The public receives inconsistent service from their local police forces, official inspectors have said in a report. In the report Divergence Under Pressure Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) found that forces are still struggling to understand demand in their areas. This is preventing them from being able to use their resources well and plan.
HM Inspector of Constabulary Matt Parr said: “Now HMICFRS has published reports into all 43 forces in England and Wales, we can reflect on the findings to consider what these mean for some sections of the public and to look to the future. Our assessments show that policing across England and Wales is largely in good shape. But we cannot ignore that forces are providing services under the twin pressures of rising demand and falling resources. And these pressures have not fallen equally across police forces. Some forces have risen exceptionally well to the challenge. But this generalisation misses some noticeable differences between police forces and the service they provide.
“This has resulted in members of the public receiving very different services provided by their local force, depending where they live.”
For the full 22-page report visit https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmicfrs/publications/peel-spotlight-report-overview-of-themes-2018-19/. You can also see official assessment by force area.
As for being a victim of crime, the report notes that ever more investigations require digital evidence from mobile phones, computers and other electronic devices. “These will often belong to victims, who cannot access the devices while they are awaiting examination. All forces have a prioritisation system, but most victims of crime will wait while their device is in a queue.” A queue may be a few months; in the poorest performing force, it can take 18 months.
And on organised crime, the report says that ‘many forces need to improve their understanding of the effect they are having … To do this, forces need to have the capacity and capability to take a longer-term approach to analysis. There is little evidence that forces are using community intelligence …”
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National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) Chair Martin Hewitt said: “Policing has been under strain dealing with rising crime, demand that is more complex and fewer officers available to deal with it. An increase in officer numbers in the coming years will help us to provide a better service to victims, and ease the pressure on our people.
“Police chiefs continue to work to understand new trends, evidential challenges and why victims lose faith in the system. Better understanding the demand we face can enable us to deliver a more consistent service going forward. We will consider the observations made by the Inspectorate carefully, both nationally and within forces, to see what action can be taken to address areas of specific concern.”
National Chair of the rank and file police body the Police Federation of England and Wales John Apter said: “The harsh reality is that policing can no longer do all the things it once could, with some local forces struggling to respond to 999 calls in a timely manner. Police officers didn’t join policing to give a bad service, but the system is broken, and forces are having to make some incredibly difficult operational decisions on which crimes to prioritise.
He added: “The only thing you get for less is less, it’s not rocket science. You can’t cut budgets to the bone, reduce officer and staff numbers by so much and not expect there to be a consequence. This mess is not of police making and is a result of a decade of devastating budget cuts – we warned for years this would happen, but previous governments refused to listen.”
