Report Summary
This report outlines the key themes from the SPA and Police Scotland’s engagements in Wick which aimed to gain insights into views on the findings of the community confidence survey and how policing could be enhanced to inform the second phase of the Community Confidence Action Research Project work in Wick.
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Ideas for Enhancing Confidence
Increasing Police Presence at Community Events (Presence)
Presence at local events was considered valuable and a driver of confidence, and there was a strong appetite for the police to run a programme of regular drop-ins at various locations e.g. the library, the monthly market, as well as at specific events such as the autumn food festival, the Christmas Fair, Harbour Day. It was felt that this needed to be in a physical form such as a small marquee or stand, rather than in a vehicle, to avoid the perception that the police would be called away at short notice. In this sense it would be like the police station is coming to the people, rather the people have to go to the police station. The police could also use this to help with local recruitment to policing, given issues relating to recruitment and retention that affect remote communities of Scotland.
Regular Communication to the Community (Communication)
It was felt that news about police work and positive outcomes is not reaching the community effectively and there was an appetite among participants to receive a newsletter, perhaps monthly, including crime and incident statistics and publishing details of forthcoming drop-ins/pop-ups. It was judged that the newsletter would need to be in both paper and digital format to maximise its reach and accessibility, and a number of participants would be keen to help with distribution and circulation across networks.
Engagement and Resource Sustainability (Contact/Engagement)
In relation to more strategic issues outwith the Project’s scope, it was considered that regular progress updates would be positively received from Police Scotland and the Scottish Police Authority regarding:
Advocating for a better system-wide response to 24/7 mental health / safeguarding demand.
Extending the Police Scotland Youth Volunteers programme to more communities, including Wick.
Increasing police staff resources to ensure resilient staffing of front office counters at police stations.
Promoting local recruitment to the police to encourage greater retention of experienced officers.
Developing the Community Championing role.
Encouraging greater sustainability about funding for projects beyond short-term arrangements.
