Is it just me?
I have spent a lot of time this morning trying to work out if HMIC are biased or simply naive.
In their latest contender for the Booker Prize they have ‘found’ that several Police Forces need to improve.
Three police forces in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire have failed to adequately investigate crime and protect vulnerable people, their report said.
The Humberside, Lincolnshire and South Yorkshire forces have been told to improve.
Zoe Billingham said officers in England and Wales were being taken off the beat to man front counters, do desk work in stations and guard crime scenes. She doesn’t seem to mention Mutual Aid, or redeployment within Force area.
This meant they now had less time for “vitally important preventative work in communities”, she said.
The government said police reform was working and crime had fallen.
“Police reform is working and crime has fallen by more than a quarter since 2010, according to the independent crime survey for England and Wales.” He said the government had made policing “more professional, less bureaucratic for officers and more responsive to victims”. “Last year we protected police budgets for the next four years, once local precept is taken into account,” he added. “Chief constables and Police and Crime Commissioners have no excuse whatsoever not to deliver at least good quality policing in their areas.” – Mike Penning, Policing Minister
HMIC has graded 1 force (Durham Constabulary) as outstanding; 24 forces as good; and 18 forces as requires improvement. No force was found to be inadequate.
“Almost all forces are good at preventing crime and anti-social behaviour. Successful prevention means fewer crimes; and fewer crimes means fewer victims, and so more people are kept safe. This is at the heart of what the police are here to do.” “But I need to raise a warning flag here. Forces’ good performance in preventing crimes is at risk if neighbourhood policing is further eroded.” – Zoe Billingham, HMIC
She also said
Police leaders need to take heed of HMIC’s early warning and make sure that neighbourhood policing – the cornerstone of the British policing model, is preserved for future generations.
“In addition, more than a third of forces are judged to require improvement in how they investigate crime and manage offenders, with backlogs and delays in the bunits which extract and analyse evidence from digital devices a particular concern. We found a similar picture last year; it is disappointing not to see more progress.”
Which all brings me back to the very beginning. Is this an organisation in bed with the government or an organisation that truly doesn’t realise that these preceived failings will occur with depleted manpower levels.
Does the head of HMIC have any connections with government?
How many Forces have been graded by HMIC as having got worse since 2010?
Maybe the 18 Forces that “require improvement” could do so by recruiting more Police Officers and Police Staff to help them cope with their workloads? Now there’s a controvertial thought Sir Tom.
Or maybe they can all just open a new box of Police Officers
The problem is not helped by msm who when the Home secretary and HMIC make these statements, do not ask the right questions.
It is clear that crime is not down. RECORDED crime might be, see there is a difference. Every Government l have known has fudged the figures to suit.
“Less bureaucratic” ?
I must have missed that bit. Paperwork is getting less, true but it is replaced by electronic forms, that still need to be filled out. Mmmmmm, l wonder who will fill those out?
No one drills into those empty statements because if they asked the right questions, they would see the lies for what they are. In bed together, you bet.
The report hat Penning refers to has this to say
There was a 6% increase in police recorded crime compared with the previous year, with 4.3 million offences recorded in the year ending September 2015. Most of this rise is thought to be due to a greater proportion of reports of crime being recorded in the last year, following improved compliance with national recording standards by police forces.