Watchdog Rates Half of Police Forces Poorly in Crime Investigation
Only an ‘unacceptably low’ number of crimes are being solved following investigations, prompting major inspections to be rolled out next year.
Half of police forces have been given low grades for failing to investigate crime properly, according to an official police watchdog.
Of the 43 forces in England and Wales, 22 were judged by police inspectors to be “inadequate” or “requiring improvement” in investigating crime, the two lowest performance ratings.
On Friday, The Telegraph newspaper collated information from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) inspection gradings in 2021/22.
The publication also said that the performance of five forces including the Metropolitan Police, West Midlands, Devon and Cornwall, Staffordshire, and Wiltshire is of such concern that “they are currently in special measures.”
Underperforming forces face an investigation by HMICFRS next year.
Inspection Programmes
HMICFRS PEEL (police effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy) inspection programmes assess the performance of all 43 police forces in England and Wales.
The inspection uses findings, analysis, and “professional judgment” to assess how good forces are in several areas of policing. Some of these include responding to the public, investigating crime, and protecting vulnerable people.
Related Stories
In July, inpsectors found that responding to the public was the poorest-performing area in its PEEL 2021/22 inspection programme, with no forces assessed as “outstanding.”
In this area of policing, it awarded 17 of 43 forces “requires improvement” grades and the highest number 8 of “inadequate: grades for any area.”
The 2023-25 PEEL inspection programme cycle has not yet been completed for all forces.
West Midlands Police
Last Friday, the HMICFRS said it had “serious concerns” about how West Midlands Police is investigating crime.
The police inspectorate graded West Midlands Police’s performance across eight areas of policing and found the force was adequate in two areas, requires improvement in three areas, and inadequate in three areas.
HMICFRS said in its report that while this force prioritised the prevention and deterrence of crime, it “had serious concerns” about how the force investigated crime, protected vulnerable residents, and managed offenders and suspects.
It added that police did not manage the risk posed to the public by registered sex offenders and online child abuse offenders effectively.
West Midlands Police has now been moved into an enhanced level of monitoring.
His Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary Wendy Williams said that she had “highlighted these problems in previous inspection reports, but the force’s performance has declined.”
An HMICFRS spokeswoman told The Epoch Times by email that forces need to “work quickly to rectify these issues.”
“Our report on police performance in July 2023 highlighted that responding to the public and investigating crime were the two poorest-performing areas in our PEEL 2021/22 inspection programme,” she said.
“We found that many forces face real challenges in answering and dealing with emergency calls in a timely manner, and an unacceptably low number of crimes are solved following investigations. We intend to carry out a thematic inspection of police investigations in 2024 and will continue to assess forces’ performance in these areas in our PEEL 2023-25 inspection programme,” she added.
“If the police are to rebuild public trust and confidence, it is vital that forces work quickly to rectify these issues and provide the high level of service that the public deserves,” she said.
PA Media contributed to this report.
