Corporate Communications Department
Effective communication is essential to the provision of a professional policing service. Police officers and staff of all ranks must be able to communicate effectively with colleagues, partner agencies and members of the public if they are to fulfil their roles to the high standards we expect.
As a high-profile public service, Leicestershire Constabulary has an organisational responsibility to ensure that our staff, our partners and our communities know what we are doing, why we are doing it and how. The Corporate Communication Department exists to help ensure the Force fulfils this responsibility.
The Department is divided into three areas of responsibility: the Press Office, the Public Relations section and the New Media section.
The Press Office team, led by the Head of News, currently deals with around 40,000 calls a year from local, regional and national journalists. It issues over 2,000 press releases annually and provides 24-hour a day operational press officer cover in the event of a major or critical incident.
As well as witness appeals for incidents ranging from burglaries to murders, the Department utilises the skills of its small team of press officers to make the public aware of local policing successes and issues.
The Press Office team also provides media training for officers and staff of all levels across the Constabulary and offers a comprehensive media monitoring service.
The Public Relations team, under the leadership of the Head of Public Relations, helps devise and action a range of public relations activities that support the achievement of corporate and operational goals.
It drives the ‘Getting Personal’ public relations programme, which has been designed to heighten awareness of the work done by the Constabulary and increase community confidence.
The Public Relations team also provides advice and support to senior officers and managers on how to communicate effectively with staff within the organisation.
The team is responsible for producing a number of key Constabulary publications.
It also works closely with the New Media section, led by the Head of New Media.
The New Media team is comprised of professional web designers who work closely with colleagues in Information Technology to ensure the Force website is kept up-to-the-minute and effective as a communication tool.
The team also works with the IT Department to ensure the intranet site remains one of the Constabulary’s key internal communication tools.