Warwickshire Police 'inadequate' in responding to public - watchdog report
Warwickshire Police has been told it is 'inadequate' in responding to the public by a government watchdog.
Today, Tuesday 10 June, His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) has published its findings from a PEEL (Police Effectiveness, Efficiency and Legitimacy) Inspection of the force.
Following an inspection from November 2024 to January 2025, the report graded Warwickshire Police 'good' in two areas, 'adequate' in three, 'requiring improvement' in three and 'inadequate' in one.
There were no 'outstanding' rankings across any of the various areas of policing.
"I have concerns about the performance of Warwickshire Police in keeping people safe, reducing crime and providing victims with an effective service," the inspector said.
"We found sustained improvements in both 999 and 101 call handling.
"The force now answers most calls quickly. I commend the force for making these improvements.
"However, I have serious concerns about how quickly the force responds to calls for service from the public after it has answered these calls.
"I am also concerned about the effectiveness of the governance structures that oversee how well the force protects vulnerable people."
The inspector found the force is in a "sound financial position", has improved the " use of evidence-based policing" and has reduced reports of anti-social behaviour in hotspot areas.
The number of investigations which have led to a conviction has also increased.
However, the report continued: "This is encouraging, but the force needs to do more to make sure that all victims receive an appropriate level of service."
The previous inspection in 2022 found Warwickshire Police was not attending enough calls - but this has continued to decline during the latest inspection. Changes have been made but "these haven't led to significant improvements yet".
The report continued: "We found that inefficient processes and under-resourced departments were contributing to significant delays in the progression of investigations.
"I am concerned that the force has allowed this to continue, despite the inclusion of these delays on its risk register since 2024.
"The force needs to make sure that its governance and performance structures are capable of quickly identifying and addressing any potential harm to vulnerable people.
"It is evident that the force is committed to achieving this.
"However, given the scale of the changes required, this is still work in progress."
Force's response
Following the publication of the report, Warwickshire Police has published a statement, with Chief Constable Alex Franklin-Smith recognising "we were not where we needed to be in our response and investigation measures".
"We are pleased to see we have been positively recognised in the report on a number of key areas, including preventing and deterring crime, reducing reoffending, improving crime outcomes and our commitment to problem-solving," the police chief said.
The chief constable said the force is "taking steps" to improve and has been working with HMICFRS to improve after the past few months.
CC Franklin-Smith continued: "We have changed how we respond and investigate and now have additional officers and staff in our investigation teams.
"This has resulted in a better response and outcome rates.
"New working practices help us to manage ever increasing demand and reduce the risk to victims of crime.
"Our positive outcomes on residential burglaries doubled between February 2024 and February 2025, with our burglary charge rate higher than the national average. We are also the best performing police force in the country for adult rape charge rates.
"Between April 2024 and March 2025 we also saw a 10% decrease in antisocial behaviour and a 13% decrease in serious violence in targeted hotspot areas thanks to Op Resolve, our dedicated programme to tackle these issues.
"Overall, in the past year our investigation standards and outcome rates have improved considerably, going from less than 8% to now routinely being 15%.
"Our ambition is to become an organisation that is known for policing excellence. Many of the foundations that will enable this to happen have been built in the last few months, and the HMICFRS inspection results provide valuable steer for our areas of focus."
See the full report here.
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