Commissioner comments on HMICFRS Effectiveness Report

Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services released their PEEL Effectiveness Report on Humberside Police today, Thursday 22nd March 2018.

In the report Humberside Police were graded 'Requires Improvement' overall, which included a 'Good' grading in the category of 'How effective is the force at preventing crime, tackling anti-social behaviour and keeping people safe'.

Police and Crime Commissioner Keith Hunter said: “I am pleased the Inspectors have recognised many of the improvements taking place within Humberside Police and the positive effect that is starting to be felt in our communities. Last years’ rating of inadequate in the Vulnerability section of the report was totally unacceptable and I am reassured that the new force leadership team under Chief Constable Lee Freeman are getting to grips with the issues, resulting in an improved grading for vulnerability this year.

“Some of the improvements being made in the force have also been highlighted as good examples in the national report by HMIC, it has been some time since this has happened and shows the progress that is now under way. The recruitment campaign to boost our police officer numbers and deliver an improved service to the public is the envy of many other forces. The inspectors also remarked positively on the work we do with our partner organisations.

“There are some areas where Humberside Police needs to improve to receive a higher overall grade in future and I will be addressing these with the Chief Constable, but as a whole the public should be reassured that the Force is on the road to sustained improvement.”       

Humberside Police Assistant Chief Constable, Chris Noble said: “We are pleased that HMIC has recognised that we are ‘good’ in very important areas, such as preventing crime, tackling anti-social behaviour, investigating serious and complex crimes, and understanding the communities we serve.

“We are also encouraged that HMIC has acknowledged the good progress we have made since the last inspection in how we protect vulnerable people–they have praised the work of our call handlers who they believe are well trained and able to routinely recognise vulnerability at the first point of contact. Our call handlers deal with over 45,616 calls each month.

“We agree with the HMIC view that we need to do more to meet the needs and demands of our communities.  This is why we have initiated a huge amount of work to understand demands on our service, we’ve invested in technology to do this and worked with our officers and staff to develop a new shift pattern that will help us to meet the demand better.

“Our biggest ever recruitment campaign for new officers is going really well and by the end of the year we will have seen an increase of 300 new officers over an 18 month period which will make a huge difference to our ability to meet the needs of our communities. We saw almost 1,000 applicants in just 4 days in our February campaign.

“HMIC have also recognised that we have a huge demand on our services that are related to mental health issues and that we have an ‘exceptional understanding’ of this issue.  We constantly working with partners in the NHS and social care to address this increasingly challenging social problem. By way of example, in the last year we had 1,057 calls passed to us by colleagues from other agencies, such as the Ambulance service or Humberside Fire and Rescue.

“We’re pleased that the work of our early intervention teams has also been recognised for their success in working with partners in housing, social care, youth offending and voluntary organisations to make a real difference to people’s lives and help to steer young people towards different choices and away from criminal lifestyles.  This is something that we’re very proud to be trailblazing.

“We know that this is a journey of long-term sustained improvement and it’s going in the right direction, which the new leadership team is determined to continue.  There is more to do and it’s about learning and continual improvement to deliver the best possible service we can for the people of Humberside.”

The full HMICFRS Effectiveness Report can be viewed HERE