Chief constable vows to improve force after ‘serious concerns’ raised by HMICFRS

Kier Pritchard said the report from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) was “significantly concerning”.

The latest HMICFRS PEEL inspection found Wiltshire Police was ‘inadequate’ in three areas and ‘requires improvement’ in five other areas and said “urgent improvements” must be made.

In particular, some domestic abuse victims had received “an unacceptable level of service” that put them at continuing risk.

Wiltshire and Swindon police and crime commissioner (PCC) Philip Wilkinson said the inspectorate’s report was “a sobering read and highly disappointing”.

HMICFRS said the inadequate areas included how the force responds to the public, how it protects vulnerable people and strategic planning and value for money.

The force was graded as requires improvement in preventing crime, investigating crime, its treatment of the public, managing offenders and developing a positive workplace

Wiltshire Police is already one of six forces in England currently placed in special measures after it was moved into the inspectorate’s Engage monitoring process last month.

Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary Wendy Williams said: “I have serious concerns about Wiltshire Police’s performance, particularly how it responds to the public, protects vulnerable people and makes use of its resources.

“The force is missing opportunities to protect vulnerable and repeat victims of crime. It needs to improve the way it manages victims’ calls, so that all vulnerable people are identified.

“Some domestic abuse victims have received an unacceptable level of service and have continued to remain at risk. The force is not supervising investigations well enough and doesn’t always follow all investigative opportunities.”

However, Ms Williams added: “More positively, the force has recently developed plans to address violence against women and girls and intends to make progress in how it understands and protects vulnerable people.

“Given our findings, we are now monitoring Wiltshire under our Engage process which provides additional scrutiny and support.

“In addition, I have been in regular contact with the chief constable and will continue to work with the force until the required vital improvements are made.”

Mr Pritchard said he recognised this was “a significantly concerning report”.

“My responsibility as chief constable is to deliver a local policing service that the people of Wiltshire expect, pay for and deserve. I remain resolute in our effort to improve,” he said.

“I acknowledge the findings from HMICFRS and accept the recommendations outlined in their report – we take the concerns raised very seriously and we are already taking prompt and comprehensive action to address these.

“Whilst we have been working hard to drive improvements in our service to our communities, we will be relentless in our focus on accelerating our work to do what is needed to improve our service.

“We fully accept that we need to move quickly to make improvements in some critical areas and we will turn the inspection feedback into tangible activity that you will see.

“I know people join Wiltshire Police to make a difference and protect our communities, and it is clear from this report we have not been doing that to the standard and expectation the public have of us.

“As a force, whilst we are bitterly disappointed by the findings of the inspection, we are determined to address the improvements set out in the report.”

Mr Pritchard said improving service delivery was now his “highest priority” as chief constable.

“Whilst our officers, staff and volunteers work incredibly hard in challenging circumstances, it is clear we have much more to do in focusing on the core service delivery,” he said.

Mr Pritchard said he was already working with the PCC to identify and address many of the issues outlined in the report and have already made changes in these areas.

“We have a detailed and focused plan which is firmly aligned to the delivery of the commissioner’s police and crime plan,” he added.

“Our ambition is to return our service to the standard the public expect, and we have already put in place many actions to support this.”

Mr Pritchard said these include:

• Establishing a dedicated action taskforce which will focus on re-setting and improving the fundamentals of public service at every level, from point of contact through to delivering improved justice outcomes;
• Focused, ongoing training for all frontline officers and staff, and critically, with their supervisors and sergeants. Enhanced training has also been delivered to contact centre staff specifically on identifying vulnerability threat, harm and risk in every interaction with the public; and
• Introducing a force-wide volume crime team to further professionalise the approach to investigating crime across neighbourhoods, keeping victims better informed and working with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to deliver better outcomes.

“During May, I personally set out my expectations to my officers, staff and volunteers through a series of whole force forums, speaking directly to over 1,500 members of Wiltshire Police,” said the chief constable.

“I can assure you that they are deeply saddened by the findings of the inspection, they acknowledge what needs to be done and are determined to play their part in making the improvements required to enhance the service we provide to the public.

“Set against the complexity of demands they now face, I am confident in their ability to deliver the service improvements required across our communities. We share the same ambition, and we are going to do this together.”

Mr Pritchard said the HMICFRS report did contain some examples of “positive practice” across the force.

