Force must improve criminal investigations after inspectors raise concerns, says PCC

The latest PEEL report into the effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy of Devon and Cornwall Police found the force was good at preventing crime, and adequate at ‘protecting vulnerable people’, ‘developing a positive workplace’ and ‘police powers and public treatment’.

However, inspectors said ‘managing offenders’ and ‘leadership and force management’ were deemed to require improvement with ‘investigating crime’ and ‘responding to the public’ judged to be ‘inadequate’.

HMICFRS said the force has a good approach to preventing and deterring crime, anti-social behaviour and vulnerability. There have also been improvements in the time taken to answer 999 calls and the number of calls abandoned has been reduced.

But inspectors had concerns that the standards of the force’s investigations “have deteriorated”, with many investigations lacking a detailed plan or effective supervision. The inspectorate also said the force still isn’t attending incidents resulting from calls for service as fast as it should.

PCC Alison Hernandez said information since the inspection was carried out shows an improving picture in relation to public contact, with reduced waiting times for 101 and 999 calls, but she shares HMICFRS’s concerns relating to crime investigation standards.

“For several months my recently formed accountability and standards team have been examining how files are prepared for court and how data is collected and used by the force. Their findings chime with those of His Majesty’s Inspector,” Ms Hernandez said.

“The public must be confident that when they report crime the evidence and information they supply is correctly recorded and used so perpetrators are brought to book and victims receive the justice they deserve.

“Despite record investment in policing in Devon and Cornwall, this is too often not the case. I will be challenging the force’s leadership to improve significantly in this area.

“The inspector’s recognition of good prevention work holds strong, with us having one of the lowest crime rate areas, but it is extremely disappointing that the force is letting too many victims down, whether with poor response times or a delayed investigation.

She added: “I am assured that the force has improved how it manages its offenders and registered sex offenders, and progress has been made to reduce wait times for emergency and non-emergency requests for service.

“Also, I am pleased the inspector has formally recognised the investment in Devon and Cornwall Police’s neighbourhood team and the great work they do.”

In October 2022, HMICFRS placed Devon and Cornwall Police into its enhanced monitoring stage, Engage. This process helps to provide additional scrutiny and support from across the policing sector to help Devon and Cornwall Police continue to make improvements.

His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary Andy Cooke said: “I have concerns about the performance of Devon and Cornwall Police in keeping people safe, reducing crime, and providing victims with an effective service.

“Since our previous inspection, the force has made significant efforts to improve in the areas we highlighted as causes of concern or areas for improvement, which is recognised.

“However, despite those improvements, more is required to place the force in a position where it is consistently providing a good standard of service to its local communities.

“The force has made considerable improvements in how it treats the people who contact it, from the quality of the initial call to the services the force offers. But the force still needs to improve the time it takes to attend incidents.

“I look forward to seeing how the force continues to work to improve its performance, which I will be closely monitoring.”

While Devon and Cornwall Police welcomed the report, which positively highlights the force’s approach to neighbourhood policing, it has raised “significant concerns” about some aspects due to the inspection being based on historical data, some of which is more than a year old and does not accurately reflect improvements already made.

The report highlights that the force works well with communities to understand their needs, building the public’s trust and confidence and encouraging them to share information to help prevent and detect crime.

It also praised the force’s use of problem solving and early intervention to help reduce crime highlighting that it works well with other organisations to find the root cause of repeat problems and make changes that will help make communities safer.

Acting Chief Constable Jim Colwell said: “I am pleased that the Inspectorate has acknowledged the good work that goes on in our neighbourhood teams every day which is a reflection on the hard work of our officers, staff and volunteers.

“We are committed to delivering community policing with competence, compassion and common sense which is why we remain the second safest force area in the country, and this has been clearly recognised by the inspectorate.”

He said the force has made “sustained and considerable progress” since the last inspection, such as a review of its operating model to create larger and more resilient teams to give more support to victims and ongoing work to address the national shortage of detectives.

Mr Colwell added: “I fully acknowledge that we still have work to do to ensure that our investigations are completed to the high standards that the public would expect of us – particularly when it comes to serious and complex crimes.

“We have made progress since the last inspection, but I recognise there is still much more to do if we are to deliver a better level of service to our communities and reduce some of the pressure on our colleagues.”

He said the report also does not reflect that the force was formally discharged by HMICFRS in January from concerns regarding the management of violent and sexual offenders. At the time it said Devon and Cornwall Police had made “clear and sustainable improvements”, including investment in public protection teams resulting in a significant reduction in overdue visits.

Mr Colwell said: “I am extremely concerned that some aspects of this report will only serve to mislead the public about how effective we are at providing a service across Devon and Cornwall. I am disappointed it does not acknowledge the improvements we have and continue to make in other areas of our work and the strength of our community policing approach.”

The Force has raised concerns with the inspectorate that the report is based on historical data and does not reflect the sustained improvements it has made to areas of concern since being placed in to HMICFRS’s Engage phase in October 2022. During this time, the force has been working closely with HMICFRS through the Police Performance and Oversight Group (PPOG) to improve the areas of concern highlighted by previous inspections regularly receiving positive feedback.

When the inspection took place, the force answered 79.3 per cent of 999 calls within ten seconds. From January to June this year, it answered 93.4 per cent of calls within ten seconds, a significant improvement.

For 101 calls, at the time the inspection took place, the report states a call abandonment rate of 48 per cent, however, in the last six months there has been an improvement with the abandonment rate at 18.9 per cent.

Mr Colwell said: “We have been working with the inspectorate for some time now through the PPOG and I regularly report back to them on our progress, however this report simply does not reflect the positive feedback I receive from the inspectorate at these meetings. Reports based on historic data are also limited in helping us to focus and continue to improve as an organisation.

“In the answering of emergency and non-emergency calls, for example, the performance data quoted in the report is not a fair reflection of our current performance with limited recognition from HMICFRS of the improvements we have made.

“We continue to invest in innovative technology, such as our well received call back system and seek to improve our processes to further reduce abandonment rates including managing our digital demand.

“Whilst we have raised our concerns with HMICFRS, when the inspectorate say we need to improve, we work hard to do so, as evidenced by the improvements we have made in managing violent and sexual offenders in our communities – another area that HMICFRS has omitted from its report.

“I am extremely proud that Devon and Cornwall remain the second safest counties in the country, and this is testament to the hard work of all our officers, staff and volunteers. We will continue to work with the Inspectorate, our partners, and our PCC, to deliver sustained change in the right areas to ensure we deliver a service to our communities that we can be proud of.”