KEY DECISION
POLICE AND CRIME COMMISSIONER FOR BEDFORDSHIRE
Title and Reference – PCC/D/104
Subject: BCH Professional Standards Department (PSD) Prevent Team Educational Inputs
Report of: Police and Crime Commissioner
Date: 10/10/2023
Summary:

The Professional Standard Department submitted a proposal for funding via the Community Safety Fund.

The purpose of the proposal is to request financial support and further develop the work of the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, and Hertfordshire (BCH) Professional Standards Department (PSD) Prevent Team.

The past 12 months have seen a dramatic rise in the number of requests for the BCH PSD Prevent team to deliver bespoke educational inputs, attend Continuous Professional Development (CPD) events and provide support to line managers by working alongside them to mitigate identified risk within their business areas.

Building on this experience, the Prevent team have a clear vision of how future engagement to widen knowledge and forge closer working relationships across BCH should look – both internally and with our external partners.

Visibility, accessibility, and clarity are key to success. We would like to create and disseminate visible messages displayed on items for use in the workplace.

The PSD are able to put forward 25% match funding to commit to expenditure for the first quarter (Q) of the 23-24 budget year. The total cost to the OPCC for the remaining 3 quarters is £4,986.90 to include relevant branded collateral and course materials.

The educational inputs are themed for each Q, with each having significant relevance to identified priorities.

The focus will be to enhance messaging around priority thematic areas, which have been identified through Local, Regional, and National workstreams:

An update to our PSD Control Strategy
Amendments to the Code of Ethics
Mitigating Risk & Vulnerability
Learning

There will be a clear link to the importance of working closely with each other as well as the wider community. The focus for the priority areas identified link into the PCC’s Police and Crime Plan for Bedfordshire.

Priority II the recruitment and retention of police officers.
Priority III Tackling the causes of crime and breaking the cycle of re-offending, Priority IV Placing residents and the victims at the centre of policing priorities.
Priority VI Transparent and open communication.

Aims and Objectives:

PSD have clear deliverables for the requested funding, and these are:

To increase our visibility and engagement throughout BCH Policing
To provide Police employees with increased knowledge to reduce Public Complaints
To raise awareness of PSD Control Strategy areas, with a view to increasing the sharing of information
To raise awareness of Police Employee expected standards of behaviour and identify those who breach them
To highlight both individual and organisational risk and vulnerability factors, and working together to mitigate them
Overall goal is to enhance the Standards of Behaviour within Policing and to increase public confidence in our organisation

Recommendation

A recommendation is made for the OPCC to support the funding of the BCH PSD Prevent Team Educational Inputs, with the understanding that they support the following elements of the Police and Crime Plan through improved policing behaviours which in turn improves victim support, investigations, and wider working practises.

Priority II the recruitment and retention of police officers.
Priority III Tackling the causes of crime and breaking the cycle of re-offending, Priority IV Placing residents and the victims at the centre of policing priorities.
Priority VI Transparent and open communication.

To note decision
Bedfordshire Police and Crime Commissioner
I hereby approve the recommendations above.