States of Jersey Police: Annual Performance Report 2013.

STATES OF JERSEY

STATES OF JERSEY POLICE: ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REPORT 2013

Presented to the States on 22nd April 2014 by the Minister for Home Affairs

STATES GREFFE

2014   Price code: C  R.52

STATES OF JERSEY POLICE

ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REPORT

2013

www.jersey.police.uk

CONTENTS

Page Foreword by the Chief Officer....................................................  2 Crime in Jersey 2013 ..................................................................  4 Key Comparisons ........................................................................  6 Major Operations and Investigations ..........................................  8 Policing in the Community .........................................................  9 Financial Crime ...........................................................................  12 Targeted Support and Intervention .............................................  12 Enhancing Public Confidence .....................................................  13 Delivering a Service to be Proud of ............................................  14 2013 Statistics .............................................................................  16

FOREWORD BY THE CHIEF OFFICER

I am pleased to present the States of  Jersey Police Annual Report for 2013  during  which  time  the  levels  of  recorded  crime  reduced  by  17%,  further  building  on  the  successive  decreases  in  2012  (4%)  and  2011  (13%).  

This significant reduction is the result  

of not only hard work and dedication  by  my  team  based  at  police  headquarters,  but  also  the  growing  number of partner agencies, volunteer  groups and community spirited people  who  collectively  make  our  Island  so  special – and who can be proud of their role in helping to make Jersey one of the safest places to live, work or visit.

However, this is not a time to be complacent, and I am saddened that we have seen a slight increase in the number of fatalities and serious injuries resulting from road traffic collisions. Making Jersey's roads safer is not just a Police and Transport & Technical  Services  Department  responsibility –  it  a  challenge  that  will  require  a commitment from us all. We have already launched our new "Let's Look Out for Each Other" campaign targeted at all road users – including drivers, cyclists and pedestrians.

Professionally, I have been pleased to see that a number of planned initiatives have contributed  to  the  overall  reduction  in  crime  levels.  It  is  also  important  to acknowledge that the economy and other external factors will also have played a part in the continuing downward trend.

Equally, the demand for police services is no longer limited to a traditional, high- visibility, crime-fighting role. Much of our work is now away from the limelight – for example areas such as tackling child sexual abuse, managing high-risk offenders, cybercrime,  missing  persons,  domestic  abuse,  serious  and  organised  crime  and counter-terrorism.  These  are  complex  and  intensive  activities,  many  focusing  on crime prevention, and which are at the heart of enabling Island residents and visitors to feel safe and secure.

In addition, and as a 24/7 operation, the police remain the service of last resort for many Islanders, agencies and voluntary groups. As such, we often provide a safe haven  for  people  in  need,  in  particular  vulnerable  children  and  adults  and  those suffering mental health problems. Increasingly we now also deal with social issues such as relationship breakdowns, nuisance behaviour and noise.

As  such,  and  despite  the  reduction  in  recorded  crime  during  2013,  we  saw  no corresponding decrease in the number of incidents we attended; any spare capacity created by the reduction in recorded crime has been off-set by new requirements. Whilst the nature of policing a dynamic and diverse community brings new and increased challenges, we remain committed to identifying efficiencies and savings to support the broader effort to deliver improved value to the public purse.

2013 marked the end of my first three years as your Chief Officer of Police. The initial priority has been for officers and staff to re-engage with Islanders, build stronger levels of trust and confidence across all sections of our community, as well as reduce levels of criminal activity.

The focus for the next three years will be to maintain the current low level of recorded crime and, where possible, reduce it further. To achieve this will require us to maintain our active and intrusive approach to investigating and detecting reported crime, as well as increasing our focus on crime-prevention activities, continuing to develop effective and focused partnerships, and further developing our high-visibility, community-led policing model.

In addition, now is the time to develop further the skills and abilities of our officers and staff, as well as further invest in modern equipment and technology to help us to meet our future challenges, and help Jersey to remain an attractive place to live, visit and invest.

