Police are trying to rebuild public trust but still failing too many victims, says HM Chief Inspector

In his annual assessment of policing in England and Wales, Andy Cooke has said that the police are still struggling to get the basics right. The chief inspector described inconsistencies across police forces in responding to the public and investigating crime as “unjustifiable”.

He called for urgent improvements, stating that without fundamental reform to the criminal justice system, victims will continue to struggle to get access to the justice they deserve.

In his State of Policing 2023 report, published on Friday (July 19), Mr Cooke also said:

• The level of crime is on a long-term downward trajectory, but some crime types such as violence against women and girls, are still highly prevalent in society;
• Many officers have high workloads and don’t feel valued enough for the work they do. Forces must do everything they can to better lead and support their officers and staff; and
• The police funding formula is outdated and unfair. Funding should be distributed so that it goes to where it is needed most.

In his report, Mr Cooke has made four recommendations to the Government and chief constables, which include:

• Abolishing the Government’s fixed police officer hiring target so forces can build a more balanced and effective workforce;
• Reviewing how forces are funded to make sure that funds are distributed according to the needs of communities; and
• Providing the inspectors of constabulary with the right powers and enough funding so they can help forces to improve and make communities safer across England and Wales.

Mr Cooke said: “The police service in England and Wales is an institution that we, as members of the public, should be able to be proud of.

“Once again, this year I have been struck by the dedication and professionalism shown by the vast majority of police officers and staff. But the power of the police is dependent on public approval and respect – something which has been damaged over recent years.

“We should not have to doubt whether police officers behave in a lawful, ethical and fair manner, but repeated episodes of unacceptable or criminal behaviour have brought this into question. We also shouldn’t have to doubt that the police will quickly pick up the phone when we call them for help.

“But too many forces are still failing to get the basics right when it comes to responding to the public and investigating crime. The police must consistently show us they deserve our trust and confidence – both in how they behave and the quality of services they provide.”

Mr Cooke added: “The police’s workforce is its greatest asset, but it must be set up to succeed. Through our inspections we have seen how the Government’s target for officer numbers is preventing many forces from hiring the right balance of police officers, police staff and police community support officers.

“The workforce is also inexperienced, workloads are sometimes unacceptably high and morale across many forces is at an all-time low. Senior leaders need to step up to the mark – the importance of strong leadership in policing has never been clearer.

Mr Cooke said the way the police are funded is also “an area of increasing concern”.

“Central government funding does not go where it is needed most and there is an increasing reliance on raising money through local council tax,” he said.

“Forces have often had little certainty about how much money they will receive over a multi-year period. And for many years, the police haven’t received enough funding to help them make large capital investments, such as purchasing new ICT systems.

“The inspectorate has been a catalyst for change and reform for 167 years. But now more than ever, the role of the inspectorate is crucial in ensuring the police can be held to account. Police forces cannot be allowed to fail, but they need more support to improve than we can give them with our current powers and funding. Having sufficient oversight of the performance of police forces is essential to making communities safer.”

Responding to the report, College of Policing chief executive officer Chief Constable Sir Andy Marsh, said: “This year’s State of Policing report provides a comprehensive assessment of the service in England and Wales. It is a welcome review of the progress policing has made in the past year and an outline of what more it must do.

“His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary is right to focus on the need for high quality leaders at every stage of policing. It’s why the College of Policing has delivered a new National Centre for Police Leadership which equips officers and staff, at all ranks, with the skills to set the right culture, have clear expectations, drive innovation and improve performance.

“It’s this approach, and working to the highest standards, that will regain the public’s trust.

“The college is completely aligned with HMICFRS on the need for policing to be more efficient, use data better and reduce the demand on our frontline officers. The college’s new Centre for Productivity is already working to use data and AI to free up our officers, so they can get back into their neighbourhoods and fight crime.

“The State of Policing report recognises the progress the service has made this year but crucially it also underscores the challenges it faces and the ongoing need for improvement.

“I’m confident the College of Policing is tackling many of the challenges through our relentless focus on enhancing leadership, delivering high standards and elevating performance.”

He added: “I know policing needs to act and deliver fast for the public but I also want to reflect on the hard working and dedicated men and woman who are serving their communities every day. The report rightly highlights their ongoing bravery and commitment to keeping people safe.

“We’ll continue to work closely with all forces, HMICFRS and the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) so, together, we rebuild the public’s trust and confidence in us.”

Donna Jones, chair of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC), said: “The Chief Inspector of Constabulary’s findings that too many forces are still failing in some areas makes concerning reading.

“It’s important to acknowledge that improvements are being made, and that police and crime commissioners (PCCs), working with their individual forces on issues specific to their area, are both helping to make a difference and reflecting the views of their local communities.

