What will be the future structure of DPPs post Review of Public Administration (RPA)? What is the impact of District Command Unit re-structuring post RPA?
Under current legislation the number of DCUs and the number of DPPs have to be the same as the number of councils, therefore if under RPA the number of councils reduce the number of DCUs and DPPs will also reduce.
The structure for DPPs in the future has not yet been finalised and the Policing Board is currently working with the PSNI, the DPPs and the NIO to consider all of the options for the future structure for DPPs when the RPA recommendations have been implemented.
In the DPP Surveys how are houses selected and what questions are asked in the survey?
The DPP Public Consultation Survey is a postal questionnaire sent to 60,000 households (approximately one in ten of all households) across Northern Ireland. It is one of the largest household surveys undertaken in Northern Ireland.
The houses to which questionnaires are sent are selected at random from the Valuation and Lands Agency list of addresses.
The questions include a core set of questions that every respondent is asked in order to make valid comparisons across all DPPs. Respondents are asked to identify the five biggest policing problems in their area, what five areas their local PSNI should concentrate resources on, satisfaction levels with local policing (including foot and vehicle patrols), contact with the PSNI within the last year, if they have been the victim of a crime within the last year and if they reported it and a number of questions on their awareness of DPPs. In addition each DPP is given the opportunity to add a number of unique questions thereby generating information specifically relevant to their locality.
How will the Policing Board improve the number of responses from nationalist communities to DPP Surveys?
In undertaking any survey the Policing Board follows best practice to ensure the response is as complete as has been possible to achieve and the Policing Board is satisfied that the survey returns from all areas constitutes a statistically valid response.
Through the work of its Press Office the Policing Board continues to raise awareness of the importance of the DPP Survey as an opportunity for all people across Northern Ireland to identify the issues that are of concern to them and to their community.
In addition the Policing Board has recently established a Community Engagement Team which is currently engaging with and building relationships with all of the communities across Northern Ireland.
Each year DPPs are required to carry out consultation and engagement within their respective districts. A number of DPPs have been successful in engaging hard to reach groups. For example, North Down DPP has met with representatives of the gay community and Bangor senior Gateway Club and Derry DPP have engaged with both communities on the Fountain interface area; together with ethnic minority communities.