The Police Inspectorate has told Devon & Cornwall Police to make urgent improvements after it was worryingly found to be inadequate in several areas. You can see the full report here.
The Report graded Devon and Cornwall Police’s performance across nine areas of policing and found the force was ‘inadequate’ in three areas, ‘requires improvement’ in two areas, ‘adequate’ in two areas and ‘good’ in two areas.
Inadequate areas were: recording data about crime, responding to the public, and managing offenders and suspects, all huge areas.
Investigating crime and strategic planning, organisation and value for money required improvement, and other areas, such as protecting vulnerable people and engaging with the public and treating them with respect were adequate.
Only two areas were good: preventing crime and building, supporting and protecting the workforce.
In October 2022, HMICFRS (the inspection body) placed Devon and Cornwall Police into its enhanced monitoring stage, Engage. This is used when a force is not responding to concerns, or if it is not managing, mitigating or eradicating these concerns. The Engage process provides additional scrutiny and support.
His Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary Wendy Williams said:
“I have concerns about Devon and Cornwall Police’s performance in keeping people safe and reducing crime – particularly about the accuracy of its crime recording, its response to the public, and its management of sexual and violent offenders.
“The force doesn’t always record crimes against vulnerable victims, particularly violent or behavioural crimes, and anti-social behaviour. Failure to record a crime often results in victims not being properly safeguarded and no investigation taking place.
“Our inspection also found that the force is not adequately assessing or managing the risks posed by registered sexual and violent offenders.
“However, we did find good examples of the force working well with other organisations to prioritise the prevention and deterrence of crime. We also found that members of the workforce are well supported to do their jobs.
“Last year, in view of these findings, we moved Devon and Cornwall Police into our enhanced monitoring process, which provides additional scrutiny and support. I have also been in regular contact with the chief constable to monitor the force’s progress against these important and necessary changes.”
