Meeting the needs and expectations of individual citizens and communities is in a fairly clichéd sense what all public services are about. How to do it, do it on a dwindling budget, and work to improve service levels and responsiveness are questions that have come to define the challenge facing those who now lead public bodies. One such body is the Police Service of Northern Ireland and its still relatively new Chief Constable, Matt Baggott CBE QPM outlined his views on policing Northern Ireland's communities and on how he and is officers approached their task of delivering good policing.
Matt Baggott is the third Chief Constable to lead Northern Ireland's re-formed police service. Formerly the Chief Constable of Leicestershire, he came to the province six months ago as a firm believer in a neighbourhood style of policing and with a record of managing a police force on a tight budget. An acknowledged expert in the area of community policing Matt Baggott is now tasked with watching over communities long separated by a bitter and bloody conflict. In a post-conflict Northern Ireland there is broad support for his emphasis on community policing, with more police on the beat and close co-operation with church and community groups and with other public agencies.
A member of the National Policing Board chaired by the Home Secretary, Mr Baggott has advised government on a wide range of issues from partnership to social cohesion. There is no doubt that as Northern Ireland's top policeman, Matt Baggott has a demanding and challenging job with a high profile and his talk to Forum colleagues reflected that reality.