Quality of Service

Making it easier to contact us

• Providing equality of access to services and information.
• Providing a range of ways to access our services that address the needs of users.
• Consulting with those who use our services and the local community about what is important to them and to publish specific local commitments.
• Providing a range of information that focuses on areas of service that you have told us are important to you and ensuring the information is easy to understand.
• Widely publicising the details of how you can access police services in your local area.

Providing a professional and high quality service 

• Acting with integrity and treat everyone we deal with fairly and openly.
• Treating people politely and with respect.
• Taking people’s concerns seriously and explain what we are doing to address them, including whether or not we are taking action, and why.
• Providing people with the help and advice you need.

Dealing with your initial enquiry

• Ensuring that we properly understand what you are telling us.
• Explaining how we are going to deal with people’s enquiries.
• Wherever possible provide people with a reference number.
• Ensuring that where an enquiry requires specialist knowledge or expertise, we will transfer people to the appropriate named person or department for your enquiry.
• Ensuring that where the appropriate person is not on duty and we cannot connect you, tell you of the  delay and give you the opportunity to leave a  message.  You will be made aware of the  likely length of time it will be before someone  will respond to your message.
• Ensuring that if your enquiry is not an emergency but does require a police officer or other member of staff to visit you, arrange a suitable time with you. If something changes and we cannot  keep to the arrangement we have made we  will inform you at the earliest opportunity.
• Ensuring that if your enquiry is about something that the police cannot deal with, tell you if there is another organisation that can help you and if so, how to get in touch with them.

Keeping you informed

• Publishing Local Policing Summaries.
• Providing people with the details necessary for you to be able to talk to someone about your  enquiry. In most cases this will be a  reference number and the name and contact details of the person dealing with your enquiry.
• Updating people at a mutually convenient time and in an agreed way.
• Taking into account any concerns people may have about confidentiality.
• Ensuring that if we have not already been in touch with you, contact you monthly (consistent with  the requirement of the Victims' Code of  Practice) to let you know whether we are still  actively investigating your case and when we  will review that decision.  If we are not investigating we will explain the reasons for that decision.

Your Voice Counts

• Providing a range of ways in which you can let us know your views and widely publicise these locally.
• Responding to you within 10 working days when requested.
• Publishing regular updates about what we are doing to improve our services as a result of views received.
• Migration to telephone surveys.

Victims of Crime

• Identifying and supporting vulnerable victims and children.
• Providing victims with a Victims of Crime leaflet (and other relevant leaflets depending on the nature of your case).
• Ensuring that, unless you ask us not to do so, pass your details to Victim Support within 2 days.
• Keeping you informed of the progress of the investigation, including arrest, caution reprimand, warning, charge, release on bail and court proceedings.
• Ensuring that with your consent pass your details on to other organisations which are involved in your case.

Freedom of Information

• Respond to any appropriate request for  personal information within 40 calendar days.
• Respond to any request for any other information within 20 working days.
• Ensure that any information on our websites is accurate and kept under review.

Complaints

• Recording, investigating and responding to you as appropriate.
• Ensuring we are open and transparent as the maintenance of effective policing will allow.
• Setting local standards for the timeliness of our response, the information to be supplied to you and the opportunity available to you to seek further information if you are not content  with the initial response.
• Ensuring we use this information to inform the development of future local policy and practice.
• Ensuring we use this information to increase our understanding of how you wish to be treated.