Avon and Somerset good at preventing and deterring crime, but other areas need improvement

His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) graded Avon and Somerset Constabulary’s performance across eight areas of policing. It found the constabulary was ‘good’ in two areas, ‘adequate’ in one area and ‘requires improvement’ in five areas.

HMICFRS said the constabulary was good at using police powers and treating people fairly and respectfully. For example, it has made efforts to better understand how and when officers use handcuffing, incorporating the learning outcomes into frontline officer training.

The constabulary has piloted a scheme where women show police community support officers the locations where they feel unsafe as part of its efforts to prevent and deter crime.

However, the inspectorate said there are several areas where the constabulary needs to improve, including some which had not improved since the constabulary’s previous inspection.

The constabulary needs to improve its response to the public, including answering 999 calls more quickly and reducing the number of non-emergency calls abandoned. It needs to make sure it consistently achieves appropriate outcomes for victims, and carries out timely investigations into all reported crimes, ensuring officers take all investigative opportunities.

Inspectors also said that the constabulary needs to improve how it identifies and prioritises vulnerable people for referral to other agencies, and its management of the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme. As well as improving its offender and suspect management, the inspectorate found that there was little oversight of wanted people at a constabulary-wide level, and the way in which they were prioritised for arrest was unclear.

“HMICFRS graded no areas as inadequate and told us they were impressed with our transparency and engagement and our willingness to learn and improve,” said Avon and Somerset Constabulary.

His Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary Michelle Skeer said: “I am satisfied with some aspects of the performance of Avon and Somerset Constabulary, but there are areas in which the constabulary needs to improve. And some of the areas for improvement are identical to those we identified in the last inspection.

“The way the constabulary treats the public and manages its use of powers such as stop and search remains positive. So does the way the constabulary prevents and deters crime, and how it communicates with the public. We saw progress in the constabulary’s approach to problem-solving and its provision of bespoke training for neighbourhood policing teams.

“However, the constabulary needs to make sure it properly allocates, plans and supervises investigations, so that victims get the service they deserve. It also needs to make sure that crime investigations are given the correct outcome when they are finalised. And more investigations result in offenders being brought to justice.

“We also found that the leadership and governance of the constabulary could be improved in terms of its overall management structure and operating model, its use of data, and how its leaders communicate and work with their workforce.

“I look forward to seeing how the constabulary brings about positive change in these areas. I will be closely monitoring this in the months ahead.”

Assistant Chief Constable Will White said: “We welcome this report, the commentary from inspectors that we’re open and willing to learn and especially their praise for the way we engage with and treat the public. This is the keystone of the British model of policing by consent and is at the core of all areas of our work.

“We’ve made significant and sustained progress since the inspectors came in, which they’ve recognised. We’re now in the top ten forces nationally in answering 999 calls and we’ve brought down the call abandonment rate; we’ve got clear plans and increased resources dedicated to tackling the workflow in areas including the Internet Child Abuse Team and Claire’s Law applications; we’re thinking innovatively to find ways to manage rising demand through the use of technology and artificial intelligence, and we’re making sure officers’ time is spent tackling the crimes which impact on the public the most – this includes reducing the amount of time spent on non-crime demand and where other agencies would be best placed to respond.”

Mr White added that the inspectors praised some innovative practices he force has introduced, including the ‘walk and talk’ scheme, which offers women and girls a way to tell our neighbourhood policing teams about places they feel unsafe. Officers then consult and work with other agencies to bring about change in those areas.

Other areas highlighted included the introduction of advocates to support colleagues who have reported sexual misconduct or inappropriate sexual behaviour; asking officers about their use of handcuffs, with the data to be used to better understand their use and inform officer training; and use of telematics to more effectively deploy the vehicle fleet where it is needed and to monitor and improve driving quality, leading to a reduction in insurance premiums.