Policing in Austerity Meeting the Challenge

The latest HMIC report looking at how our police services are coping with the 20 percent cut to central government funding has been published (see link below)

I was particularly interested in their words about collaboration which the HMIC defines as “all activity where two or more parties work together to achieve a common goal, which includes inter-force activity and collaboration with the public and private sectors, including outsourcing and business partnering.”

Some of you may know that I recently wrote to some of the police services that did not have a link to TCPW from their crime prevention pages, inviting them to do so.  I’ve recently heard back from Greater Manchester Police and Bedfordshire Police who are arranging to put a link in place soon and from Norfolk Constabulary, who has declined, stating that they have a policy not to link to external websites, in spite of the fact that they link to my friends at The Master Locksmiths Association?*%!!:-( 

My next newsletter will let you know how I’ve got on with trying to forge these extra links!

There are a lot of non-police websites in the UK that offer excellent and often free help and support to the public, operated by both charities, individuals and companies (Just take a look at my Partners page and Library for just a few examples!) and so it does come as a surprise to me when I see so few of them being linked to from police websites.

I’m sure things will change – eventually.

HMIC Report Policing in Austerity: Meeting the Challenge: http://www.hmic.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/policing-in-austerity-meeting-the-challenge.pdf