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This sets out our vision for the Cambridge Constabulary in terms of the key features, capabilities and behaviours that we want and will need over the coming years.
The corporate plan is developed by senior managers within the force.
It's determined from an understanding of current risks in key business areas and the decisions of the force strategic tasking and co-ordination group to ensure the objectives can be achieved. National, regional and local priorities are considered as well as the Policing Vision 2025.
Policing is complex, yet fundamentally our job has not changed over many decades - to uphold the King’s peace and to prevent and detect crime set against a philosophy of policing by consent -which is admired right across the world.
What we deal with today is challenging, and at a time when the demands and pressures placed upon the service are growing, and with the ever-increasing divergence of the policing mission, it is vital we are clear on our operational and organisational priorities. Importantly, ‘how’ we do things, our internal culture and values, both as individuals and as an organisation are vital to secure the public’s trust and confidence.
This has been tested more than ever over the past 12 months, with concerns continuing over perceived inequality and disproportionality of police actions, in terms of our position on ethics, diversity, equality and inclusion, as well as how we deal with those responsible for violence against women and girls – both our own staff and the public. We have also seen the debate play through in operational contexts, such as protest.
That is why our Corporate Plan extends beyond simply outlining our operational and organisational priorities and our values, and includes our Statements of Intent covering VAWG, ethics, diversity, equality and inclusion, the Harm to Hope strategy and our One More Step prevention strategy.
We have never been more held to account than in the current policing environment and while we should welcome the scrutiny, we should be in no doubt that what we do and importantly how we police, will rightly continue to be under the spotlight by the communities we serve. The revised Code of Ethics should be at the centre of how we do things.
At this time the political landscape is uncertain, however, the narrative surrounding dealing with key crimes such as burglary, violence as well as anti-social behaviour will continue, and we must follow all reasonable lines of enquiry to ensure we maintain public trust. Here in Cambridgeshire, as with other counties, the Police and Crime Commissioner’s elections have just taken place and although it adds to the uncertainty, this Plan gives a clear direction of what are our priorities for the forthcoming 12 months.
I want Cambridgeshire Constabulary to provide an excellent service - a Constabulary where we all deliver an inclusive and professional policing service in line with our Culture Statement, working alongside our partners and importantly our communities. Preventing crime through our ‘One More Step’ strategy and helping people feel safe has to be a priority, and when someone calls upon us in their time of greatest need, we must ensure we respond professionally and in accordance with our values and statements of intent.
I am proud to be the Chief Constable of Cambridgeshire Constabulary and I know I have fantastic people working hard for communities right across the county and beyond. This Corporate Plan sets out our focus for the forthcoming year to ensure we continue to provide the highest standard of policing service possible.
The Cambridgeshire Constabulary Integrity Statement of Intent aims to promote the highest standards of professional behaviour and conduct of all staff and officers, actively supporting and utilising the Code of Ethics.
We work to the values statement of ‘Working together to deliver an inclusive and professional policing service with: Fairness, Integrity, Diligence and Impartiality.’ We use our Culture Statement to ensure everyone understands the behaviours and standards expected in accordance with our values.
Integrity remains fundamental to policing and Cambridgeshire Constabulary have it at the heart of everything we do. Our People and Professionalism Department aides the delivery of all areas affecting our people and provides good counsel, example, knowledge and learning in areas where integrity is pivotal, however, everyone is the guardian of integrity.
We will ensure that lessons are learned from all relevant internal and external channels and ensure all necessary actions, including effective communication with our staff and officers, is undertaken and seen through to completion.
The integrity of Cambridgeshire Constabulary is safeguarded by a range of laws, policies and governance within PSD which puts standards of behaviour the public can have confidence in, through application of:
Cambridgeshire Constabulary is committed to creating an inclusive working environment where everyone is valued for who they are and what they bring to policing.
We recognise that diverse perspectives are the best way of solving many of the complex issues facing us today, and to achieve this, we must ensure all voices are respected and heard. We are a progressive organisation where innovation and enterprise are encouraged, and people feel empowered to make a difference.
We are continually seeking ways to learn and grow, and influence positive change beyond our force boundaries. We recognise the importance of continually investing in our people and ensuring they have the right support in place to flourish.
We know that by doing this, everyone will feel part of the team and happy in the workplace, which is crucial for our organisation to thrive.
Through our culture, we aim to build trust and confidence in one another and our communities and we will achieve this by ensuring our behaviours reflect our force values of Fairness, Integrity, Diligence, and Impartiality to deliver a first-class service to the people of Cambridgeshire.
Our priorities | Our focus | Our aims |
We will safeguard the vulnerable |
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We will combat acquisitive crime |
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We will reduce harm to communities |
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We will tackle serious and organised crime | Serious and organised crime with particular focus on groups involved in:
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We will increase public satisfaction |
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Our priorities are: | Our focus is: | We will: |
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People |
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Partnerships |
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Resources |
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Transformation |
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Working together to deliver an inclusive and professional policing service. Our values are:
Fairness - we will treat people fairly by acting with equality, objectivity and legitimacy
Integrity - we will always do the right thing and are honest, truthful and reliable
Diligence - we will be diligent in our duties and responsibilities and are conscientious, persistent and attentive
Impartiality - we will be impartial, not discriminating unlawfully or unfairly, but are independent, open-minded and balanced
The Cambridgeshire Ethics, Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Statement of Intent aims to embed ethics, diversity, equality and inclusion in all aspects of policing.
