Four police forces in the West Midlands have been told they require improvement following inspections by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS).
Weaknesses were found at Staffordshire, Warwickshire and West Mercia police forces; inspectors also assessed West Midlands Regional Organised Crime Unit (ROCU). The latter is a partnership between four regional police services set up to create an intelligence link with the National Crime Agency.
Staffordshire Police told to improve
Staffordshire Police was inspected in July last year on how it deals with serious and organised crime (SOC). The inspection focused on areas including how priorities are set, resources and the safeguarding of communities.
Inspectors found that Staffordshire Police needed to make sure there were sufficient frontline resources available to deal with SOC. Among other issues noted was a need to work more effectively with partners.
Since receiving initial feedback from HMICFRS, Staffordshire Police says it has concentrated on making improvement in how neighbourhood policing teams respond to SOC and in how they share information with partners.
Responding to the findings of the inspectorate, Assistant Chief Constable Becky Riggs said:
“The inspection has identified we have some clear gaps around our ability to effectively tackle SOC, but it also recognises we understand this and have plans in place and underway to address some of these issues.”
She added that inspectors had noted their “clear aspiration to improve” and that the work was ongoing.
West Midlands forces criticised
Criticisms of other police forces in the region included that Warwickshire Police did not sufficiently explore “community vulnerabilities” to SOC, and that the West Midlands ROCU needs to improve how it gathers intelligence.
West Mercia Police faced the stiffest criticism with inspectors saying they were “concerned” they were not tackling SOC effectively. Issues were also raised around lack of resources on the frontline and poor use of intelligence. The force has been set a deadline of 1 January 2025 to make improvements.
Speaking to the BBC, Temporary Chief Constable Alex Murray said crime had reduced in the region over the past year, including a 10% fall in the number of robberies. He added that more crimes were being detected leading to “significant investigations concluding with lengthy prison sentences for offenders and ultimately less victims of crime in the areas we serve”.
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