Humberside PCC has no concerns over force leadership

Jonathan Evison was responding to a letter from Mr Cooke in which he said instability in the senior leadership of the force was a “serious concern”.

Humberside Police received three ‘outstanding’ gradings across eight areas of core policing, the highest out of any other force in the UK, in the latest His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) inspection report (see https://policeprofessional.com/news/humberside-police-praised-for-good-performance-but-must-improve-the-way-it-investigates-crime/).

However, Mr Cooke noted that since it conducted the inspection, “the leadership of the force has undergone significant change”.

In his letter to Mr Evison he wrote: “The previous chief constable retired at short notice and there has been an unsuccessful recruitment campaign for a replacement.

“I am aware of the imminent departure of another member of the chief officer group and other absences within senior roles. And the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is assessing allegations of misconduct within the force. I believe the cumulative impact of these issues means there is instability in the senior leadership of the force, something which causes me serious concern.

“I carefully considered delaying the publication of our PEEL report so that we could reassess the impact of the current situation on the force’s performance. But ultimately, I have decided the report will be published as planned. It is important that our reports are published in a timely manner to keep the public up to date, give credit to the work of officers, staff and volunteers, and allow the force to make improvements.

“Over the next few months, HM Inspector Michelle Skeer  intends to keep the performance of the force, and particularly its leadership and culture, under close scrutiny.

“This is likely to involve revisit activity and will necessitate working with yourself, the chief officers and others. I will also regularly review whether the performance of the force is affected to such an extent that more formal enhanced monitoring is required.”

In response to Mr Cooke’s letter, Mr Evison said: “Since the short notice retirement of the former chief constable and the launch of the IOPC investigation into alleged misconduct, which continues, we successfully secured the services of Judi Heaton who joined us on the day of Paul Anderson’s retirement, meaning the force did not have to endure any headcount loss in leadership at the highest level.

“I accept that we have further changes to come in the chief officer team, however, these do not give me cause for concern. The force is currently recruiting to the post of assistant chief constable following early notice of an intention to retire which will not be material until next year.

“The absences in other senior roles to which you refer have been appropriately backfilled with no material impact on service due to the excellent pipeline of talent available in this force. Importantly there have been no concerns raised locally with me or with the force from our partners over any impact of these changes on the service offered to the public.

“I have, however, reflected on your feedback regarding stability and as such I have requested that Chief Constable Judi Heaton remains in post beyond her original six-month contract to provide continued leadership. I will postpone my recruitment for the future chief constable of Humberside Police providing sufficient time for me to complete the work on my Police and Crime Plan, which will provide clarity of my vision for any future candidates. When the time is right to begin the recruitment, I will of course inform you.

Mr Evison added: “Delivery to the public remains my and the force’s priority. I am pleased to report that since the beginning of July (after the conclusion of your inspection, and the arrival of our new chief constable) the performance of the force has improved on a wide range of measures demonstrating the resilience of what is an outstanding force with effective processes embedded.

“I can assure you that the policing system has been of upmost support to our office throughout this time. We have utilised the excellent services of the College of Policing in our recruitment for the next chief constable and have liaised with the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners and yourselves in the inspectorate.

“I have absolute faith and confidence in the current leadership team for Humberside Police and I am assured that their efforts are reflected in the performance of the force.”

Humberside Police Federation, however, said it has “significant concerns” about the Humberside Police executive leadership team.

In a statement it said: “The Federation has thought long and hard about making a public statement on this matter, however this decision has been compounded following a meeting chaired by the executive leadership team this morning. As such the Federation has decided to speak out. “HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary Andy Cooke expressed specific concerns about the ‘instability’ of executive leadership in the force in a letter accompanying the inspection report, which was published today.

“Mr Cooke has said the leadership of the force would be kept under close scrutiny by HMICFRS.

“Humberside Police Federation is extremely concerned that the executive leadership team was openly dismissive of all concerns raised about the force by both Mr Cooke and the HMICFRS inspection report.

“We have been inundated with phone calls from our members expressing their upset and disappointment about the executive leadership team’s attitude to the report, with some members being brought to tears.

“As a Federation, we feel that the excellent hard work that is being undertaken by our members across Humberside is being undermined by the inability of the executive leadership team to accept or learn from constructive criticism and feedback.

“This cannot continue.

“HMIC Michelle Skeer, who oversaw the investigation into the force, said she is ‘concerned about a lack of stability in the chief officer team and among other senior leaders’. She continued, ‘I am concerned about how this may negatively affect the force’s performance and culture now and in the future’.”

The Federation added: “Humberside Police Federation shares the concerns of HMIC Skeer, and we would ask publicly that the HMICFRS focuses closely on the actions of the Humberside Police executive leadership team. “And if these concerns remain, that they are brought directly to the desks of the Home Secretary and Police Minister.

“We are aware that the leadership of the force is rightly a matter of concern for our local MPs. And we also ask them to hold the force and the PCC to account on this matter.

“The conduct of police officers – at all ranks – must be of the highest level of professionalism and integrity of all times.”