It remains my privilege to serve the people of Jersey.

Michael Bowron QPM Chief Officer of Police

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CRIME IN JERSEY DURING 2013

3,172  crimes  were  recorded  in  Jersey  in  2013.  This  figure  represents  a  17.2% reduction on 2012's total, and was the third year in a row that fewer than 4,000 crimes have been recorded. 2013's total was the lowest level of recorded crime since States of Jersey Police adopted the National Crime Recording Standards 11 years ago.

Table 1. Recorded crime 2008-2013[1]

Types of offending

Figure 1 below shows a breakdown of all crime recorded in 2013. This pattern across categories has remained broadly the same over the past few years.

Offences against the person

35%

Offences against property 18%

Drug offences 4%

Other offences Acquisitive crime 3%

39%

Figure 1. Recorded crime categories 2013.

Acquisitive crime: This covers all forms of theft, burglary and financial crime.

• Acquisitive crime fell by 22% in 2013 compared to 2012.

• There were 74 fewer instances of shop lifting in 2013 than in 2012 (down one quarter).

• Burglary also fell by 32% over the same period.

• In addition, theft of (or from) a vehicle reduced by 29% between 2012 and 2013.

Offences against the person: This category includes all assaults (either physical or sexual), cruelty to children, harassment, robbery and serious public disorder.

• In contrast to the increase that took place in 2012, offences against the person fell by 5% in 2013.

• There were 47 fewer minor assaults and six fewer serious assaults in 2013 than in 2012.

• The number of recorded sexual offences also fell from the 104 cases (2012) to 95 (2013).

• However, there was no change to the number of instances either of public disorder or assaults on Prison and Police officers and staff between 2012 and 2013.

Offences against property:  These crimes include vandalism, arson and tampering with vehicles.

• There was a 27% reduction in property offences between 2012 and 2013.

• Most of this reduction was accounted for by the 108 fewer instances of damage to vehicles and 97 fewer cases of damage to buildings or other property.

• No instances of arson were recorded in 2013.

Drug offences: these include the possession, supply, importation and manufacture of illegal substances.

• When compared to 2012, there were 31% fewer drugs offences recorded in 2013.

• The majority of this reduction relates to possession offences.  In 2013 we continued our focus on supply networks and seized drugs with a street value of approximately £270,000. The most commonly encountered drug was cannabis.

As in previous years, two-thirds of crime occurred in St. Helier during 2013 whilst fewer than two crimes per week were recorded in eight of the Island's 11 other parishes.

2,000

2011 2012 2013 1,800

1,600

1,400

1,200

1,000

800

600

400

200

0

Acquisitive Offences against Offences against Drug offences Other offences

crime the person property

Figure 2. Recorded crime by category 2011-2013.

KEY COMPARISONS

Research suggests that people are most concerned about those crimes they consider themselves to be most susceptible to. These tend to include burglary, vehicle crime, robbery, or physical violence. This section shows how Jersey fared with regard to these crimes in 2013.

Burglary  

203 burglaries were recorded in 2013; this is the lowest annual total for at least 10 years and represents a 32% reduction on 2012's figure.

• Burglary has fallen by 47% over the past three years. When compared to the 43 Police Force areas in England and Wales, Jersey continues to have the second lowest number of burglaries per 1,000 population. The number of burglaries where an offender actually gained entry into somebody's house or flat fell from 104 in 2012 to 65 in 2013. As with previous years, a significant proportion of these premises (60%) were insecure at the time[2].

• In  addition,  a  quarter  of  all  burglaries  in  2013  involved  other  domestic property  such  as  garages,  garden  sheds  or  communal  areas.  Again, approximately half of these incidents involved premises that had not been secured  properly.  This  pattern  of  offending  has  remained  more  or  less unchanged between years.

Vehicle Crime

Vehicle crime comprises theft of a vehicle, theft from a vehicle or tampering with a vehicle. Malicious damage to vehicles is treated separately for crime recording purposes but is detailed below.

