Policing Plan for 2010
Thu, 2010-01-21
Foreword by Michael A. DeSilva, FCMI Commissioner of Police - The need for police to focus their efforts on front-line operations has never been greater than in recent times. Our community continues to grapple with an escalation in the use of guns and associated gang violence. The impact of these crimes is being felt across all segments of society. The friendly and tranquil Bermuda that we are internationally known for is being threatened by recurring and alarming news of violence. In the autumn of 2009, the Bermuda Police Service (BPS) shifted a number of staff to ensure that we have as many officers as possible working directly on community policing and investigating crime. We nowhave 85% of our staff working in the three police stations, criminal investigations, serious crime unit, Police Support Unit, gang team, drug unit, fraud, traffic and marine. 10% of our staff supports these efforts in our Intelligence Division, and 5% work in administration and training.
Each police station has a dedicated Community Action Team (CAT) that works hand in hand with members of the public to bring about real changes to neighbourhoods, solve community problems and improve our quality of life. We also have armed police officers – a new paradigm for Bermuda – on patrol 24 hours a day.
A New Mission Statement – “Making Bermuda Safer”
The public call for improved service at the operational end of policing has caused us to take a hard look at the way we do business. In addition to realigning our staff and services, we have reviewed our Mission Statement and we have changed it to reflect our commitment to public safety. Our work is aimed at “Making Bermuda Safer,” and everything we do is intended to help achieve this goal. In other words, making Bermuda safer is the reason police officers and civilian staff come to work.
Having a single-focused and clear mission makes it easier to identify the key priorities we need to commit to. We believe there are five areas that most need our attention in order to make real progress towards improved community safety:
• Tackling Crime
• Enhancing Public Confidence
• Policing With the Community
• Modernising the Service
• Optimising Performance
Taking this one step further there are four work streams that encompass these priorities, and this is where we will put our resources, focus and energy. We have termed it, “the four P’s of Policing: People, Partnerships, Priorities and Performance.”
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