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The South Australian Police
Mission and Corporate Goals

Introduction

The Future Directions Strategy sets SAPOL's direction for the next three to five years.

It provides a unifying vision to assist each member of SAPOL in developing action plans, defining strategies and priorities and undertaking activities which will contribute to the achievement of our mission and delivery of excellent policing services to the community.

It communicates a clear commitment to change and a focus on achievement. It is a charter by which SAPOL will lead the way to a safer community into the 21st century.

The key elements of the Strategy are statements of:

  • Our mission and role - what police do
  • A vision for the future - what we should aim for
  • The way we will achieve our vision - how we will go about it.

They are as follows:

Mission Statement - What we do.

"Working together to reassure and protect the community from crime and disorder".

Core Functions

These are activities we pursue to achieve our mission:

  • Preserving the peace
  • Preventing crime
  • Upholding the law
  • Providing assistance in personal emergencies
  • Coordinating and managing emergency incidents
  • Regulating road use and preventing vehicle collisions.

Effective policing:

  • contributes to the quality of personal life,and
  • underpins the economic, social and cultural well-being of the State.

The benefits to our customers:
 The ultimate outcome of effective policing is for South Australia to be a safe place to live, visit and do business.

Vision Statement - What we should aim for.

"SAPOL will be held in highest regard as a modern, motivated, progressive and professional organisation, responsive to the community's needs and expectations".

Strategic Enablers and Key Management Areas.
To ensure that our activities remain focused on achieving the mission and vision of the organisation, we have identified five strategic enablers as overarching philosophies to guide our operation and five key management areas where significant outcomes should be sought.

Strategic Enablers:

  • Leadership
    This strategic enabler has four elements:
    • Leading in terms of service outcomes.
    • Leading police employees in both operational and non-operational settings.
    • Leading in adoption of best practice, change and innovation.
    • Leading the community within the context of Community Oriented Policing.

  • Working Together
    The philosophy of community policing, which is police, service delivery agencies, businesses, local authorities and the community working together to resolve crime and safety issues, has been expanded to incorporate two important concepts, problem solving and partnerships. They are tools or concepts that can be used to meet the organisational goals stated in the Corporate Plan. Briefly, the concepts are:

    • Problem Solving
       Problem solving is a way of thinking about operational situations that arise. It is an approach that can be used both in traditional policing and in crime prevention. Situations are analysed and an appropriate response is developed to solve the underlying problem. It is a creative approach which extends our proactive role and adds value to traditional operational policing.

    • Partnerships
      Establishing partnerships with other agencies and community groups and businesses to form strategic alliances also expands on traditional policing. It recognises the limitations of police alone to deal with crime problems. It is a co-operative approach which places police in a service network of agencies and groups to address crime and disorder and create safer communities.

    • Community Policing.
      Community policing is a philosophy of policing and SAPOL has incorporated the two concepts, problem solving and partnerships into the philosophy. This will establish a more holistic approach to delivering police services to the community. A central feature of this approach will be a philosophy of community consultation, which aims to identify the issues of crime and disorder that are important to the community.

  • Service Units
     SAPOL will examine the use of a Service Unit approach. This will allow strategies and approaches to problem solving to be generated at the local level, with a flexible approach to services and deployment of resources to match workloads. In this model emphasis will be placed on greater accountability for both organisational performance and customer results.

  • Organisational Values
     To guide employee activity, behaviour and decision making there is a need to develop a set of shared organisational values. Management then needs to communicate, promote and maintain consistency in the application of these values to our activities.

  • Best Practice
     As we work towards our vision, it is crucial that we aim to be a best practice organisation. Put simply, best practice is the best way of doing something and may involve a radical change to the present way of doing things.

Key Management Areas

  • Service Orientation
     To deliver police services that meet the needs and expectations of the community.
    A service orientation means considering the services we provide and the manner of delivering those services from the community's point of view. The community is our customer and our services should meet their needs. New opportunities for designing and delivering services are opened up from adopting a service orientation.

  • Ethics and Integrity
    To ensure that the community has full confidence in and respect for police.
    We must have the community's respect and confidence to be effective. A successful ethical standards strategy will foster an organisational culture which values and supports ethical behaviour.

  • Resource Management
    To provide the most productive and efficient police services.
    Our resources are finite and need to be used In ways that maximise our capacity to provide services to the community.

  • Personnel Development
     To maximise the knowledge, skills and competencies of the workforce.
    We are a service organisation and the quality and efficiency of our services is dependent on the personal attributes of our staff and their willingness and capacity to contribute.

  • Infrastructure and Information Technology
     To support and improve service delivery through infrastructure and information technology development.
    This area includes the provision of police facilities, communications systems, vehicles and personal equipment. Special attention will also be given to developing management information systems to assist decision making about our deployment and use of resources.

    Implementation

    • Communication Strategy
      The simple message "Leading the way to a safer community" has been adopted as part of our communication strategy. It encapsulates our future direction and indicates our strategy to achieve it. Open and timely exchange of information will be a key feature of the communication strategy and all staff will be kept informed on developments as they arise.

    • Change Management -FOCUS 21
      One of the measures adopted to ensure the Future Directions Strategy is effectively implemented is a major reform program titled FOCUS 21. The majority of FOCUS 21 projects will be primarily directed at achieving goals in the Key Management Areas. This year's Corporate Plan incorporates the FOCUS 21 projects in the section on "Managing the Organisation". The projects are:
      • Service
      • Human Resources
      • Information Systems and Technology
      • Ethical Standards
      • Leadership

    Conclusion

    The Future Directions Strategy is for everyone in SAPOL. It provides the focus for this year's Corporate Plan and ensures that our service delivery efforts and organisational change management initiatives will be approached in an integrated and coordinated manner.

    Theme

    "Leading the way to a safer community"

    Statement of Values

    Statement of Values is the underlying standard which supports the organisation's mission and goals and is a set of principles by which all South Australia Police employees are expected to adhere. The values are:

    • Achieving integrity and excellence in all actions.
    • Enhancing the quality of community life by working with the community in policing activities.
    • Conveying pride in our work and appearance.
    • Being helpful and courteous to each other and the public.
    • Providing facilities which are well maintained and used efficiently.
    • ting policing strategies and practices which preserve the rights and freedoms of all citizens.
    • Structuring services to reinforce the strengths of communities throughout the State.
    • Ensuring fair and equal treatment for all employees and all citizens.
    • Providing victims of crime with sympathetic, constructive and reassuring assistance.
    • Managing our resources in an efficient and effective manner.
    • Seeking active input from employees on matters which impact upon employee satisfaction and effectiveness.
    • Providing stability, flexibility and consistency in all our activities.

    Overview of Structure of 1996/1997 Corporate Goals

    Operational Goals

    • CRIME DETECTION AND REDUCTION
      To reduce the incidence and effects of crime.
    • PRESERVE THE PEACE
      To enhance public safety and increase feelings of security.
    • EMERGENCY/DISASTER MANAGEMENT
      To minimise the effects of emergency and disaster situations on the community.
    • ROAD SAFETY AND TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT
      To improve road safety and the efficient management of traffic.

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