• There were 186 vehicle crimes recorded in 2013. This represents a reduction of 25% on the 249 offences recorded during 2012.

• Jersey has a lower rate of vehicle crime per 1,000 of the population than any of the 43 Police Force areas in England and Wales. There were 46 instances of vehicle theft during 2013 (compared with 74 for 2012) which represents a year-on-year reduction of 38%.

• Whilst theft from vehicles fell by 24% between 2012 and 2013 (164 vs. 124), there was a small increase in tampering offences last year with 16 cases being recorded (compared to 11 offences in 2012). Malicious damage to vehicles fell by 28% in 2013 (when compared to 2012) to only 271 recorded offences. This was the lowest annual total for at least 10 years.

Robbery  

• There were 8[3] robberies recorded last year (compared to 6 in 2012).

• All of these involved weapons and one involved the robbery of a business.

• Thankfully, no one was injured in any of these incidents and Jersey continues to have a lower rate of robbery per 1,000 of the population than all but one of the 43 Police Force areas in England and Wales.

Violent Crime  

• One hundred and fifty five grave and criminal assaults were reported in 2013; This was 6 fewer than in 2012.

• 70 serious assaults were recorded in 2013 as taking place in public places in Jersey, compared to 93 in 2012.

• Of greater importance has been the noticeable reduction in serious assaults within the St. Helier night-time economy. In 2012 there were 64 such incidents, whereas in 2013 only 38 cases were reported.

• Whilst serious street violence has reduced, there has been a continuing year- on-year increase in domestic grave and criminal assaults. In 2013 there were 66 serious domestic assaults compared with 53 in 2012 and 42 in 2011.

• Definitions of assault in Jersey are different compared to England and Wales and so it is not possible to benchmark violent crime rates with other Constabularies.

Detecting Crime  

We distinguish between two categories of detected crime: sanction and administrative detections. If a crime has received a sanction detection it means that the offender has appeared in court or attended a parish hall enquiry. An administrative detection means the police have a suspect but the case does not progress further. An example of this would be where the victim may not wish to proceed with a prosecution.

Jersey's sanction detection rate was 35.3% for 2013 and compares to a national average across England and Wales of 27% for the year. Our overall clear up' rate (sanction  plus  administrative  detections)  in  2013  was  39.3%.  2013's  sanction detection and overall clear up rate show slight improvements on the comparative figures for 2012.

MAJOR OPERATIONS AND INVESTIGATIONS

In 2013 our high-visibility  approach to policing was balanced with a number of intelligence-led  operations  against  serious  and  organised  crime.  Examples  of  the nature and outcome of some of these complex, behind-the-scenes investigations are detailed below:

• In May an offender was sentenced to two and a half years' imprisonment by the Royal Court for a serious domestic assault that involved him driving his car at his former partner. The individual was also charged with dangerous driving and was disqualified from driving for four years.

• In June a drugs-led investigation resulted in a prison sentence of five years and four months. In addition, £122,000 proceeds of crime were confiscated.

• In July, and following a covert operation, an offender with a history of theft convictions was sentenced to one and a half years' imprisonment for a series of burglaries in and around the St. Helier area.

• In August, and as a result of being charged with attempted murder, a male offender received a nine-year custodial sentence by the Royal Court after a sustained knife attack on his wife.

• In November a man was sentenced to three and a half years' imprisonment for the possession of indecent images of children. This individual will be placed on the Sex Offenders Register for five years following his release from prison.

• In December an offender with a history of violence and drug abuse received three  years'  imprisonment  for  a  series  of  serious  domestic  assaults.  This individual was given an additional one-year sentence for perverting the course of justice after attempting to persuade the victim to withdraw their complaint.

POLICING IN THE COMMUNITY

Policing our Parishes

A strong relationship with our Honorary colleagues is the cornerstone of our approach to  Community  Policing,  and  this  partnership  continues  to  strengthen.  We  have continued  with  joint  training,  information  sharing  and  intelligence-led  policing initiatives, as well as policing major events together.

