Jersey Police: firearms, fraud and missing people

Monday 11 June 2018

Jersey Police deal with an average of around two cases involving a missing person every day. A new report issued by the Jersey Police Authority (JPA) – which casts an independent eye over the local force – also says the firearms squad is seeing more and more action, and digital fraud has gone up by around 400%.

Those are just some of the statistics contained in the JPA's report, which presents a snap-shot of policing in Jersey in 2017.

Last year the firearms team averaged four callouts a month. In its report the authority says, “...in 2017, in addition to the firearms teams deploying to all incidents which involved weapons, they are now also deployed to all incidents that have the potential to involve harm to members of the public.”

The figures also show PAVA spray (an incapacitation spray similar to pepper spray – a replacement for CS spray) was used on seven occasions. There are no details on how often officers used tasers – often referred to as ‘stun guns.'

Elsewhere, the report notes there’s been a four-fold increase in the reporting of digital fraud: “2017 is perhaps the first year that Jersey has truly seen the ever-increasing digital threat translate into significant crime and incident reporting for the States of Jersey Police.” Islanders have lost hundreds of thousands of pounds in incidents.

Illegal drugs continue to be a big problem for the force. Last year they seized more than £2m worth. They also seized £250,000 in drugs-related cash.

A great deal of time is also spent looking for missing people. In 2017 the force dealt with 777 incidents. – that’s more than two a day.

The report goes on to say: “2017 saw the injection of additional funding into the Jersey Financial Crime Unit and the creation of an Economic Crime and Confiscation Unit within the Law Officers’ Department… The Financial Intelligence Unit saw an increase of 4% on 2016 in terms of overall submissions in the form of suspicious activity reports, requests for assistance and other miscellaneous reports – the highest levels to date.”

Pictured: the transition from the old to new headquarters, "went as planned and without affecting performance or public service" according to the report.

Summing up, Dr Jason Lane, Chairman of the JPA, notes: “Overall, 2017 was a year of significant transformation for all officers and staff, the most visual aspect of which was the successful phased move into the new Headquarters on La Route du Fort. I am delighted to report that despite the considerable logistical challenges, the transition went as planned and without affecting performance or public service.”

Deputy Chief Officer of the States of Jersey Police, Julian Blazeby, added: “The policing challenge is varied and at times complex, whether it is a fraud investigation, dealing with the vulnerable, people in crisis or managing the night time economy and this report reflects this. “The progress made during the year on introducing new ways of working through technology to enable police officers to be more visible in the parishes and more efficient in their work has been good and will continue to make a positive difference during 2018. We will continue to build upon the good work and progress made during 2017."