Key National Priorities for Policing

Key National Priorities for Policing

The Elected Local Policing Bodies (Specified Information) (Amendment) Order 2021 was implemented in May 2021. This Order provides that information relating to a police force’s performance against the Government’s published national priorities for policing, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) performance reports on the force, and complaint handling must be published.

A statement on how Lancashire Constabulary is performing in relation to key national priorities for policing (the new National Police Outcomes Framework).

A critical element of Home Secretary’s strategic priority for there to be a relentless focus on cutting crime are the new National Crime and Policing Measures, which set out the Government’s key national priorities on crime. These measures fall under the following headings (data comparisons are made against a 2019 pre-pandemic baseline):

• Reduce murder and other homicides
• Reduce serious violence
• Disrupt drugs supply and county lines
• Reduce neighbourhood crime
• Tackle cyber crime
• Improve satisfaction among victims – with a particular focus on victims of domestic abuse

Lancashire Constabulary have provided the below information for publication in February 2023.

Reduce murder and homicide

There have been two homicides recorded in Quarter 3 (Oct-Dec 2022).

Data analysed over a 3-year period (01/04/2019 to 31/03/2022) has identified that spontaneous/random violence, youth knife crime and domestic abuse account for a significant proportion of homicides. In Lancashire, a high proportion of victims are older white north-European males deemed vulnerable due to lifestyle. Females accounted for 31% of homicide victims. 8% of homicides could be classed as DA- related. Suspects for homicide offences are mainly white North-European males (76%). The districts of Blackpool and Lancaster recorded the most offences over the period (13 and 9 respectively). Although reported homicides in Lancashire have steadily increased since 2013, in line with the national trend, there has been a reduction year on year for the past three years. Lancashire Constabulary’s Homicide Prevention Strategy has recently been published and covers 8 Strategic themes, including SOC, VAWG and Organisational Learning.

Reduce serious violence

Discharges of lethal, barrelled weapons remain low in number, with 2 recorded in the last quarter. There has been an increase in overall police investigations with Firearms markers, but analysis has confirmed that this continues to be driven by threats with weapons, rather than their active use. There have been no fatal injuries using firearms in the last year and no firearms thefts.

Disrupt drugs supply and county lines

Data shows a 6% increase in Police Recorded Drugs Offences in Lancashire, when the year to September 2022 is compared against a pre-pandemic baseline. This remains in line with National and MSG trends, which show slightly greater increases. Internal data shows that recorded drug offences have been increasing since September, due to proactive operations, particularly West.

8.8 kg of class A drugs, 0.6kg of class B and 688 canabis plants have been seized.

Reduce Neighbourhood Crime:

The number of recorded Burglary, Robbery, Theft of/from vehicle, Theft from person saw a decline of 3.1% in the 12 months leading up to December 2022 compared to the same period in 2020 from 16,127 to 15,627.

Victim Satisfaction

Levels for DA victims and Overall victims remain circa 83% and 70% respectively

Cyber crime

The number of recorded cybercrimes saw an increase of 4.7% in the 12 months leading up to December 2022 compared to the same period in 2020 from 5,744 to 6,014.