We have continued to strengthen our links within each parish by maintaining dedicated patrol teams by geographic area within the Island. In 2013 we introduced surgeries' where people could come and talk to us informally about any concerns or issues they had. Following this successful trial, we plan to extend this new approach during 2014. By making our officers more visible and accessible – be it in a supermarket, on foot, bicycle, motorbike or in a patrol car – we are better able to listen, understand and respond to Parishioner concerns, issues and needs.

We have also continued to encourage all officers and staff to integrate within parish and Island life and become involved in fundraising, sporting and charity events.

The Bobbies on the Bus" initiative proved popular with commuters and tourists alike.

Night-Time Economy

During  2013,  we  continued  our  transition  towards  a  more  proactive  approach  to policing the night-time economy by introducing a Licensing Support Team (LST). This has seen a small, dedicated team of four Police Constables, working with a Sergeant, focused on policing pubs, nightclubs and licensed retail outlets.

The LST's priorities have been to:

• Establish and then maintain a visible presence, particularly in known hot- spots;

• Build stronger relationships within the night-time economy community, and in particular with staff and licensees across the Island;

• Develop a stronger partnership approach to managing night-time economy issues. These have included working with Parish Constables and their teams, other agencies and States' departments, volunteer groups as well as members of the licensing trade;

• Improve knowledge and understanding, particularly in relation to the effective management  and  prevention  of  alcohol-related  incidents.  This  has  also included  some  officers  studying  for  the  British  Institute  of  Innkeepers' qualification  in  order  to  better  understand  the  commercial  and  other professional requirements for licensees.

Whilst our preferred approach has been to work alongside the licensing industry, we have also enforced the law, especially with regard to the selling of alcohol to under- age persons, failures to conform to a liquor licence, or unauthorised openings beyond licensed hours.

During  2013  we  saw  night-time  economy  related  violence  fall  by  32%  when compared with 2012.

Town Policing Unit

Our Town Policing Unit has continued to maintain a highly visible policing presence in  St.  Helier,  particularly  during  known  busy  periods.  In  addition  to  providing reassurance to both residents and visitors alike, it has also enabled us to work more closely  with  local  businesses.  We  believe  this  has  contributed  to  a  reduction  in shoplifting, and has allowed us to exchange information that either helps prevent crime, or brings offenders to justice. Our common goal is to support a vibrant, busy and safe St. Helier Town Centre.

Anti-social behaviour

Tackling anti-social behaviour remains a high priority for the Force. Intelligence-led policing  has  allowed  us  to  use  historical  information  and  current  intelligence  to anticipate  and  deploy  officers  to  areas  at  high  risk  for  anti-social  behaviour.  In addition, we regularly  patrol known hot-spots' which not only deters anti-social activities, but also means that our response to such incidents are quick.

Whilst we have seen a 16% reduction in the number of recorded incidents during the past two years, we understand that nuisance and anti-social behaviour can cause a great deal of distress and can significantly affect people's quality of life. As such, we plan  to  review  our  current  approach  to  dealing  with  nuisance  and  anti-social behaviour during 2014.

Road Safety

We aim to reduce road traffic injuries through the use of the "three Es" – engineering, enforcement and education. We supply our partners at the Transport & Technical Services Department with details of all injury road-traffic collisions (RTCs) and they use this information to identify any emerging hot-spots and introduce appropriate traffic-calming measures.

In addition, our Road Safety Officer undertakes a series of initiatives throughout the year that help raise awareness amongst students of important road safety issues. In 2013, most of the Island's sixth form colleges and all Year 11 students were visited by our officers  and informed of the dangers of drink and drug driving.  All Year 8 students were shown the importance of seat belt wearing as were students from a number of primary schools. We have also had static displays at the Jersey Festival of Motoring, the Battle of Flowers and the Battle of Britain Air Display that showed how we were focusing on the "Fatal Four" causes of serious road traffic collisions – speed, drink driving, seat belts and mobile phone usage.

