Surrey Police

Project: Victim & Witness of Crime Communications Consultancy
Deliverables: CRM Consulting
Sector: Public Sector
Client: Surrey Police

 
Developing a Communications Strategy & Implementation Plan

Challenge

The public perceive the police to be good at human contact, but poor at systematic contact. This is because there is a lack of tools and processes in place which automatically ensure that all victims and witnesses are informed of their case progress. The database tools available do not lend themselves to systematic content, as they have been designed for operational rather than marketing. At present all victims and witnesses are treated equally from a communications perspective, even though crimes vary in severity as does the police’s deployment of resources.

Consulting Process

The first step was to develop a detailed understanding of the Police’s processes and deployment policies. Then we focused on understanding victim’s needs and circumstances. We had access to crime statistics, qualitative research and satisfaction studies, which enabled us to build a segmentation model based upon the seriousness of the crime and the vulnerability of the victim or witness. Other factors, such as whether the victim was repeat victim or lived in a crime hot spot for that crime type were then added.

Qualitative research was conducted to understand attitudes to police communications in each customer segment so that a messaging framework could be developed. This is used to ensure that a consistent message theme is used for each segment, for example, reassuring vulnerable victims, managing expectations for first time victims and regaining confidence with repeat victims.

Having reviewed all existing communications, a revised customer journey was recommended. A content map was created to signify what would be included within each communication.

A revised data collection, storage and communications process was recommended and new Key Performance Indicators were proposed covering operational, customer satisfaction, customer understanding and financial measures.

Implementation plan

After final recommendations were presented to the Assistant Chief Constable and Customer Service Board implementation plans are being drawn up, starting with a trial on vehicle crime in one Division. The trial will be used to test the new communications and customer segmentation using existing systems. As the trial develops, additional crime types will be added to build learning. The technical database developments should be ready to enable us to implement the programme once the trial is complete. In addition, a number of quick wins have been identified, such as rewriting existing process letters and using new communications channels.

In addition, a new Customer Service Manager has been appointed who will ensure that Operational changes will be made to ensure that the entire customer service received is improved and more consistent and customer facing staff (e.g. in the contact centre) are trained accordingly.