These included:

• The approach to addressing violence against women and girls, in particular the collaborative work with local forces and the CPS;
• The collaboration with the Swindon and Wiltshire Health Care NHS Trust in the provision of a number of mental health practitioners who provide 24/7 support to the force control centre and to frontline officers and staff, and provide essential and appropriate care to people in crisis;
• Work around early intervention to help prevent crime at the earliest opportunity, working with children and families, with supporting training to frontline officers; and
• The clear focus and partnership working in relation to the integrated offender management programme, aligned to national policy and structure.

Mr Pritchard said: “There is no doubt that the very real and relevant challenges such as the Salisbury poisonings in 2018, the impact of the global Covid pandemic and other challenges facing policing – such as recruitment, experience gaps across parts of our workforce resulting from the national accelerated recruitment programme of police officers, the increasing complexity of policing demand and local demand on partners – have all had an impact upon our ability to provide consistently strong local service delivery.

“But all that said, we know what we need to do and we know where we need to improve. We will have a relentless focus on making the necessary improvements.”

He added: “The additional support that the ‘Engage’ process will provide will help us achieve the recommendations outlined in the report.

“Learning from other organisations and utilising best practice can only be a good thing for our communities and we await further detail of what that package of support includes.

“It is important to highlight that this position is not unique to Wiltshire Police – there are a number of forces that are currently within the ‘Engage’ process and we are one of those forces.

“Ultimately this is about providing a better and more consistent policing service overall and we welcome the support this process will offer.

“We intend to proactively publish our progress via our website so that we can demonstrate to our communities that we are making the necessary improvements.

“Crime figures show that Wiltshire is one of the lowest crime areas in the country, but we are not complacent and we take the findings outlined in the HMICFRS report very seriously.

“We expect to be held to account over these matters, not only by the inspectorate and the PCC, but also importantly, by the public. I want to reassure you that we are already making positive improvements and will continue to do all that we can to meet the needs of the public.”

Wiltshire and Swindon’s PCC said it was “absolutely clear” from the HMICFRS report that there were areas of concern that need addressing.

Mr Wilkinson said: “The inspectorate’s report is a sobering read and is highly disappointing especially when I know we have many dedicated officers and staff working hard to deliver a quality policing service.

“But it is absolutely clear from what I have been told by our residents, my own observations and now this report that there are areas of concern that need addressing: victims of crime, vulnerable people and our communities deserve better.”

Mr Wilkinson said his “immediate priority” was to ensure that the chief constable and his senior leadership team put in place the necessary remedial measures to make the improvements highlighted in the report.

“This is particularly important in the force’s response to the public and to vulnerable people and victims, in dramatically improving performance and the quality and effectiveness of investigations,” he said.

“My aim, alongside the chief constable, is for Wiltshire Police to provide a quality, effective, frontline policing service which prioritises those crimes which matter most to communities.

“Together, the chief constable and I will ensure the necessary resources are available to enable reform and to ensure improvements are rapidly implemented so we can begin to satisfy the inspectorate and, more importantly, Wiltshire’s residents.”

Mr Wilkinson said the chief constable and himself have already agreed on a “back-to-basics reset” for the force and have developed, and put in place, remedial plans to answer concerns highlighted.

“I have implemented a police and crime plan which provides that focus, ensuring the strategic policing priorities needed to deliver change and improvement is there,” he added.

“As a result of this, I expect to see a tangible change that will improve, and enhance, the service that Wiltshire’s residents get from their police service – and quickly. Not only should residents demand a better service but they deserve it.

“It would be wholly unacceptable to not act upon the inspectorate’s report, not to make changes, where appropriate, and adapt accordingly.

Mr Wilkinson said he had confidence in the chief constable to deliver these changes.

“I have received assurances from the chief constable that the necessary changes are in place and I will be receiving regular progress reports from him, and his senior leadership team, to ensure those remedial actions are completed as soon as possible.

“I welcome the increased focus from the inspectorate to support my work to ensure the force is doing all it can to address this report and my position is clear: I have confidence in my chief constable to deliver these necessary changes.

“Thankfully many residents do not need to use our policing service frequently but when they do, the service they receive should be a quality, frontline, response.

“I know we have many dedicated, and talented, officers and public servants within Wiltshire Police who want to make a difference – it is now our job to support them to do just that.”