A formula to beat policing blues

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/england/nottinghamshire/8063050.stm

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The formula aims to increase faith in the police

A senior police officer has devised an Einstein-like formula as a way of ensuring people have "faith in the police".

Chief constable of Nottinghamshire Police Julia Hodson has come up with the formula as a means of pulling together all the attributes needed to fight crime and win public confidence.

It reads CE+CI+CS+VCxC PC.

Her bobbies on the beat are encouraged to view the problem of adding Community Engagement (CE) with how officers handle Critical Incidents (CI), Customer Satisfaction (CS) and Volume Crime (VC).

Those manning the thin blue line will then see that by multiplying that sum by communication (C) officers should find public confidence (PC) increasing.

Mick Taylor, chairman of the Police Federation in Nottinghamshire, said: "We think Ms Hodson is probably right although she is probably more cerebral than I am.

"We think she is trying to put it in something that will catch the public's imagination."

'Not rocket science'

Mr Taylor said the equation was designed to show an increased emphasis on the importance of the public having confidence in the police.

The equation was also part of the move away from "target-driven policing".

"We are now more focused on the public's confidence in us, rather than people being prosecuted for minor offences because officers don't know how to use their discretion," he said.

A spokesman for the force said Ms Hodson had used the formula when doing presentations to officers and other public bodies interested in tackling crime.

He added: "There's nothing in it that is not stating the obvious in some respects. Public confidence is a huge issue for policing and this is how you achieve that by making all the bits work.

"It's not rocket science. Public confidence is easy to achieve if you do this, this and this."