Page 12 - Federation Magazine December 2017 / January 2018

HMICFRS report

Force slips from

“outstanding” to “good”

in efficiency review

est Midlands Police has been many effective ways of understanding efforts to involve staff in all aspects of the
judged “good” in terms of the demand for its services but identifed some change programme, we spoke to a small
Wefficiency with which it keeps errors in crime recording practices which number of front-line workers who did not
people safe and reduces crime, according to they said cast doubt on the accuracy of feel they had the proper opportunity to
inspectors from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate crime data. exert influence over the Force’s future.
of Constabulary Fire & Rescue Services They also said too many calls from the On a more positive note, inspectors
(HMICFRS). public were not being answered and, reported that the Force has a thorough
Last year, the Force was rated spelling out an area for improvement, said understanding of the benefits technology
“outstanding” and, despite the overall rating the Force should ensure it has sufficient can offer policing and many aspects of the
slipping inspectors said there were still resources in the control room to meet change programme focus on developing
“many outstanding elements of demand and take into account the wellbeing digital capability to enable it to operate
performance”. of officers and staff. more efficiently.
The gradings for the three key elements Each project in the Force’s change The Force has substantial plans to
of the PEEL (Police Effectiveness, Efficiency programme, they pointed out, has a detailed enable it to meet the problems and
and Legitimacy) review were as follows: business case with the intended benefits opportunities presented by technological
l Understanding of demand - requires and any disadvantages fully identified. advancements; it is planning to invest
improvement However, despite this HMICFRS found that £31.7m over three years. The Force works
l Use of resources to manage demand not all the consequences of change were closely with other organisations in the West
- good properly considered; in particular the Midlands to improve outcomes for the
l Planning for future demand - reduction of audit activity in the high-risk public, reduce costs and build resilience.
outstanding. area of domestic abuse should have been The report stated: “The Force’s plans are
The overall “good” grade reflects the thought through more carefully. ambitious, wide-ranging and underpinned
balance between some excellent areas of The inspectors also said: “Despite the by effective governance arrangements. The
performance and other areas where
HMICFRS had some concerns.
“Although the Force’s overall judgement “
HMIC Wendy Williams explained: “For
example, the Force’s understanding of the
total demand for its services may not be Although the Force’s overall judgement
accurate because its analysis is not
adequately supported by reliable crime data. has been downgraded, there are still
Also the volume of 999 and 101 calls is
outstripping the Force’s capacity to answer many outstanding elements of
them all.
performance. The Force continues to
has been downgraded, there are still many
outstanding elements of performance. The have a good understanding of
Force continues to have a good
understanding of prioritisation and costs; prioritisation and costs; this takes into
this takes into account the public’s changing
expectations and national trends, such as account the public’s changing
the increased threat to the public from
firearms. expectations and national trends, such
“The Force has a strong record of
reducing costs while improving the quality as the increased threat to the public
of its services. It also has a structured
system to determine where best to invest from firearms.
and to ensure that benefits are realised.” “
The inspectors found the Force had

12 federation December 2017/January 2018 www.westmidspolfed.com