November 26, 2004: Third National Policing Plan Published

The third National Policing Plan 2005-08 sets the national framework for policing over the next three years. It should be read in the context of the White Paper, Building Communities, Beating Crime: A better police service for the 21st century launched on 9th November, 2004, which sets out a programme for police reform.

The core role of the police is considered by the government to be preventing and reducing crime and anti-social behaviour. This National Policing Plan lays out the following five key priorities that should guide the work of the police service. It also sets them in the context of the over-arching importance of counter-terrorism and of community engagement.

The five key priorities are to:

• reduce overall crime – including violent and drug-related crime – in line with the Government’s Public Service Agreements (PSAs)
• provide a citizen-focused police service which responds to the needs of communities and individuals, especially victims and witnesses, and inspires public confidence in the police, particularly among minority ethnic communities;
• take action with partners to increase sanction detection rates and target prolific and other priority offenders;
• reduce people’s concerns about crime, and anti-social behaviour and disorder; and • combat serious and organised crime, within and across force boundaries.

The full plan can be downloaded here.