It aims to create a workforce that is truly representative of the diverse communities we serve, utilising positive action initiatives to better understand the barriers to developing a representative workforce at all levels, and develop a more inclusive culture where all staff feel valued and supported and recognises that diverse perspectives are the best way of solving many of the complex and challenging issues facing policing.
We will adopt the approach of the NPCC Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Strategy 2018-2025, and Policing Vision 2025 - while moving towards the Policing Vision 2030. We will also work to acknowledge and embed the impending NPCC’s Race Action Plan with its overall vison of creating a police service that is anti-racist and trusted by Black people, and continue to use the Police Code of Ethics to promote, reinforce and support the highest standards in policing.
This approach complements and supports the Cambridgeshire Constabulary corporate plan and aligns to the Constabulary’s annual STRA (Strategic Threat and Risk Assessment) business planning cycle and environmental scanning.
The associated delivery plan will establish a robust research and evidence base to inform activity aligned to the Constabulary’s organisational priorities and reinforce the core Constabulary values of Fairness, Integrity, Diligence and Impartiality.
We will:
• Achieve a positive shift in our workplace culture where people, no matter their background and circumstances, feel confident to disclose their protected characteristics
• Attract, engage, develop and retain a workforce that is representative of the communities it serves
• Understand our communities by developing effective engagement strategies that enable interaction with diverse groups, fostering strong relations that build trust and confidence
• Work with our partners to implement strategies to explain, where necessary reduce, and where possible eliminate disparity and enhance public service
• Understand the impact of our policies and practices on people with different protected characteristics by conducting equality analysis and take steps to identify and address disproportionality
Cambridgeshire Constabulary will adopt the approach of the NPCC Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Strategy 2018-2025 and accompanying toolkits: Our Organisation, Our Communities and Our Partners, to inform activity within the Ethics, Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Delivery Plan, and support delivery against the equality objectives.
In the past year appalling examples of behaviour by police officers have come to light and there is deep public concern about what these events say about policing and how they have impacted public trust.
Such behaviour is not isolated to large police forces, there have been other concerning examples elsewhere and police forces continue to identify officers who have abused their positions to sexually harass and harm women.
The actions of these people betray our code of ethics and the public we serve. They also raise serious questions about culture in policing if this behaviour happens and in some cases is not called out.
Events of the past year, combined with women’s longstanding concern that the criminal justice system does not protect them or bring them justice in violent and sexual crimes, has led to a serious loss of trust in the police.
Far too many women have been asking themselves if the police are on their side in tackling violence against them, and if they can trust us to help them.
There are also long-standing challenges in our relationship with Black communities. The confidence gap of 10 to 20 per cent compared with the national average remains deeply concerning. Racial disparities exist in policing that we still cannot fully explain.
To address this, a new police framework launched in December 2021, set out action required from every police force to make women and girls safer.
The framework is developed under three key pillars of delivery:
Policing uses the Home Office definition of Violence Against Women and Girls, ( VAWG) as outlined in their VAWG strategy:
“The term ‘violence against women and girls’ refers to acts of violence or abuse that we know disproportionately affect women and girls. Crimes and behaviour covered by this term include rape and other sexual offences, domestic abuse, stalking, ‘honour’-based abuse (including female genital mutilation forced marriage, and ‘honour’ killings), as well as many others, including offences committed online.”
The Government Harm to Hope Strategy recognises drugs are a global problem, causing considerable harm around the world. Drug use and harms have been rising, blighting neighbourhoods and holding communities back from levelling up to their full potential.
Since the last Government drugs strategy was published in 2017, it has become clear the UK needed to step back and understand why things have continued to head in the wrong direction.
Dame Carol Black was commissioned to carry out a two-part review of drugs policy. Part one was a broad assessment of the evidence on illegal drug supply into the UK and how criminals meet the demand of users, and part two made specific recommendations for improving prevention, treatment and recovery.
The 32 recommendations from Dame Carol Black’s report have been taken into consideration as part of the system wider consultation in Cambridgeshire. Harm to Hope 10-year Strategy clearly identifies many factors that had been missed in previous Government Strategies, including the focus on prevention and working in partnership, ensuring a whole system approach.
The Harm to Hope Strategy incorporates all the system’s gaps which are captured in the recommendations in Dame Black’s report, identifying that collectively focusing on ‘breaking the cycle of crime’ needs a partnership approach. The whole system needs to invest and work together to be a success.
Cambridgeshire Constabulary aims to be an organisation that works in Partnership and support the Multiagency Countywide Strategy and Drug and Alcohol Delivery Plan
The Drug and Alcohol Delivery Board, which is co-chaired by Cambridgeshire Constabulary and Public Health, has identified six priority/key themes: • Whole systems’ approach
Cambridgeshire Constabulary will work collectively with partners to support the delivery on the following strands:
Cambridgeshire Constabulary supports the whole system approach required to “break the cycle of crime” of a dependent drug user.
Cambridgeshire Constabulary is committed to Creating a Safer Cambridgeshire through the reduction of harm and prevention of crime in our communities, with the ethos of each and every one of us ‘Taking One More Step’.
Preventing crime and disorder will always be preferable to dealing with incidents after they have occurred - ensuring we protect the public, increase confidence and reduce harm in our communities.
Prevention and problem solving is everyone’s responsibility.
Having a prevention and problem-solving mind-set will be a ‘golden thread’ evident throughout the organisation, demonstrated by everyone in our day-to-day activities.