Leicestershire Police inspection finds areas to improve

Inspectors have given a mixed judgment on Leicestershire Police, with some areas judged as good and others requiring improvement.

The police inspectorate, His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS), evaluated the force’s performance across eight areas of policing earlier this year.

In its report published today (Thursday), it has found the force was 'good' in four areas, 'adequate' in two areas and 'requires improvement' in two areas.

Crime prevention, treatment of the public, use of its powers and workplace culture were all judged as good. Leadership and protecting the vulnerable were classed as adequate.

But the bread and butter police work - investigating crime and responding to the public - were deemed to be below par and requiring improvement. Inspectors found the service now has an inexperienced officer force.

Chief Constable Rob Nixon said in a media statement he welcomed the ‘largely positive’ report.

“It recognises the improvements and investments we have made in service and standards, and indicates we remain one of the leading forces in the country.

“We have more to do as a force, of course, but in light of national pressures and the budget challenges we have faced locally, this is a good report showing we are on track to make further progress.

“I was pleased that our efforts in prevention, supporting our young-in-service workforce, and working closely with our communities were highlighted by the inspectorate. I was also grateful to the inspectorate team for recognising the improvements and gains we are already making to respond to calls for service and achieve better outcomes for victims.”

An area the inspectors said the force could do better was recording when neighbourhood officers are taken away from their duties to help with response police, known as abstraction.

It said: “The force does have an abstraction policy and monitors planned abstractions for events such as policing football matches. But at the time of our inspection, the force was unable to accurately say how often neighbourhood officers and PCSOs were abstracted to unplanned activity.

"This inability to record unplanned abstractions means the force can’t be sure what effect these are having on meeting neighbourhood policing priorities, such as working with communities to prevent crime.”

It also found some crime investigations could be compromised due to officers not maximising investigative opportunities at crime scenes and not always securing evidence correctly.

Control room staff dispatching responders to incidents do not always give the relevant information and intelligence.

Work with communities was, however, highly praised. Inspectors said: “Leicestershire Police’s community cohesion team is an example of how the force develops relationships with communities which don’t often interact with the police.”

Its work to prevent domestic violence, including its creation of a threat assessment unit to identify risk, was also praised as innovative. And specialist teams such as those that deal with complex cases and sexual offences were found to be skilled and effective.

Police and crime commissioner for Leicestershire and Rutland, Rupert Matthews (Con), has the job of holding the force to account on behalf of residents.

He said: “The officers and staff of Leicestershire Police have worked hard to secure these very creditable outcomes and their contribution to creating safe and prosperous communities should be acknowledged.

“We are all aware that the HMICFRS inspection regime has changed the gradings system for all forces, which means that any comparison with previous gradings is inappropriate.

“That said, I welcome the report which will provide a useful baseline for future improvements. I look forward to seeing the force’s plans to implement the Inspector’s recommendations and deliver the improvements our residents expect and deserve.”