional cautions linked to supportive programmes for alcohol and drug misuse.  By understanding what works in other areas we will be able to introduce the most appropriate programmes in Bedfordshire to reduce the volume of drug dependency related crimes.
 
Victim
What the results told us:

  • 60% of respondents were unaware of the number of police stations and hubs within Bedfordshire as a result 60% of respondents have not used the current available stations.
  • The respondents’ most popular form of communication is via email.
  • 30% of residents have been a victim of crime within the last three years. However additional comments do show that those close to victims also feel affected. The majority of victims did report the crime.  

 
What the OPCC will do:
It is a positive result that the majority of respondents have reported the crime that has affected them, this means that Signpost, the service to help people recover from criminal activity can be made aware and support them directly. However, the OPCC will be asking Signpost to focus on a campaign on the impact of family and friends on victims of crime.

The OPCC has asked the Force to review the project they launched after last year’s survey when the information was difficult to find for community members on local hubs. The OPCC have written to all parish and town councils with a guide on how to find a local officer, so they can share with residents to support this message. As the majority of respondents prefer to receive email communication the annual survey for the OPCC will be changed to “Have you engaged vis email with your local team” instead of establishing if they have visited the local team physically.   
 
Bedfordshire Police Partnership Trust
What the results told us:
 

  • 64% of respondents said they have never heard of The Bedfordshire Police Partnership Trust (BPPT).
  • After explaining to the respondents about what the BPPT do and the services they provide, 60% of respondents said they would find this service useful. 

  
What the OPCC will do:
The OPCC has recently taken over management of the Bedfordshire Police Partnership Trust and is pleased that respondents feel the services of this charity would be beneficial, the key is now to ensure people are aware of ways the organisation can support them. A communications campaign has been designed and will launch in the new year. The campaign will be authorised by the trustees of the charity to ensure every focus is kept to the charities original mission and values.

Way forward
The recommendations which were highlighted in the findings of the annual survey have a direct focus on how the OPCC both supports and applies scrutiny to Bedfordshire Police and conducts its own programme of work. The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner has a monthly strategic board which is the forum to hold the Chief Constable and his force to account, the recommendations have been shared with the Executive Team and will be monitored from the January 2021 Strategic Board for updates.
The items the OPCC will be monitoring or conducting directly due to this survey are:
 
1: BYC Instagram – focus of crimes and reporting for young people
2: Safer Streets Project performance review  
3: Publication of a Fact Sheet and further survey for Town and Parish Councils
4: Scrutiny of the work of the Neighbourhood Enforcement Team
5: Review of communications project the Force conducted for the Community Hub information. The recommendations for changes to be brought to the OPCC for review before completion
6: Burglary focus paper to be taken to the December Police and Crime Panel and for a communications plan to be undertaken so the people of Bedfordshire can have all the available information on what Bedfordshire Police are doing about this crime area and how best we can all work towards preventing it. 
7: Signpost will launch a communications campaign about their services for family and friends of victims
8: Bedfordshire Police Partnership Trust Communications plan and rebranding project in 2021
9: Review of most appropriate drug and alcohol programmes to be linked to conditional cautions to support people away from criminality in a bid to reduce drug dependency issues.

PCC Survey Results 2019

We recently conducted a pan Bedfordshire survey and wanted to share the headline results with you.

Overall
– A total of 560 residents of Bedfordshire answered the survey.
– 65% of respondents would like to see a more visible return to policing and to ensure that police are there when they need them. We have
used this information to reinforce the position of the PCC
– Again, we struggled to receive the views from 16-24 year olds as they only made up 2% of respondents views in the survey which is why
we have begun the BYC Beds Youth Council. We have changed the approach to gaining the views of young people and will be using this
forum to be police influencers.

Crime
– Similarly to last year, burglary and anti-social behaviour are the two crime types that people feel most affects them in their local area.
When asked about other issues that affected communities (that were not listed) the highest response was the concern about illegal
encampments and the fear they cause specifically around theft from motor vehicles. 57% of respondents feel safe or very safe in the area
that they live, which is a 3% increase compared to last year.
 
