HMICFRS warns Devon and Cornwall leadership failing

The force has been issued with an accelerated cause of concern after inspectors found that its performance had deteriorated against two existing causes of concern relating to crime investigation and safeguarding.

HMICFRS said the force’s leadership arrangements were preventing it from effectively managing demand, investigating crime and safeguarding victims. Inspectors found that a significant amount of investigative work had not been promptly allocated to investigation teams.

In some cases, crimes involving sexual offences and concerns about children’s safety had remained unallocated for almost two months.

During that period, the force made limited attempts to assess victims’ ongoing vulnerability or consider how their circumstances might change. HMICFRS said the force was also failing to carry out or supervise enough investigations to safeguard victims effectively.

The inspection found wider problems with the way the force manages demand, including workloads being transferred between departments without adequate oversight or additional resources.

One team investigating domestic abuse offences had transferred cases to crime management investigation teams without providing additional support to manage the increased workload. Inspectors also spoke to officers and staff who raised concerns about excessive workloads. Inspectors found that some processes were effectively hiding demand.

Outstanding incidents, crimes and safeguarding concerns had been moved into separate inboxes within the force’s Niche crime and incident management system. The force referred to the process as a “hat peg”.

Some cases remained in these inboxes for several weeks without being allocated to an individual or team or receiving sufficient oversight.

As a result, HMICFRS said the force did not have a complete overview of its demand and could not demonstrate that incidents, crimes and safeguarding concerns were routinely reviewed and progressed.

At the time of the inspection, the force told inspectors it had more than 7,400 wanted suspected offenders, a substantial increase since its previous inspection in January.

HMICFRS also found that the proportion of crimes closed with outcome 15 had risen from 20.2 per cent in the year ending March 2025 to 29.9 per cent in the year ending March 2026 – above the typical range for forces in England and Wales. The force was unable to explain the factors behind the increase.

HMICFRS has ordered the force to take immediate action to ensure its leaders have a clear understanding of demand and risk, that unallocated incidents and crimes are promptly risk assessed, and that cases are not diverted into separate Niche inboxes.

It has also told the force to ensure that demand-management processes are implemented consistently across all teams.