Nick Ephgrave

Lambeth police borough commander Nick Ephgrave Column

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FOR many of us, the end of the financial year is a critical point – in the police service it marks the end of the “performance year” when we establish exactly how well or badly we have done against our targets.

For me, starting as I did a quarter of the way through the year, I am looking to see whether the state of the borough in terms of crime performance is better now than when I took over, or worse.

Whilst I will have to wait for the final figures to be agreed, on the whole things are looking promising.

For example, during the summer Lambeth was running at a 35 per cent increase in residential burglary with a detection rate below 10 per cent.

It looks as if we will end the year with a single figure increase and a detection rate double what it was.

Not good, but a lot better than expected in July – particularly in light of the London-wide rise in burglary this year.

Like all borough commanders, I have a wide range of performance targets to hit, as well as targets relating to “community confidence” and “user satisfaction”, which are relatively new measures, based upon public surveys and follow-up calls.

As with all public bodies, of course, the budget is finite and I have to come in at the year end with balanced books.

The way I deal with these complex demands is to remind myself why I joined, and why men and women continue to join the Metropolitan Police Service: to uphold the law fairly and firmly, to prevent crime, to keep the Queen’s peace, to pursue and bring to justice those that break the law and to be seen to do this with integrity and common sense, acting without fear or favour or prejudice to the rights of others.

If we strive to achieve these things in this way, then crime performance, confidence and satisfaction will surely follow.