Police CPI supports National Problem Solving Conference 2024

The annual conference hears from an extensive range of problem solving subject matter experts and leaders in this field, as well as hosting the prestigious Tilley Awards, which Police CPI are sponsoring.

The Tilley awards celebrate problem-oriented projects that have achieved measurable success in resolving issues faced by the police, partners and/or the community. By generating a reward system to recognise good practice in problem solving, the Tilley Awards increase the profile of the discipline in the UK, ensuring that this best practice can be shared internationally, through close links to the Goldstein Awards. The five finalists for this year's Tilley Awards can be viewed here.

Michael Brooke, Police CPI’s Deputy Chief Operating Officer, will be delivering one of the keynote speeches at the conference, as well as hosting the Tilley Awards.

With one of the focuses of the conference being fraud, Police CPI’s Peter Barron will be delivering a workshop in partnership with IASME looking at preventing individuals and businesses falling victim to fraud, following on from a partnership he led for Police CPI in conjunction with the Mayor’s Office for Policing & Crime (MOPAC) in London highlighting how individuals, businesses and organisations can best protect themselves.

Michael Brooke, Police CPI’s Deputy Chief Operating Officer, said: “The Problem Solving Conference is always an excellent opportunity for specialists in problem solving to come together and exchange ideas and best practice. As policing moves forward, problem solving is a critical factor in ensuring that police forces and their partners operate at the highest level and reduce crime and anti-social behaviour as much as possible.

“I encourage delegates to visit our stand and speak with my colleagues throughout the conference to find out more about our range of initiatives and see how they can both reduce demand on hard-pressed police colleagues and diminish criminal activity.”

South Yorkshire Police delivers the Problem Solving and Crime Prevention Programme at a national level, with Chief Constable Lauren Poultney responsible for overseeing the delivery of the programme and its overarching purpose of transforming ways of working and reducing demand, by embedding a structured problem solving ethos as a core discipline in policing.

Police Crime Prevention Initiatives

Police Crime Prevention Initiatives (Police CPI) is a police-owned, not for profit organisation self-funded through its prevention activities. Working diligently on behalf of the Police Service for 35 years, we create, design and accredit crime reduction strategies in partnership with Government bodies, the Police, Local Authorities and industry across the UK at no cost to the Police Service or the public purse. 

Police CPI was established by the Police Service in 1989 and has developed into a major catalyst for organisations to work together to reduce and prevent crime.  Co-located with the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), Chief Constable Gavin Stephens QPM, Chair of the NPCC, is the Chair of our Board of Directors.  Fellow Chief Officers from around the UK are also part of our Board and provide strategic direction, as well as being champions for our crime prevention initiatives.

Police CPI is an operational arm of preventative policing, part of the NPCC Prevention Coordination committee chaired by Chief Constable Serena Kennedy and is part of the police family. In short, we work to support the Police Service achieve its crime reduction goals.

Identifying and working with partners is key to our success, with Police CPI building strategic relationships with UK Policing, Government Departments, Standards Authorities, Industry Trade Associations and Academia.  Police CPI has close working relationships with NPCC National Leads and Committees; the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners; the Home Office; the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities; the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology; the National Protective Security Authority (NPSA); National Counter Terrorism Security Office; British Standards Institute; the British Security Industry Association; Business Improvement Districts and Cyber Resilience Centres.

Our role as a facilitator between government, policing, industry and standards bodies mean that our work builds in crime prevention at the design stage of products and services and reduces the demand on policing.

Our diverse mix of professional staff have a variety of expertise in specialist subjects, many of whom have honed their range of skills during successful police careers. Coupled with the proficiency of our staff who have had successful careers across a wide range of disciplines in the private sector, everyone has a passionate desire to serve by actively seeking ways to reduce criminality. 

The extensive Police CPI portfolio covers a variety of crime prevention initiatives, and we work closely with the Home Office providing a range of support for their initiatives like the Safer Streets Fund and Places of Worship (POW): Protective Security Funding Scheme. Working in partnership with the Mayor’s Office for Policing & Crime (MOPAC) in London, Police CPI have created a range of resources highlighting how fraudsters operate, alongside a series of blogs, guides and practical crime prevention advice to reduce the chances of both individuals and businesses becoming a victim of fraud.

Police Crime Prevention Academy

The Academy is the established crime prevention learning and development supplier to the UK Police, having assumed delivery of all crime prevention courses from the College of Policing in 2017.  It is an approved centre for the awarding body ProQual, providing formally accredited qualifications in crime prevention, problem solving and designing out crime. 

As Government initiatives such as the Safer Streets Fund, Places of Worship and Violence Against Women and Girls continue to gain momentum, the Academy can provide all training needs as well as delivering bespoke events and webinars tailored to meet individual force or organisational needs. 

The Academy offers learning and development that will upskill officers and staff – everyone who is engaged in policing, security and supporting safer communities – across a range of subjects. The Academy also deliver online courses free of charge, such as the NPCC Vehicle Crime Course and Burglary Prevention Course.

Fraud

Working in partnership with the Mayor’s Office for Policing & Crime (MOPAC), Police CPI undertook a London-wide fraud prevention project.

The prevention programme aimed to increase understanding about the various types of fraud, and in doing so improve awareness and make people less vulnerable to becoming victims of these scams. This unique project brought together the skills and experience of a retired Detective Chief Superintendent from the Metropolitan Police, working with a reformed fraudster, providing a unique insight into the tradecraft and methodology of fraudsters. A range of resources highlighting exactly how fraudsters operate were published, alongside practical crime prevention advice to reduce the chances of both people and businesses becoming a victim of fraud.

The fraud prevention blogs and guides from this project can be accessed at here.

Secured by Design (SBD)

Secured by Design works with the Government to embed crime prevention into the planning process and establish police security standards in the building and construction industry. SBD also operates an accreditation scheme on behalf of the UK Police Service for products or services that have met recognised security standards. This includes a ‘Secure Connected Device’ accreditation for companies providing Internet of Things (IoT) connected products, with a focus on ensuring that such products and apps have the appropriate level of security in place so that consumers can use them in a safe manner and reduce the risk of a cyber breach. 

These products or services – which must be capable of deterring or preventing crime - are known as being of a ‘Police Preferred Specification’. 

Licensing Security and Vulnerability Initiative (Licensing SAVI)

Licensing SAVI is an online self-assessment tool that brings together advice and guidance that licensed premises need to meet the requirements of Responsible Authorities in England and Wales. It incorporates vulnerability and female safety as a key theme, physical security to prevent acquisitive crime, Counter Terrorism advice and several template policies to support better managed venues.

Licensing SAVI have been working with the National Police Chiefs’ Council to support venues tackle spiking, have written good practice guides and worked with behavioural scientists from the National Crime Agency to develop offender-focused materials, targeting those most likely to cause harm and moving away from ‘victim blaming’ campaigns. These materials are available in both English and Welsh language versions on the Licensing SAVI website.

The inclusion of the night-time economy criteria as part of the latest rounds of the Safer Streets Fund highlights the importance that the Government is attaching to vulnerability, crime and associated demand within licensed premises. 

Further information on Police CPI & all of its initiatives can be found here.