To fulfil our responsibility to continuously consult residents on local policing the Partnership has devised a comprehensive consultation process to obtain views of the public, ensuring as many people as possible are given a voice on policing within their community.
The consultation process to gauge local opinion on policing is vital to help inform the Partnership on the issues being experienced within the district, before it begins to discuss priorities to be included in any local policing plan. The process consists of the following elements:
Local Policing Survey
A local policing survey of the district is randomly circulated to approximately 1 in 10 households throughout the district on an annual basis. The survey seeks to gauge local opinion in a number areas including: - perceived crime issues in the district; how the police should respond; satisfaction in policing and levels of patrolling; and communication with the DPP.
On analysis of the 2003 local policing survey the Partnership agreed upon a number of priority areas for the District Command Unit to consider in the 2004/ 05 policing plan, namely; traffic management, domestic burglary, safety of the elderly, underage drinking, anti-social behaviour, vehicle crime, domestic violence, illegal substance abuse and assaults against the person.
Focus Groups
The Partnership also commissions the facilitation of policing focus groups from an independent research consultant. Focus groups allow the Partnership to explore in more depth common issues emanating from the survey. The decision on the number and composition of each group is determined by the results of the public consultation survey and the gender, age and religion of respondents. The 2001 census results for the district on age, gender and community background are compared with that of survey respondents to determine the composition of focus groups undertaken.
The Partnership also operates a facility on the web site (www.cookstown.gov.uk/dpp) offering the public the opportunity to submit their views on policing within the district.
Enabling Consultative Forums
The Partnership, with financial assistance from the Northern Ireland Policing Board, operates a Consultation Grants Scheme offering community orientated organisations the opportunity to apply for monies to enable them to meet and discuss with local police officers crime issues, and ways of reducing it in their locality.
The overall aim of the Consultation Grants Scheme is to have at least one representative community orientated organisation located within the areas covered by Neighbourhood Policing Teams within the district, so as to have a network which the Partnership can liaise with at a local level for consultation purposes.
For further information on our consultation process, and on how we have met our consultative function throughout 2003/ 2004 please view the 2003 Public Consultation and Policing Priorities Report, and the 2003-04 Annual Report.