Peer Review
The supportive Peer Review offer from the VKPP is to assist forces in the delivery of their National Vulnerability Action Plan actions, aligned to 14 thematic strands of public protection. At the heart of everything that the VKPP produces is the NVAP, covering the key strands of vulnerability and created to address the College of Policing’s well-researched ‘perennial issues. The perennial issues are areas identified within policing where action is needed to drive improvement for the public across a range of contexts, rather than for a particular crime type or operational area of policing.
The Peer Review Capability has been developed as a fully funded supportive offer, specific to the NVAP actions, to support forces by leading reviews with a dedicated team of subject matter experts from policing, academia and the voluntary sector. Working together, they will bring value in terms of knowledge, assessment, victim focus and academic insight into both the evidence and practice that underpins the NVAP actions.
The VKPP peer review aims to:
- Provide a supportive process to assist forces in the delivery of their NVAP actions and the management of their service to vulnerable children, adults and communities
- Contribute to the national evidence base through identification of promising practice.
- Improve consistency of approach to delivering the NVAP
The team have worked closely with the College of Policing and Operation Hydrant to mobilise this offer, ensuring that the processes and strategies across all three review offers are consistent yet unique in terms of their area of focus.
Since the start of 2021, VKPP have successfully completed a number of pilot peer reviews , initially with a focus on two NVAP actions; 2.4.1 Voice of the Victim and 2.6.2 Officer Norms, with positive feedback from forces. The team are now ready to expand the offer to all forces and will be open to reviewing additional NVAP areas.
The peer review capability is a wholly supportive process, with the VKPP acting as a critical friend, as opposed to formally inspecting the force, whilst providing meaningful considerations/opportunities for improvement.
Reviews will be based on a methodology agreed by the force and take place over a period of 3-5 days. The review itself will consist of desk-based research by the team and then, Covid-19 dependant, a series of face-to-face workshops and focus groups led by a peer reviewer and a specially selected cadre of subject matter experts This will be followed by a debrief and a formal report outlining the findings of the review, along with any supporting material.
Reviews are confidential to the force, and any learning from the final report will not be shared any wider without express permission. To request a VKPP peer review or find out more about becoming a peer review subject matter expert contact the team by emailing vkpp@college.police.uk
Peer Review Cadre - Subject Matter Experts
The peer review process relies upon a cadre of subject matter experts built from policing, partners and voluntary organisations, across the breadth of vulnerabilities, to add their professional insight to the findings of the review, complementing the academic research to build a robust evidence base against the NVAP actions where there are identified gaps. We would particularly like to hear from those that represent a diverse workforce.