The National Crime Agency (NCA) produces some outstanding
results from its investigations but needs to invest in its IT
infrastructure, the police inspectorate said.
His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue
Services (HMICFRS) has carried out an inspection of the NCA and
assessed its performance across six areas. It found the agency
was ‘good' in three areas, ‘adequate' in one area and ‘requires
improvement' in two areas.
HMICFRS found the NCA investigates high-harm cases very
well. These cases are often complex and carried out in high-risk
environments and the agency produces some outstanding results
from some very successful investigations and
disruptions.
For example, inspectors highlighted the NCA's successful
disruption of the LockBit ransomware group, which the NCA viewed
as the most harmful cybercrime group in the world. Working
alongside international partners, this resulted in suspects being
arrested in Poland and Ukraine, and the freezing of
more than 200 cryptocurrency accounts. Inspectors
also highlighted the NCA's leading role
in Project Chapelgate, a proactive enforcement activity
that targets high-value money laundering, which since 2008
has recovered more than £180 million in criminal
assets.
However, the inspectorate has raised concerns about the NCA's IT
infrastructure, which it says is not fit for
purpose. Inspectors said that this affects the
entire agency, significantly hinders its ability
to operate effectively and efficiently, stifles innovation and
creates an over-reliance on inefficient manual processes. To
address this, the inspectorate has recommended that the NCA and
Home Office urgently develop a costed IT strategy.
HMICFRS also found that the NCA:
- didn't have enough resources to meet all aspects of the
demand the government was asking it to meet;
- has effective governance structures in place and works well
with a broad range of partners across law
enforcement, government and the private
sector;
- has a diverse workforce with officers from police forces,
other law enforcement agencies, the civil service and
external recruitment, which brings obvious potential benefits but
can also lead to a lack of clarity in leadership and
accountability and different employment terms within
teams;
- officers
showed professionalism, resilience and a
strong public service ethos; and
- the NCA needs to improve business planning,
workforce management and HR processes.
His Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary Lee Freeman KPM
said:
“The National Crime Agency has considerable strengths. The agency
is good at investigating serious and organised crime, works very
well with a broad range of national and international
partners, and its officers show immense
professionalism and resilience.
“However, the NCA doesn't have enough resources to
meet all of the demand
the government asks it to meet, which could present a
risk to public safety and national security.
The urgent need for investment in IT infrastructure and
systems also cannot be underestimated.
“The NCA has already taken action to address many of the issues
we have raised, and I will be monitoring its progress
closely.”
Notes to editors:
- HMICFRS has previously inspected the agency's effectiveness
and efficiency in discharging its statutory functions, carried
out individual inspections of the NCA and included the NCA in
some national thematic inspections.
- However, this report presents the findings of HMICFRS' first
organisation-wide inspection of the NCA since it
was established in 2013. This is the first-time HMICFRS
has inspected the NCA's overall effectiveness and efficiency and
given graded judgements.
- More detail on the inspection framework can be found
within the report.
- The NCA effectiveness and efficiency report will be published
on the HMICFRS
website on Tuesday 19 May.
