Responding to today’s assessment of policing in Staffordshire by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC), the county’s Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Ellis commented:
“HMIC’s assessment confirms that, overall, policing in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent is in decent shape.
“Staffordshire Police is rightly recognised for the ‘outstanding’ way it tackles anti-social behaviour with local partner organisations and is ‘good’ at reducing and preventing crime. But the HMIC report suggests there is more to be done and standards need to improve around crime investigation.
“My office and members of the Ethics, Transparency and Audit Panel (ETAP) I set up last year have already taken part in inquiry sessions into burglary investigation and in December the same will happen on violent crime. This independent scrutiny will help drive further improvement.
“Victims’ views about the quality of service are now gathered independently rather than by police themselves and from January a wider range of crime types will be included. Putting victims at the heart of all that is done and making sure they are kept updated about investigations is critical.
“The HMIC findings back my assertion that the quality of public services in Staffordshire not only depends on how much money is spent but on how well it’s spent. The progress we’ve made in getting finances back on track is recognised by the fact that Staffordshire is only one of four forces which is judged to be ‘outstanding’ when it comes to value for money.
“Staffordshire is also singled out as ‘excellent’ in crime recording. Scrapping police targets 15 months ago has also helped to drive accuracy, transparency and complete honesty in the way crime is recorded. Not only has it supported accurate recording it also means officers can use their professional judgement and training to manage their workload instead of chasing targets.
“The strongest ever independent scrutiny of crime recording in Staffordshire has also been helpful in bringing further rigour in this area. HMIC’s report highlights in some detail the impact ETAP’s examination of areas like crime recording has made and that’s why in the New Year I’ll be rolling out the first Safer Neighbourhood Panels to increase local communities’ ‘ownership’ of policing.”
Staffordshire Police’s Assistant Chief Constable Jon Drake said: “We are glad to know that our service is being recognised by HMIC. This inspection has taken place during a period of great change within the force and it is good to know that HMIC has recognised our focus on preventing crime and disorder.
“Our rating on ASB shows we’re dealing with what matters; the feedback on victim satisfaction, reducing crime and offending also show we are keeping communities safe and reassured.”
HMIC has also recognised Staffordshire Police’s process for a local delivery team to deal with reported incidents of domestic violence.
ACC Drake continued: “HMIC has also highlighted our development in managing the less complex investigations. In particular, our use of computer systems to record the details of how we are approaching the investigation and how supervisors then use this as a way to check the quality of those investigations.
“Keeping victims informed as investigations progress is also something we are focusing on. This will ensure we continue to give victims of crime the highest quality of service, which is an area highlighted as positive by HMIC elsewhere in their Inspection Findings.”
The full Staffordshire PEEL Assessment is at http://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmic/staffordshire/
