The force’s links with less populated areas was heavily criticised in a recent report, which also laid bare the extent to which community policing has been reduced in the Island because of budget cuts.
Now acting deputy chief officer James Wileman has said he cannot promise a dedicated officer for every parish but said the force’s current recruitment drive – its largest in recent memory – would re-establish the lost links with parishes. A total of 30 new recruits are due to start at intervals next year.
A report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services found that the community policing model at the time of the inspection in late 2018 was ‘ineffective’ and officers lacked training.
Mr Wileman said: ‘Eight to ten or so years ago every parish would have had its own police officer. That was scaled back to one officer covering three parishes and then it got to early 2018 and that model was no longer workable.
‘I cannot commit to saying every parish will have its own officer but the parish links will improve.
‘Community policing is not just tea and biscuits – although that is important. If you can commit to tackling problems upstream it will reduce the demand further downstream. It’s not a good phrase, but it’s simple business.’
The HMICFRS report, published last week, recommended setting up a new dedicated community policing unit and forging better links with honorary police officers to boost intelligence of problems in rural parishes.
Mr Wileman said a memorandum of understanding between the States police and honorary forces did exist but ‘needed updating’.
‘I think the relationship with the States police and the honorary police is the best it’s been but HMIC are right to call out greater opportunities we can have.’
He said joint patrols between States police and honorary officers took place regularly in St Brelade and St Helier. As for the other parishes, Mr Wileman said some of the intake of new recruits would help provide the link between the force and honorary officers.
The HMIC report found that ‘honorary Constables are embedded in their communities and are therefore well placed to help the States police engage with people in outlying parishes’.’
When the States police community unit was cut in early 2018 it was quickly replaced with Project Horizon – a model designed to focus on community work.
But that was postponed this year because of concerns about the impact on morale of changing shift patterns to help cover response shifts too.
Mr Wileman said that he welcomed the report, which was commissioned by the Jersey Police Authority, but said that it concerned a ‘snapshot in time’ of policing Jersey and things had already begun to improve and change.
‘ I am genuinely grateful to government, the Home Affairs Minister [Len Norman] and the Jersey Police Authority for supporting the case in the Government Plan to increase police office numbers,’ he said.
