Cambs Police "require improvement" in critical areas, which could put people "directly at risk"

The force needs to improve in "investigating crime" and "responding to the public".

Cambridgeshire's Police and Crime Commissioner Darryl Preston

A recent report has shown Cambridgeshire Police requires improvement in some critical areas of their role, including investigating crime and responding to the public. Inspectors released their assessment of the force in a report, which found that it is not attending incidents "quickly enough".

The report said that this could cause victims to "lose confidence" in the system or, in more severe cases, put them "directly at risk". Cambridgeshire Police was inspected by watchdog Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services.

Although two key areas were rated as "requires improvement", the report did find more positive assessments of other places. Roy Wilsher, HM Inspector of Constabulary, said: "I am pleased with some aspects of the performance of Cambridgeshire Constabulary." He went on to 'congratulate' the force "in their efforts to keep the public safe".

The inspections were launched in 2014, where the inspectorate assessed three critical areas of policing: police effectiveness, efficiency, and legitimacy. These are called PEEL inspections and evaluate the performance of all forty-three territorial police forces in England and Wales.

The HM Inspector's observations of Cambridgeshire Constabulary included that the force "must improve the time it takes to attend calls for service". Elaborating, the report said that the "constabulary has made some improvements to its attendance to calls for service, but it still isn't routinely attending incidents quickly enough".

Another area of scrutiny was the "quality and timeliness of investigations". Here the HM Inspector said the force "must improve how it investigates and supervises crime". They explained that good outcomes for victims were seen. However, "the constabulary doesn't supervise investigations effectively and doesn't consistently set initial investigation plans."

The report explained: "This means victims may not always get the service they deserve." This was marked as an area in need of improvement.

The inspection assessed the force in ten areas of policing, with graded judgements made in nine of the ten. The report's findings were mixed, with no observations rated outstanding, with some 'good' and other areas "requiring improvement", and no areas rated as inadequate.

'Good' in four areas

1. Recording data about crime.

2. It is protecting vulnerable people.

3. It is developing a positive workplace.

4. Effective use of resources.

One area that impressed inspectors was the Police's "planning processes", calling them an "area of innovation". The Police's strategic, threat and risk assessment were considered 'well-coordinated' and the planning cycle 'comprehensive', especially in analysing current and forecasting future demand. The report read: "The Inspectors hailed constabulary has highly effective planning processes that allow it to allocate its resources to where they are most needed."

'Adequate' in three areas

1. It is preventing crime.

2. Treatment of the public.

3. Managing offenders.

Cambridgeshire Constabulary was found to be 'adequate' at treating people fairly and with respect. However, the report suggested that the information should ensure "reasonable grounds" are correctly recorded in stop and search encounters.

Whilst in 2019 and 2020, an Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services audit found that 94% of grounds recorded on stop and search forms were reasonable, in 2020 and 2021, this percentage dropped to 80.6%. A quote from the report read: "The force must understand what has contributed to this decline, and establish whether it represents a reduction in the number of reasonable grounds or a reduction in the effective recording of reasonable grounds."

"Requires Improvement" in two areas.

1. It is investigating crime.

2. It is responding to the public.

When responding to the public, this was ranked as an area where the force requires improvement. The report found the force "doesn't always respond to calls within its published time frames".

An earlier inspection in 2019 highlighted how this issue was "particularly evident" in domestic abuse calls graded as prompt - meaning it does not require an emergency attendance but should be dealt with within four hours. While the report found that the force had improved response times for these calls, it said the force "still isn't routinely attending calls of all types quickly enough".

The investigation found that response and attendance were only within target time in forty-one out of seventy-nine incidents. The delays were created in a new category of 'priority', meaning calls should be dealt with within an hour.

Another critical area noted was the time taken to respond to non-emergency calls, especially those made to 101. After a call to 101 is triaged by a switchboard operator, it is sent to the rightest area - this could be the emergency 999 lines, but more often is a secondary line for another department. The report found that "delays on this secondary line often cause callers to abandon the call".

The force was found to miss giving 'routine' advice to callers on "preserving evidence" or the "prevention of crime". The investigation found that in forty out of forty-eight cases, crime prevention advice had only been given to callers.

The report said: "...the force is missing opportunities to preserve evidence that would help investigations. This means the force is missing opportunities to reduce repeat victimisation at the point of call."

The Inspector, Roy Wilsher, recommended that "repeat victims are routinely identified". His investigation found that checks were made to see if a caller was a repeat victim in only fifty-seven out of eighty-one cases. The report added: "The force is missing out on opportunities to understand and reduce repeat victimisation."

Responding to Cambridgeshire Live's request for comment on the report, Chief Constable Nick Dean from Cambridgeshire Police said: "We welcome the recent Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services report, which grades the force as GOOD in four critical areas including crime recording, protecting vulnerable people, using its resources, and developing its workforce, and adequate in a further three areas of policing.

"These gradings highlight the excellent work the constabulary has done to ensure we keep our communities safe. The report highlights some areas in which the force can improve going forward.

“The report highlights reasonable confidence in the force's crime-recording processes. In terms of public trust and confidence in those processes, the constabulary was graded as GOOD about recording data about crime and was found to be recording 99% of sexual offences.

"The constabulary remains focused on ensuring all crimes are recorded appropriately, and robust processes are in place to ensure this takes place. The force has a comprehensive plan to support the investigation of crimes such as domestic abuse and sexual offences.

"These plans are supported by solid partnership approaches, including a well-established multi-agency sexual assault referral centre, performing to a remarkably high standard per a Care Quality Commission assessment. In addition, we have a cohort of specially trained officers to support victims working within a committed rape investigation team with several experienced specialist officers.

"They collaborate with a coordinated team of independent sexual violence advisers who provide ongoing welfare support. Our investigative response to those who have been victims of sexual offences is further strengthened by the introduction of Vulnerability Focus Desks, which Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services identified as innovative practice and Early Intervention Domestic Abuse desks, which have enhanced our first and ongoing response to these allegations.

"Officers are given additional expertise and guidance and are helped to signpost victims to the array of support networks our partners provide and increase the likelihood of achieving a successful outcome. The constabulary is proud of the acknowledgement of four areas of innovation found by the Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services:

• Highly effective planning processes allow it to distribute its resources where they are most needed.

• It is sharing information with partner agencies at an early stage when it is about offenders accessing indecent images of children.

• The introduction of a specialist vulnerability force desk to enhance its frontline response when dealing with vulnerable people.

• Its well-being provisions support staff in high-impact roles such as child abuse investigations.