Victim
– 64% of respondents were unaware of the number of police stations and hubs within Bedfordshire as a result 59% of respondents have not
used the current stations. This will require more force communications. The respondents’ most popular form of communication is via email.
The OPCC has asked the Force to launch a full project on the communication of the presence of its stations in communities and how
individuals can make contact with the Force.  
– 32% of residents have been a victim of crime within the last three years. However additional comments do show that those close to victims
also feel affected. The majority of victims did report the crime.  
– 15% stated they were referred to Victims Services which is a decrease of 16%. Of these, only 13% indicated they were either dissatisfied
or very dissatisfied, which is an improvement of last year by 28%. This has influenced our review of Signpost, we are aware the quality of
service is good but the access and knowledge to the service requires improving and this will form part of the review which is reported to at
Strategic Board.
– The most common views on services needed for victims were having someone to talk too and help with reporting the incident. 33% would
also like assistance beyond court. Some respondents also felt that being kept up to date on ongoing investigations would be the most
beneficial to them in terms of positive support. This will be taken to the Strategic Board for discussion as this should be covered under
Victim Code of Compliance in crime management.
 
Community Resolution
– In the 2018 survey, 60% of the respondents wanted to see community resolutions being used, with the public wanting to see reparation
resolutions. In the 2019 survey, after having launched the Community Remedy, only 29% of respondents knew about the scheme. After
explaining more about Community Remedy, the most popular community remedy was reparation/unpaid work. This reflects the 2018
survey results.

The recommendations which were highlighted in the findings of the annual survey have a direct focus on how the OPCC both supports and
applies scrutiny to Bedfordshire Police. The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner has a monthly strategic board which is the forum
to hold the Chief Constable and his force to account, the recommendations have been presented to the Executive Team and these will be
continually monitored.

PCC Survey Results 2018

We recently conducted a pan Bedfordshire survey and wanted to share the headline results with you. Overall:

A total of 1812 residents of Bedfordshire answered the survey.
The majority of respondents 62%, would like to see a more visible return to policing and to ensure that police are there when they need them.
In future we will need to ensure that we have a larger view from 16-24 year olds as they only make up 5% of respondents views in the survey.
We have had a 10% overall response from BME residents.
The survey also had the largest number of respondents from residents in Central Bedfordshire.
Crime

Burglary and ASB are the two crime types that people feel most affects them in their local area. When asked ‘other’ the most frequent concerns were speeding and dangerous driving. This could explain why only 54% of respondents felt safe or very safe in the area that they live.
Victim

Unfortunately, 62% of respondents were unaware of the police stations and hubs within Bedfordshire as a result 62% of respondents have not used the current stations. This will require more force comms, worth noting that 48% prefer to be emailed directly as a form of correspondence.
28% (482) of residents have been a victim of crime within the last 3 years. However additional comments do show that those close to victims also feel affected. A majority of victims actually reported the crime, although many comments that followed, reflected the theme of having little trust that anything would be done.
Only 31% (159) were referred to Victims Services and 41% indicated they were either dissatisfied or very dissatisfied. 55% of respondents said they would not want to report or felt unsure about reporting crimes on line. A high majority wanted to be able to talk to someone directly and have assistance from the new Signpost Hub to talk or report to the police. Respondents also felt that having assistance going through the court process and beyond would be key services they would like from Signpost.
Community Resolution
Positively, 60% would like to see community resolutions being used. There is still a great need to explain what this will look like and what it will mean to the public and victims. The public would like to see reparation resolutions.
The majority of recommendations that came as a direct result of the Survey were focussed on how Bedfordshire Police communicates and engages with the public. These recommendations were researched and put to Bedfordshire Police by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner at Strategic Board (the meeting where the PCC holds the Force to account) and will be monitored through the Force Communications plan.
For more details on the results of the survey please click here.

The Police and Crime Panel has agreed the Precept increase – 14 February 2019 

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