Liverpool North area Merseyside Police force have been announced as the winners of The People Management Award 2004; they are the first front-line public service provider to win the accolade.
Their ‘Leadership Accreditation Scheme: Prepared to Lead’ is a project designed to encourage staff to take ownership of problems and develop personal relationships.
Chief Superintendent Mike Langdon said:
“Since the introduction of the Leadership Accreditation Scheme in 2001 we have seen the area go from strength-to-strength. The Scheme fits in well with the Neighbourhood style of policing which was introduced in April 2001 as it allows our officers and support staff the opportunity to own solutions as well as problems.
“In the past front line officers were hesitant to make decisions and they preferred to be told what to do, but now officers recognise that they are empowered to come up with solutions that can make a difference in their local communities.
Since the scheme was launched in 2001 the number of crimes detected in the area has increased by a third other performance improvements include:
- 10% reduction in all crime. Detections have increased by 32%
- 54% reduction in robberies. Detections have increased by 217%
- 31% reduction in burglaries. Detections have increased by 56%
- 42% reduction in thefts of motor vehicles. Detections have increased by 73%
- 23% reduction in thefts from motor vehicles. Detections have increased by 332%.
Personnel Manager, Julia Shaw commented:
“A key challenge for any personnel manager is to create simple to use products which help line managers to support and develop their staff to improve the service they provide to their local communities.
“This local scheme has seen a massive increase in our managers’ confidence in trusting and empowering their staff to develop solutions to their neighbourhoods’ problems, of which they have the best understanding.”
Merseyside Police beat a number of high-profile competitors for the award including BAA-Terminal 5, Hewlett Packard, INA Bearing and the national catering conglomerate, Compass. The police application was one of 105 initial entries for the award.
