Citizen Focussed Policing

I recommend reading this blog entry from Chief Inspector Andy Bennett about Citizen Focussed Policing:

http://www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/newsroom/blog/Display.aspx?bid=42

He defines it so:

Citizen Focus is: ‘A way of working in which an in-depth understanding of the needs and expectations of individuals and local communities is routinely reflected in the decision making, service delivery and practice.’

This quote equally applies to all public services including our local council, local education and NHS.

In policing terms what does it really mean?

It is a style of policing whereby there is active collaboration between the police, our partners and the public when delivering our service. We have to move away from always ‘doing policing to people’ where there is little or no choice and create an environment where local communities have some genuine opportunities to shape and contribute towards local policing.

This is more like the kind of approach we need. I like the sound of it and will watch with interest to see what happens with regard to putting it into practice.