Lancashire constabulary and the Police and Crime Commissioner have been leading a programme of work since 2012 to drive change across public services in Lancashire and shift to have a greater focus on early intervention.

They have argued that true crime prevention requires a different way of thinking about how the police work and how they work with partner agencies locally. They received 4.2m from the Home Office Police Innovation Fund in 2015/16 to implement some radical changes to some aspects of local service delivery.

EIF support & advice

• EIF supported Lancashire to persuade local partners about the importance of early intervention and action, and the need for a ‘combined public service approach’ through providing input to local events aimed at getting local partners on board.
• EIF supported thinking locally about how the police could get more involved in early intervention through focus group discussions with operational police, Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) and Special Constabulary. This also informed the content of the EIF police guide which you can find here.
• EIF’s work with Lancashire is ongoing and we are now supporting the plans of the constabulary to take forward and test some of the key areas set out in the EIF guide for the police. For example, testing integrated models of working with local partners and equipping front line officers and PCSOs to deliver early intervention.

Feedback

“We are starting to see a real movement here supported by yourselves…with the council, Clinical Commissioning Groups and wider partners starting to agree we need to bring resources together and work differently. Thanks for your support. It can be a tough sell and knowing we have experts backing us is vital.”
Andy Rhodes, Deputy Chief Constable, Lancashire Constabulary

“As OPCC Lead for Early Intervention, I found in the EIF a rich and invaluable source of expertise, enthusiasm and ability that I was able to draw on to support the drive to change public service for the benefit of our communities.”
Amanda Webster, former Deputy PCC, Lancashire