Police forces have improved in several areas in recent years, but
the public is still being failed too often, the police
inspectorate has warned.
In a new report, His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and
Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) has highlighted police
forces’ progress in recording crime, increasing from an estimated
80.5 per cent of all crime being recorded (excluding fraud) in
2014 to 92.4 per cent at the end of 2021/2022 inspections.
However, the inspectorate has found that too many forces are
failing to properly understand and manage their own performance,
meaning they don’t know what issues are most important to tackle
and where and how they can improve.
Inspectors highlighted several other issues that policing needs
to address to improve the service they provide to the public.
These include:
- too many forces make decisions based on poor data or
insufficient analysis of data;
- forces too often have knee jerk reactions to long term
problems and don’t work proactively enough to prevent issues
arising in the first place;
- first-line supervisors are critical to improving performance
and developing the right culture in forces, but they are not
getting the investment and support they need;
- the public is too often being failed at the first point of
contact, with long call delays, in particular non-emergency 101
calls; and
- the workforce is increasingly under-resourced and under
skilled, with forces not doing enough to understand why such a
large proportion of its workforce are leaving and having any
plans in place to tackle it.
His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary, Andy
Cooke, said:
“We found a wealth of examples where police forces are performing
well. Forces must learn from each other and should consider if
the positive practice described in this report can be applied in
their own area.
“But the public are still being let down too often by policing,
and there are several improvements that forces need to make. One
of the first things forces need to do is to get better at
understanding and managing their own performance. Without this,
forces cannot aspire to provide the high level of service that
the public deserves.
“The public’s trust and confidence in the police are at an
all-time low, so it is vital that forces take heed of our
findings and work quickly to rectify the issues highlighted.”
ENDS
Notes to editors:
