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Superintendent Stan Gilmour, Commander of the Reading Local Policing Area (LPA), has prepared a report on a public health approach to early intervention which has been working towards a trauma-informed policing model.

The Introduction below is an excerpt from the report.

Read the full report here.

You can also follow Superintendent Stan Gilmour on Twitter @StanGilmour

Introduction

Around 80% of Prolific Offendersii receive their first sanction as a child. In their first week following release from prison men are 28 times more likely to die from drug related causes than the general population, rising to 69 times more likely for women. A single prolific offender will cost society between £1.3 – £2.3 million and having a head injury increases the risk of offending by at least 50%; 60% of adults and 30% of young people in prison have a history of head injury.

There is clearly a case for closer collaboration between system partners and work has begun to pull this together. The Policing, Health and Social Care Consensusv was published in February 2018 and is supported by a report from the Centre of Excellence for Information Sharingvi, Work continues at a national level to embed the consensus into everyday activities. The Policing Vision 2025 (p.7)vii contains a clear direction of travel to work across sectors and in stronger partnerships:

By 2025 local policing will be aligned, and where appropriate integrated, with other local public services to improve outcomes for citizens and protect the vulnerable.

We will do this by:

• Ensuring policing is increasingly focused on proactive preventative activity as opposed to reacting to crime once it has occurred.

• Working with our partners to help resolve the issues of individuals who cause recurring problems and crime in the communities they live in; reducing the requirements that these people place on the public sector and policing specifically.

• Working with partners to foster a culture shift around the delivery of public protection, away from a single organisation mentality towards budgeting and service provision based on a whole-system approach, pooling funds where appropriate to achieve common aims for the benefit of the public.

• Adopting a place-based approach with more multi-agency teams or hubs to tackle community issues requiring early intervention across a range of agencies and organisations. Moving beyond single-service based practice to “whole place” 2 approach to commissioning preventative services in response to assessments of threat, harm, risk and vulnerability. [emphasis added].

Read the full report here.

About the author:

LPA Commander – Reading

Superintendent Stan Gilmour took over as the Reading Area Commander in August 2015. Stan’s previous role as a Detective Superintendent was a post that he thoroughly enjoyed, and it saw him getting involved in a wide range of policing activities.

He's delighted to move to Reading and take on the policing challenges that a large and diverse town gives, as well as embracing the opportunities it brings.

Stan joined Thames Valley Police in July 1993 and spent the first ten years of his service in Reading. He qualified as a Detective and rose through the ranks in a variety of roles working across Thames Valley and nationally.