In the early 1980s there were four times as many serious or fatal road traffic injuries per 1000,000 vehicles than has been the case in recent years, and whilst Jersey's roads are much safer now than in the past, 2013 saw a rise in the overall number of injuries in comparison to 2011 and 2012.

Table 2. RTC casualty trends: 2011-2013

Sadly, 2013 also saw three fatalities and a 9% increase in the number of serious casualties in comparison to 2012's total. Two of the three fatalities from 2013 were cyclists and 33 of the 60 serious injuries either involved cyclists or motorcyclists.

Philip Blake our Road Safety Officer and Inspector Mark Coxshall answer people's traffic questions during the Force's first live web chat.

In response, we launched our "Let's Look Out for Each Other" road safety initiative in October 2013. This aims to promote a greater sense of community ownership by encouraging greater awareness and responsible behaviours between drivers, cyclists and pedestrians.

During  a three-day intensive period, we conducted   Island-wide cycle  checks and engaged  with  over  400  cyclists.  We  also  included  advice  on  pedestrian  safety, particularly in relation to walking at night.

Towards the end of 2013 we initiated a live web-chat that enabled local people to contact the Road Safety Officer and a Police Inspector to ask questions and discuss road safety issues directly online. This live web-chat proved very popular with our on- line and social media followers.

FINANCIAL CRIME

The Joint Financial Crimes Unit (JFCU) comprises officers from the States of Jersey Police and the Jersey Customs and Immigration Service. Its principal aim is to enforce the Island's anti-money laundering and counter terrorist laws.

In 2013, the JFCU received and acted on 2,007 suspicious activity reports, which was a 15% increase on 2012. In addition, 495 requests for assistance were made (an increase of 22%), whilst 438 miscellaneous information reports were also dealt with.

Nine investigations were completed by the JFCU in 2013 with ten arrests and seven convictions. These resulted in a total of more than 20 years in prison sentences.

During 2013, Customs and Immigration Officers at the JFCU investigated 35 drug trafficking investigations resulting in the confiscation of £133,711. The unit also managed five cash-seizure investigations resulting in the forfeiture of £8,000 and 26,900.

As  a  result  of  a  Customs  drug  trafficking  investigation,  four  individuals  were investigated  for  money  laundering  £130,000  of  drug  trafficking  funds.  The confiscation hearing will be conducted early in 2014.

TARGETED SUPPORT AND INTERVENTION

Domestic Abuse

In 2013, 14% of recorded crime was linked to domestic abuse (an increase of three percentage points when compared to 2012) and throughout 2013 we attended 1,114 domestic incidents (an increase of 6% compared with 2012). Over half of all domestic incidents involved children and, again, over half also involved alcohol. This pattern hasn't changed over the past three years.

Whilst we hope that some of these year-on-year increases will have resulted from our publicity campaigns aimed at encouraging victims to come forward, domestic abuse remains one of our most challenging areas. It is also an area where different agencies, departments and volunteer groups need to work together closely if any lasting impact is to be made to the quality of life of domestic abuse victims.

The introduction of the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH), and Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC) are, we believe, important to developing the holistic solutions that these individual cases require.

Prolific Offenders

In 2013 we used our intelligence systems to target 41 individuals who, between them, were identified as suspects or offenders for 113 offences including burglary, robbery, possession of drugs, serious assaults, weapon offences and offences under the Island's Children Law.

Sanctions were given to 31 of these targeted individuals as follows:

• 4 were bound over

• 6 received community service

• 14 received probation orders

• 11 received prison sentences

• 8 received fines

Witness Care Unit

The Witness Care Unit recognises the importance of giving the best possible service to victims and witnesses of crime. The unit was established in 2012 and provides contact and support to these individuals and their families with the aims of minimising the stress of attending court and keeping people up to date and informed at all times.

The Unit is staffed by volunteers who give a lot of time each year to help us in our work. Their contribution is invaluable and is underpinned by the Witness Charter which sets out 33 standards of service that victims can expect to receive from Criminal Justice agencies after a crime has been reported to the police.

