This new priority underscores my commitment to ensuring Surrey Police operates with the highest standards of integrity, professionalism, and accountability.
A well-supported and motivated police force is essential for delivering the best possible service to the public.
By fostering a transparent and supportive workplace culture, we aim to improve officer wellbeing, boost morale, and reduce staff turnover.
Recognising the challenges of a growing and less experienced workforce, we will also focus on providing tailored support and development opportunities for officers and staff at all stages of their careers.
These efforts will help build trust and confidence in the police, ensuring they are well-equipped to meet the needs of Surrey’s communities.
To foster integrity, accountability and wellbeing:
Surrey Police will…
- Improve response times when handling public complaints against the police, ensuring meaningful updates are provided every 28 days, as per IOPC Statutory Guidance.
- Improve vetting processes to ensure greater consistency in decision-making, including better use of the National Decision Model (NDM), reducing unnecessary appeals, more risk-based decisions and addressing backlogs to prevent delays in officer recruitment.
- Ensure the Force’s Wellbeing Strategy is regularly refreshed to reflect emerging needs and priorities, embedding ongoing learning and feedback to enhance its effectiveness.
- Conduct regular staff surveys and gather feedback from exit interviews to identify key trends, address emerging issues, and tackle retention challenges. Act on these insights to enhance workplace wellbeing and foster a supportive, professional environment.
- Support and promote initiatives that enhance the wellbeing of officers and staff, including Surrey Police sports teams. Champion support groups such as the Armed Forces Support Group, Surrey Police Association of Culture & Ethnicity (SPACE), and the Women’s Support Group, which provide mentoring and support to encourage retention and recruitment from more diverse backgrounds.
My office will…
- Ensure sufficient resources are in place within the Professional Standards Department (PSD) to manage an increase in demand in public complaints, together with misconduct hearings and police appeal tribunals, building on the recruitment of new Legally Qualified Persons (LQPs) and Independent Panel Members (IPMs).
- Maintain close collaboration with Surrey Police’s Professional Standards Department and Joint Vetting Unit to carry out statutory reviews of complaints. Advance the implementation of dip sampling for complaints and vetting decisions to identify trends and address potential issues proactively.
- Explore ways to improve transparency on police misconduct outcomes, including publication of outcomes and promotion of hearings to build trust and confidence. Align with best practices and broader calls for greater accountability in policing.
- Ensure robust scrutiny of Surrey Police’s savings programme.
Together we will…
- Ensure delivery of the Estates Strategy and provide the workforce with fit-for-purpose work environments, with a specific focus on the redevelopment of Surrey Police HQ.
- Ensure ongoing compliance with the Equality Act 2010 and the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED), ensuring our workforce understand how diversity, equality and inclusion are fundamental to improving trust, confidence and legitimacy in policing.
