Alternatively, please scroll down the page if you would like to read more about the proposed changes.
Surrey Public First
Over the last few years, Surrey Police Authority and Surrey Police have made major changes to the way we go about our work. These changes are part of Surrey Public First - our plan to simply put local needs at the heart of our work, not complicated bureaucratic targets and inspections.
Surrey Public First has seen us:
- Stop chasing arbitrary and complex targets - that do not reflect local needs
- Return discretion to policing - giving our officers the freedom to use their common sense to resolve minor problems rather than having to always resort to formal action. This doesn't just help give better resolutions for victims - it saves hundreds of hours of officer time.
- Tackle head-on the problems concerning local residents most - such as antisocial driving, criminal gangs or low-level disorder over halloween and bonfire night.
The Chief Constable is now planning to take Surrey Public First even further by making major changes to the way Surrey Police operates. By making radical changes, we can put much more of our limited resources into frontline policing, giving a better and more accessible service for residents and making the lives of criminals as difficult as possible.
What is being planned?
The Chief Constable plans to recruit up to 200 new constables for Surrey and offer better ways to contact your local police by:
- reducing the number of senior officers by 50 posts - creating a smaller command structure and reducing our costs
- replacing the current structure of three geographical divisions by instead organising the force by its main functions - this will end the triplication of some functions, cutting overheads and bureaucracy
- locating neighbourhood policing teams in Borough & District council offices - to allow them to work better with their council counterparts on complex local problems like antisocial behaviour
- replacing outdated, expensive and under-used police buildings with better ways to visit the police - reducing how much we spend on maintaining little-used buildings and making it easier for people to visit the police by opening police counters in more accessible public places such as town halls or shopping centres.
The Police Authority agrees that these plans make sense for Surrey, particularly as the recession begins to hit public spending. The Authority will be setting testing targets for the Chief Constable to make sure that the new constables will make a real difference, driving down crime and increasing public confidence.
What would the changes look like?
- The increase in police constable numbers would have a significant impact on visible police presence. The increase would allow the Chief Constable to boost the number of officers patrolling Surrey's neighbourhoods, as well as strengthening the force's ability to tackle the most serious crimes
- Our ability to respond to 999 calls would be unaffected by the changes. Response and investigating officers would continue to be based in their current locations.
- Relocating police counters from police buildings to more accessible places would make it easier for you to visit Surrey Police. Would it be helpful to be able to speak to officers or staff at a permanent Surrey Police counter while you are shopping at your local shopping centre? Would it be convenient to be able to do all the things you could do at a Surrey Police station at your local town hall or library? We are consulting with communities to find out how we could improve accessibility to our services before any changes to police buildings take place. No police station will be closed unless a better alternative is in place.
- The changes are likely to take two to three years. The Chief Constable hopes to implement the majority of the changes by the summer of 2012.
More information
Click here to see the press release issued when the Authority gave its initial approval to the plans
Click here for a briefing sheet giving more detail on the proposals
We are keen to find out what local people think about the plans to replace some police buildings with different ways to visit the police. This will help Surrey Police make sure that its plans for change result in a better and more accessible service for local people.
You can do this by clicking the link below to fill in a ten minute questionnaire:
Alternatively, if you would like to write a comment or give a suggestion about the plans, you can send them in by clicking the following link:
Surrey Police and Surrey Police Authority intend to offer a range of additional opportunities to have a say on the changes in the years ahead. We will announce these as they become ready.
