Transforming West Midlands Police

Blueprint for transformation

The new face of crime needs a new form of policing. Silent crime, such as violence in the home, is on the rise. Traditional criminals are turning to cybercrime as online threats increase in frequency and sophistication. Citizens have high expectations for a faster, easier and more personal service.

With a need to raise performance using existing resources and reduced budgets, the Police and Crime Commissioner looked at how WMP could partner with the private sector to improve outcomes for the citizens of the West Midlands and proactively reduce future demand for services.

Initial steps included evaluating the current police organisation’s structure and size, ways of working, culture, performance, calls for service ("demand") and technology enablers to find the gaps between its existing operations and the vision for 2020.

The blueprint was informed by extensive consultation between the police and the public:

• 11K Employees
• 2^nd Largest force in England and Wales
• 2.9M Citizens served
• 1,600 Responses to social media campaign
• 1,390 People gave feedback at 18 road shows
• 80 Workshops
• 3,500 Survey responses
• 11 Events with partner agencies
• 80 Call-backs to victims

What are WMP core pillars?

WMP identified six fundamental pillars that were essential in shaping the blueprint that would deliver the WMP2020 vision.

PILLAR 1: We trust our people

• Act with integrity and make good decisions
• Improve organisational fairness and voice
• Adopt a new leadership promise
• Improve wellbeing and performance management
• Develop effective workforce design, mix and planning
• Attract and develop diversity and talent

PILLAR 2: Information drives our actions

• Increase Information access, insight, foresight & security
• Become more predictive
• Access to information when it’s needed
• Collaborate across boundaries and with partners
• Prevent crime and reduce harm
• Improve efficiency / reduce costs
• Increase motivation and satisfaction

PILLAR 3: Designed to listen and reassure

• Better understand the environment: location, victim, offender
• Increase public confidence, participation and satisfaction
• Improve the fairness of WMP
• Understand neighbourhood policing units effectiveness
• Service design with citizens at the heart

PILLAR 4: Geared to prevent harm

• Reduce crime, demand, offenders, first time entrants into the system, and risk to the vulnerable
• Prevent crime and harm
• Reduce demand and offending
• Improve rehabilitation
• Increase partnership integration

PILLAR 5: Respond at pace

• Improve speed, efficiency, agility of response, driving stronger resolution
• Increase efficiency and effectiveness of front-line officers
• Improve public and staff satisfaction
• Prevent crime, protect and help the public
• Understand and reduce demand

PILLAR 6: Learn and adapt

• Collaborate and learn to develop successful interventions and services
• New model for organisational learning, evidence-based policing
• Collaborate and strengthen partnerships to deliver holistic interventions
• Improve operational training
• Apply research activity and findings to the work we do

By creating an Innovation and Integration Partnership (IIP) with Accenture, WMP was able to share accountability, risk and outcomes while enhancing flexibility and knowledge right from the start.

The importance of combining a people-first approach with new digital ways of working cannot be underestimated. WMP is seeing improvements that are both financial and non-financial — efficiencies through streamlined processes, increased productivity, and better access to information for officers.

SOLUTION:

Body-worn videos and secure storage database
Data from 1,500 body-worn videos can be accessed remotely.

Benefits:

1. Reduces harm and complaints against officers.
2. Increases transparency and trust.
3. Secures better evidence, enables cases to progress more quickly.

Mobile devices
Over 3,000 officers in response, Force Support and neighbourhood policing have access to a secure, scalable mobile platform.

Benefits:
Officers can easily and quickly share data, access and update on the go.

Real-time intelligence center
A new 24/7 team pushes out real-time intelligence to response officers.

Benefits:

1. Up to date timely, relevant and accurate information available 24/7.
2. Reduced need to use the Airwave radio, improves efficiency and reduces cost.
3. Frees up police time and saves costs, increased efficiency.

Analytics
Predict future outcomes, patterns and trends to deliver preventative policing.

Benefits:

1. Data-driven insights enhance intelligence and maximise productivity and efficiency.
2. Combats crime, reduces harm and identifies vulnerabilities.
3. Provides a single source of the truth to engender public and colleague trust.
4. Reduces the risk of operational errors and improves the quality of decision making.
5. Supports preventative interventions, identifies risk and better directs scarce resources.

Digital experience for citizens
Non-emergency calls moved to a more cost effective, easy-to-use website with option to engage via webchat.

Benefits:

1. Improved customer experience, with the ability to report crimes and track the progress of the investigation online.
2. Ability to model different crime and victim scenarios through a “what if…” modelling tool.
3. Ability to create a Witness Statement and upload digital evidence.
4. Better support for citizens/victims.