“Crime is evolving rapidly, creating significant challenges for policing, but this has to be managed alongside the public’s clear desire for neighbourhood policing to deal with those crimes such as antisocial behaviour and theft that people care about most.

“PCCs want to see the increased numbers of police officers visible in our communities to deliver the level of service the public rightly expects.”

She added: “A key priority for PCCs is dealing with violence against women and girls. We readily acknowledge it is an issue that the police cannot solve alone, and we advocate for an approach that tackles the societal root causes of sexual violence.

“But we urge chief constables to re-double their efforts to improve their forces’ effectiveness in this area so that women can feel confident to come forward and seek the justice they deserve.

“We back the Chief Inspector’s call for greater funding certainty for police forces that multi-year funding settlements would provide.

“A fundamental part of a PCC’s role is overseeing the delivery of an effective and efficient police service in their area, but forces’ ability to deliver this is hampered by single-year government funding announcements. We want a system that enables sensible and realistic financial planning over the medium-term, ensuring value for money for the public.

“We wish to see a police service in every corner of England and Wales that we and the public can have confidence in and, as the public’s voice in policing, we are committed to playing our part in restoring their trust and confidence by holding chief constables to account.”

President of the Police Superintendents’ Association, Nick Smart, said: “This report is a critical document in understanding the many complex issues connected to our police service. We are a service full of committed, dedicated public servants, doing their utmost to protect others, and I am glad that this is recognised alongside the issues explored. We submitted our own evidence and feedback as part of the assessment process and strongly agree with many of the findings outlined. Our concerns now, are over how this report and its recommendations are received, and how quickly a detailed and outcomes-focused action plan can be developed in response.

“We support a focus on the fundamental role of policing in terms of responding to calls for help quickly, and treating victims with the high level of service they deserve.   However, there are a multitude of reasons for why this may not be happening in the way every police officer or member of staff would strive for. The public pick up the phone when they need us, and too often we cannot meet their expectations because we are stretched beyond capacity every day. Austerity saw police numbers stripped back from approximately 144,000 to 122,000. There has been no uplift – simply a replacement of experienced officers with 20,000 new recruits. In real terms, as of March 2023, the officer headcount was 2.4 per cent (3,536) above the 2010 level. This equates to a yearly increase of 258 officers nationally, or six officers per force in England and Wales – a clear under-investment in policing.

“The report rightly focuses on the low morale of the workforce, something we have raised as a critical issue now for years. A tired, de-motivated, over-worked and under-valued workforce will not perform to its best ability and communities will suffer, whilst also losing faith in us. These matters are connected, and both must be addressed.

“There is reference to the high workloads and limited experience of police officers. This continues to be exacerbated by the gap left by other agencies and the resulting impact on police. For years, we have called for a determination of the police mission, which would define our core role and responsibility, preventing us from picking up issues left by other sectors. We cannot continue to be a backstop for others, whilst seeing no reduction in our own core demand. We need an urgent review of the police mission this year. Picking up other agencies’ demand is detracting from our core service delivery.

“There is a focus on leadership within the report, and as the representative body for superintendents who are the service’s most senior operational leaders, we welcome this. The report highlights the need for strong leadership in relation to the success of the workforce, and our members have a duty to lead by example. However, our rank are outliers in terms of levels of burnout, stress and anxiety, evidenced in our recent psychological risk assessments, and many report both low personal morale and low force morale. We need to support our leaders in the same way that we support every other rank, to encourage and motivate them to lead with pride. We need to understand where the gaps are in occupational health support for all ranks, achieved through a thematic inspection to establish a baseline.

“Funding remains central to many of the issues covered, and overall police funding and police pay should be reviewed with urgency.

“We welcome the investment in many of our public services that has been promised in recent weeks, but there is no mention of additional funding for policing to meet budget deficits and strengthen our infrastructure. It is our view that policing must be treated as a priority service. Currently we do not have the funding or resources to respond to everything required of us, and our people are underpaid.

“In our response to the PRRB this year, we called for a fully funded, above inflation pay award that is applied equally across all ranks, and a longer-term strategy linked to a future multiyear settlement aligned to the next comprehensive spending review, that continues to reduce real term pay cuts. This long-term approach to police funding has been lacking for years and now we have a clear opportunity for policing to be seen as a priority for government moving forward. Forces need to be able to make informed, strategic decisions around funding that lead to real change, and we need to be supported with a long-term commitment to police pay that fairly rewards our people for the unique and demanding work we ask them to deliver.

“Going forward, we hope to be able to work with Andy Cooke and his wider team to share the insights and evidence of our members, and help influence positive change.”