Measuring Success
How one goes about opening the channel of communication between the community and the police are many and varied. However in most cases the process is usually started with communication. For example a warning about a crime hot spot sent out via a whatsapp crime group.
One form of measurement is to count the number of community members the CPF has been in touch with on a monthly basis and then create a month to month graph of the total number. The same methodology can be applied towards partnerships.
Example
Through the month the CPF sends out 8 WhatsApp messages about a variety of CPF related subjects. The CPF has 12 Whatsapp groups whose members total 1000. In addittion there were two articles in the local Caxtons newspaper that mentioned the CPF. The local newspaper distributes 40 000 copies a week. The PRO could then count 12 000 communications out along whatsapp groups and 80 000 communications out through Caxtons. In total 92 000 communications issued.
The following month there are no articles in the local Caxtons, 5 WhatsApp messages are sent out and the Chairman is asked to speak at a local Church meeting, which is attended by 45 people. Thats months count is 5045.
The following month the CPF sends out 8 WhatsApp messages and works together with the local Pastors Forum whose members total 3800. The Pastors distribute a message to their congregations about the CPF. Thats months count is 11800.
This measurement is then available should one wish to create a graph of the CPF’s “Communications Out” activities. (Communications out – meaning a message that is issued from the CPF along a definable channel to the Community)
Graph Example
Please bear in mind that measuring communication can be a complex business. The aim of the graph is not to be a factual record of every utterance made by a CPF member (the counting of which is an onerous task) but rather to show that the CPF has some idea of it’s communication channels and is able to utilise them.
The longer a CPF Committee works together the better they will discover which lines (lines = media, for example WhatsApp, Newspapers, Meetings etc) used are the most effective at gaining a response from the community.
The measurement of things like communications out and in, the total number of community members on WhatsApp groups, and the number of active Forums, are excellent indicators of how alive and well a CPF is.