Public Consultation - Issue Based Groups

How we consulted and who we consulted

As in previous years, in 2002/2003 we have consulted many issue based groups via discussion groups and questionnaires. The consultation was conducted by Community Consultative Workers (CCWs) from Greater Manchester Police Authority (GMPA) through their valuable contacts with different diverse groups within the Greater Manchester community.

In addition, a 'Views on Policing' survey was undertaken with a wide variety of issue based groups to find out people's views on policing and crime and disorder. The questionnaire asked for views on:

• experience of different types of crime during the last twelve months;
• concern about crime;
• recent contact with GMP;
• opinions of policing services; and,
• views on policing priorities.

The table below gives a full breakdown of the different groups consulted and the methods used.

What issue based groups said

Views on Policing survey
Experience of Crime - The main types of crimes respondents had experienced included:

• Having their home or property damaged by vandals;
• Having their car or vehicle broken into (and something stolen); and,
• Being verbally abused or assaulted because of their religion, ethnic group or sexual orientation.

Fear of crime - Respondents were more worried about experiencing crimes against property (e.g. burglary, damage to home/property, theft of car/vehicle and theft from car/vehicle) rather than crimes against the person.

Views on the services provided - 61% of respondents who had contacted GMP in the last 12 months were satisfied with the service they received. Of those that were dissatisfied with the service the main reasons given for their dissatisfaction were:

• You didn't take enough action; and,
• You didn't respond in a reasonable time.

Policing priorities - Respondents were asked to outline the 3 areas they felt that GMP should concentrate on in 2003-2004, bearing in mind GMP have a limited number of police officers and is faced with increasing numbers of crimes. The top priorities put forward included:

• Higher police visibility/profile (including in cars, on foot, on bikes, on horses);
• Working to reduce street crime (including muggings, robberies);
• Working to reduce youth problems/crime; and,
• Working to reduce drug problems/drug related crime.

Police visibility - Just under two thirds of respondents (64%) when asked when was the last time they saw a police officer, either on foot or in a vehicle, stated 'within the last week' or more recently.

Focus groups

In terms of policing priorities, the top five identified from the focus groups were:

• General policing - This included issues such as more visible policing, more feedback, better levels of investigation and detection and better police response times.
• Violent crime - This included murders, sexual assaults/rape and street violence.
• Robbery/burglary - This included street robberies/muggings and domestic burglaries.
• Alcohol and drugs - This included underage drinking, tackling drugs on the streets and better education for communities, especially young people, regarding these issues.
• Hate crime and issues regarding 'minority' communities - This included the way in which the police dealt with incidents reported by the ethnic minority communities and people with learning difficulties and disabilities. Issues around the manner in which stop and searches are carried out was also raised due to the disproportion of stops made to Black African-Caribbean men.

Action resulting from consultation

The use of a small scale survey and focus groups has allowed us to strengthen existing links with a wide range of issue based groups in the community. Allowing the diversity of needs and experiences of different groups from across Greater Manchester to be highlighted. It has also allowed links to be made with different groups who have not been consulted before.

Multi-agency working groups have been used to discuss and suggest ways of tackling the problems facing the many different issue based groups.

The information obtained via consultation has been used to inform the policing priorities for the force, as well as being used to help improve the ways in which we undertake consultation.

Plans for consulting issue based groups in 2003/2004

Focus groups and a short questionnaire are once again planned for 2003/2004 for the many different issue based groups to find out views on crime and disorder and policing in general.

Work will take place this year to revitalise the GMPA issue based working groups.

This year it has been proposed to hold a joint seminar in each of the districts for all the working groups (with issue based discussion groups as part of the event).

Any qualitative consultation with issue based groups will involve a pre-meeting (to explain what it is all about) and a feedback session (to provide information about what has been said and what will be done with the information).

As part of our drive to ensure continuous improvement in the consultation service, in 2003/2004 we will be looking at linking consultation into the strategy of the force, the policing plan and overall performance management and best value. We will be looking to continue our work with strategic partners and develop our consultation with the wider community as well as with hard to engage groups.

More information about how we consulted

• Issue Based Groups
• Partner Organisations
• Residents of Greater Manchester
• Victims and Service Users
• Youth Consultation
• Young People
• Summary
• Consultation Home Page