1. West Midlands Police
Conflict
Resolution at
West Midlands
Police
“what the world really
needs is more love
and less paperwork”
Pearl Bailey
Our vision is to reduce crime and disorder and make our communities feel safer

2. West Midlands Police
• 7995 Police Officers
• 3532 Police Staff, 730 PCSOs
• 578 Special Constables
• 10 LPUs/18 depts
• 31% work shifts, 16% are flexible workers
• 59% male, 41% female
• 90% of the force non BME, 10% BME
• covering 348m2, population 2.6m, 18% BME
Our vision is to reduce crime and disorder and make our communities feel safer

3. West Midlands Police
“People join the police service
for vocational reasons. They
want to serve the public and
do a good job. It is about
creating a climate that
allows them to do that.”
(Birmingham Mail 1 June 2010)
Our vision is to reduce crime and disorder and make our communities feel safer

4. West Midlands Police
robust and intrusive
Or or
emotional intelligence
Our vision is to reduce crime and disorder and make our communities feel safer

5. West Midlands Police
WMP’s Dispute Resolution options
• First Contact Advisers
• Mediation
• People Advice and Liaison Service
• Formal Resolution
• Productivity and Attendance
Management
• Shared Service Centre: Line Manager
Adviser Team
Our vision is to reduce crime and disorder and make our communities feel safer

6. West Midlands Police
Our vision is to reduce crime and disorder and make our communities feel safer

7. West Midlands Police
First Contact Advisers
Listening → Signposting → Advice
Issues:
• Equality
• Diversity
• Fairness
• Bullying
• Started 1993
• Harassment
• 70+ FCAs
• Own steering • Discrimination
committee
Our vision is to reduce crime and disorder and make our communities feel safer

8. West Midlands Police
Mediation
• 18 mediators
• 163 cases over 6 years
• Even split male/female colleagues
• Obstacles: confidentiality/impartiality,
catharsis, “right to manage”, Change
• Evaluation of process and service
• Assessment of outcomes and impact
Our vision is to reduce crime and disorder and make our communities feel safer

9. West Midlands Police
Challenges
• Mediation scheme underused
• Misunderstanding of the process
• Mediation “imposed” by Managers
• Perceptions (stigma, blame,
confidentiality, trust/confidence, buy-in)
• Resilience
• Communicating outcomes/needs
Our vision is to reduce crime and disorder and make our communities feel safer

10. West Midlands Police
Our vision is to reduce crime and disorder and make our communities feel safer

11. West Midlands Police
Resolution Process
Resolution Process
• 2 stages
• Guidance (expectations,fact finding,
handling difficult conversations, stress
management, closure)
• Cooling off period
• Independent adjudication
Our vision is to reduce crime and disorder and make our communities feel safer

12. West Midlands Police
Where did we go wrong?
• Expectations/objectives
• Personnel practices/policy issues
• Transparency of rationales
• Power of apology
• Aftermath management
Our vision is to reduce crime and disorder and make our communities feel safer

13. West Midlands Police
Cost/Benefit analysis
• Demonstrable impartiality
• Early merits assessment
• Swift decision and minimal disruption
• Flexible approach and creative solutions
• Confidence regarding outcome
• Savings → £2000-3000 per case on admin
(overall decrease 100-200% of ET costs
£50k+)
Our vision is to reduce crime and disorder and make our communities feel safer

14. West Midlands Police
*withdrawn or NB figures as accurate as possible
dismissed
2008 2009 2010 2011
criteria for data sometimes varies
ET New Claims 27 21 9 (-6*) 20 (-5*)
Won 2 1 1 0
Lost 14 4 1 1 (EAT
overturned this)
Settled 7 2 2 5
Resolutions Stage 1 17 40 (10) 57
Stage 2 23 10 5 3
Mediations Total 17 27 23 24
Resolved 9 19 11 7
Unresolved
8 8 12 7
or did not progress
Our vision is to reduce crime and disorder and make our communities feel safer

15. West Midlands Police
“Overall, the cost of tribunal
claims is significantly below
the levels for the previous five
years, which is especially
significant considering the
organisational changes taking
place”
WMP Force Solicitor John Kilbey, April 2012
Our vision is to reduce crime and disorder and make our communities feel safer

16. West Midlands Police
People Advice and Liaison Service
• Conflict, capability, misconduct,
disciplinary, whistle-blowing or “stress”
• Prevention not cure
• Advocacy not therapy
• Understand dynamics/clarify objectives
• Challenge assumptions/self-reflection
• Agree realistic strategy
Our vision is to reduce crime and disorder and make our communities feel safer

17. West Midlands Police
“If you want others to be happy,
practice compassion. If you want to be
happy, practice compassion.”
The Dalai Lama
Our vision is to reduce crime and disorder and make our communities feel safer