Cleveland Police Authority’s ground-breaking partnership for the delivery of support services has gained further national recognition in a major awards ceremony promoting excellence in the public sector.
The Authority’s partnership with Steria, which is set to deliver millions of pounds in savings as well as improving the service to the public, protecting jobs and offering further employment opportunities, was among the finalists in the annual service awards organised by the Association for public Service Excellence (APSE) which works with over 250 organisations throughout the UK.
APSE Awards presenter Alex Lovell, Steve Sugden (Project I Service Delivery Manager,
Cleveland Police), Glen Collett (Project I Strategic Change Programme Manager,
Cleveland Police), Rob Dale (Partnership Director, Steria), Victoria Porritt (Steria),
Supt Glenn Gudgeon (Hartlepool District Commander), Simon Miller (Service Delivery Director,
Steria), Dr Neville Cameron (Cleveland Police Authority), Clive Pengilley (Head of Police
Operational Services, Steria) and Pam Andrews-Mawer (Cleveland Police Authority).
The ten-year contract between the Authority and Steria came into operation in October last year, involving a range of support services including information technology, call handling, criminal justice and business services including finance, human resources and procurement.
In July this year the partnership was extended to include crime management as well as a newly-combined unit for handling emergency and event planning together with risk assessment and safety.
The success of the partnership was recognised at the awards held in Bristol and Police Authority member Pam Andrews-Mawer who attended the ceremony said the initiative had gained widespread recognition and interest amongst may other forces and authorities.
She explained “At a time when finances across the police service - and indeed the rest of the public sector - are under immense pressure our long-standing commitment to partnership working has brought real benefits…both for the public and for the staff delivering vital support services.
“Cleveland has been at the forefront of looking at innovative ways of delivering high-quality and cost-effective services which has enabled us to put as much resources as possible into front-line policing and reducing crime—and the partnership will make a major contribution to protecting that front line as we face the challenges ahead over the next few years.”