Our statement following our latest HMICFRS inspection
Avon and Somerset Police are good at preventing crime, using police powers and in their treatment of the public, according to a report by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) – but we have several areas for improvement.
The latest Police Efficiency, Effectiveness and Legitimacy (PEEL) report was published today, grading our police service as:
- Good – at preventing crime, police powers and public treatment
- Adequate – developing a positive workplace
- Requires improvement – in responding to the public; investigating crime; protecting vulnerable people; managing offenders and leadership and force management.
HMICFRS graded no areas as inadequate and told us they were impressed with our transparency and engagement and our willingness to learn and improve.
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.
“The way the constabulary treats the public and manages its use of powers such as stop and search remained 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.”
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 10 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.”
ACC White added that the inspectors praised some innovative practices we have introduced, including:
- our “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.
- 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
- use of telematics to more effectively deploy our vehicle fleet where it’s needed and to monitor and improve driving quality, leading to a reduction in insurance premiums.
How we’re striving to improve
Responding to the public
- We’re now in the top 10 forces for answering 999 calls and our 101 call abandonment rate has decreased.
- We’ve improved our processes and addressed recruitment and retention issues for call handlers following COVID.
- We’ve deploying police officers in the control room to provide experience and knowledge to young-in-service call-handling staff.
Investigating crime
- We’re accurately recording more offences.
- We’re using technology such as video-calls to speed up our response to the public and progress our enquiries more quickly.
- We’re trying to free up officers by reducing the 75 per cent of officers’ time spent dealing with non-crime demand. We’re working with partner agencies to try to ensure people get the right help from the right services.
- We scrutinise performance against investigative standards effectively.
- We have systems in place to ensure victims are kept updated and to identify and provide enhanced support to vulnerable victims.
Protecting vulnerable people
- We have increased our training on vulnerability and have reviewed our supervision process.
- We identify vulnerable people at the first point of contact.
- We continue to receive feedback from victims and use this to enhance our service for vulnerable people.
Managing offenders
- We have processes in place to identify and target the riskiest offenders.
- We’ve arranged training for more officers in this specialist area.
- Offender management teams have good knowledge of and are confident in applying for preventative orders and dealing with breaches.
Leadership and force management
- We hold in-person and virtual meetings so colleagues can speak directly with senior leaders, raising concerns and suggesting improvements.
- We’re changing our structure to bring decision-making and accountability closer to the communities we serve.
- We’re investing in our workforce with training opportunities for all officers and staff.
- We offer support to colleagues following traumatic incidents and when they have been assaulted or subjected to a hate crime on duty.
- We have an established programme to support new recruits and identify ways to improve retention.
- We collaborate well with other forces to make regional savings.
- We manage our finances effectively to provide efficient police services.
What we’re doing well
Reducing crime
- Call handers consistently provide crime prevention advice.
- Neighbourhood teams prioritise crime prevention, anti-social behaviour and vulnerability, using problem-solving methods and a broad range of techniques.
- We use early intervention to divert young people from ASB or crime.
- We Work with partners and involve our communities in policing.
Police powers and treating the public fairly and respectfully
- We train officers in communication and de-escalation skills.
- HMICRFS reviewed body-worn video footage and saw positive interactions with officers explaining what’s happening and actively listening to members of the public.
- We use stop and search powers effectively, with the linked find rate of 29.6 per cent at the top end of the typical range for police in England and Wales.
- We’re taking steps to understand the effects of disproportionality including research and using data to identify trends to tackle bad practice and inform our training.
- We have a well-established internal stop search scrutiny review panel of officers and staff which feeds into officer training, as well as the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner’s Independent Scrutiny of Police Powers panel.
It isn’t possible to make direct comparisons between this PEEL report and previous inspections due to changes in the inspection process.