Contact Management
What?
Contact management is about how the public communicate with the Police Service. It is a critical thread that runs through all policing. Effectively dealing
with interaction at first point of contact whether by telephone, internet, SMS or face to face (front counters, neighbourhood or other specialist policing teams)
requires a quality of response that meets the needs and expectations of the public.
Why?
Improving Public Confidence:
Making Every Contact Count
Contact management is vital to achieving high levels of customer satisfaction and public confidence in Policing. The importance of public confidence is at the heart of the Policing Green Paper: “From the Neighbourhood to the National: Policing Our Communities Together” (2008). It sets out a new vision for policing; one that requires the provision of a more consistent, visible and accessible service that is responsive, meets public needs and expectations, deals with local priorities and keeps people informed.
In the form of the Policing Pledge (2008), this vision exists as a series of commitments to deliver what are predominantly ‘contact’ based services, at force level, in a consistent and accountable way and to common minimum standards.
The National Contact Management Strategy, Principles and Guidance document describes the key activities and behaviours that will enable all forces, regardless of differing structure, systems and processes to develop improved contact management services fit for policing in the 21st century. The approach aligns strongly with the Citizen Focus Policing Hallmarks (2008), which promotes
a citizen focus culture at the heart of service delivery.
How does Contact Management support delivery of public confidence?
- Supports greater public engagement in Policing – e.g. by enhancing channels of access to the Service for all communities.
- Ensures the Service better understands the publics’ needs and expectations – e.g. capturing the right information to align resources to meet public demand.
- Improves access to services for the public – e.g. the National Emergency SMS trial which will improve ease of contact for the hearing and speech impaired.
- Improves the quality of response – e.g. by introducing diarised appointments for non-emergency contact to provide the right resource in the right place at the right time to meet public needs.
- Supports collaborative approaches to problem solving – e.g. the all Wales 101 non-emergency number.
- Improves the quality of information available to meet local needs – e.g. collecting and using the right information to improve customer satisfaction and increase public confidence.
Who?
The National policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) is a policing organisation that provides a central resource to the police service, working for ACPO (Association of Chief Police Officers), APA (Association of Police Authorities) and the Home Office to improve the delivery of Policing. The NPIA, through the Citizen Focus and Neighbourhood Policing Programme (CFNPP), will support ACPO and forces in embedding the Policing Pledge in their service delivery.
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