ENHANCING PUBLIC CONFIDENCE

Responding to incidents

Our approach to emergency response ensures that we can prioritise and deal with the most important incidents quickly and effectively. Out of the four response categories, Codes 1 and 2 are the most urgent and include, for example, situations where life may be in danger or a serious crime is in progress.

There were 4% fewer Code 1 and 2 responses in 2013 than during 2012. Further analysis indicates that there was no significant change to the number of Code 1 and 2 responses in 2013 when compared to 2011.

Although the States of Jersey Police had 17% fewer crimes to investigate during 2013, this has not translated into a significant overall reduction to the demand for our front-line services. This reflects the changing nature of policing, our broader role within the Community and is a trend that is also shown across UK Police Forces.

Incident and Issue Reporting

We continue to streamline our approach to call-handling to make it easier to report crime, contact a geographical officer or to make general enquiries. In addition, we are also looking to improve the quantity and quality of advice and information on our website.

Our presence on social media

The States of Jersey Police introduced their social media sites at the beginning of 2012 and during 2013 our support has grown considerably, such that we now have over 10,000 Facebook followers and 3,700 subscribers on Twitter. In 2013 we also launched our YouTube site which has already had more than 25,000 views.

Our social media sites have established themselves as reliable sources of information on crime and public safety issues. In addition to an information service, they also provide an opportunity for our followers to help us. For example, during 2013 we published a photo of a suspect on our Facebook page – the person was recognised by one of our followers – and this very quickly led to the suspect being arrested and charged.

DELIVERING A SERVICE TO BE PROUD OF

States of Jersey Police send quality-of-service surveys to selected[4] victims of crime. These ask about the service we provide and are used to improve how we help those who have reported crimes to us. In 2013 we sent out 1,376 surveys, of which 19% were completed and returned.

There are four key questions in the survey that we use to monitor our performance. The  first  of  these  relates  to  call  handling –  how  we  deal  with  victims  over  the telephone. The next concerns the service provided by the officer who attends the incident. The third asks how well we have kept in touch with the victim since they reported their crime, whereas the last is a general question about our overall policing of the Island. In relation to call handling and attending the incident, 2013's survey figures are as follows:

With regard to call handling, 2013's figure of 82% who were very or totally satisfied is five percentage points higher than that of 2012. The corresponding measure of satisfaction with the attending officer improved four percentage points between years.

The item concerning feedback on the investigation is shown below. Again, there were improvements during 2013 over 2012's figures. For both the fairly' and very well' informed measures, 2013's levels were two percentages points better than those of 2012.

In contrast to the preceding three items, the question relating to our overall policing of the Island showed a slight reduction in victim's perceptions.

The proportion of victims who felt the States of Jersey Police did at least a fairly good job of policing the Island fell by one percentage point in 2013 when compared to 2012, whilst the proportion who considered we did at least a good or very good job fell by two percentage points over the same period.

2013 STATISTICS

 Under law we are obliged to provide the following information in our Annual Report:

Custody  

There were 2,141 people detained in police custody during 2013. This figure includes people who were detained more than once and represents a 20% reduction on 2012's total.

PPCE Searches  

Under the Police Procedures and Criminal Evidence (Jersey) Law 2003 (PPCE) the Police are required to publish information on specific searches:

Intimate Searches and PPCE vehicle checks

• There was one intimate searches carried out by a registered medical practitioner in police custody during 2013.

• There were eight vehicle checks conducted under Article 13 of the Police Procedures and Criminal Evidence (Jersey) Law 2003.

PPCE Stop and Search

• The  total  number  of  searches  each  month  during  2013  for  drugs,  stolen  articles, offensive weapons and for other prohibited items is shown in Table 3 below. Figures in brackets  refer  to  the  number  of  people  arrested  as  a  consequence  of  having  been searched.

Table 3. PPCE searches 2013

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