Community Engagement and Liaison Policy

Purpose. This policy commits the service to genuine engagement with every part of the Northgate community and sets how engagement is planned, delivered and recorded.

1.Commitment

The service will engage with the community as a partner in preventing crime and harm. Engagement is a core policing activity and not an optional extra. Every member will treat community contact as an opportunity to build trust.

2.Culturally specific communities

The service will maintain liaison arrangements with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community, multicultural communities, faith groups and LGBTIQ+ communities in the district. Liaison officers must be consulted before planned operations that will affect a specific community. Members will use interpreters and cultural advice where language or cultural factors affect an interaction.

3.Planning engagement

Every planned engagement activity must have a completed Community Engagement Activity Plan that states the purpose, partners, audience, resources, risks and evaluation method. Activities that involve children must comply with child safe standards and the working with children check requirements. Plans must be approved by the Senior Sergeant, Community Engagement.

4.Delivery standards

Members representing the service at community activities will be in uniform unless the plan states otherwise, will be briefed on the purpose and key messages, and will not make commitments on behalf of the service without approval. Members must not photograph or record community members without informed consent. Materials must be plain language and translated where the audience needs it.

5.Recording and evaluation

Every activity must be recorded in the Community Engagement Register within two business days, including attendance, issues raised and agreed follow-ups. Follow-ups must be assigned to a named member and closed within the agreed time. Evaluation results will be reported to the quarterly governance meeting.

• Record within two business days
• Assign every follow-up to a member
• Report issues raised to the relevant unit
• Evaluate every program annually

6.Complaints and feedback

Feedback received through engagement activities, including complaints about police, must be recorded and referred under the Code of Conduct and Professional Standards Policy. The person giving feedback will be told how it was handled where they ask to be told.