GOVERNMENT inspectors has told Essex Police that it is concerned at that standards of crime investigation at the police force.
It has also centred on "supervision of investigators and the way that it responds to calls for service from the public" as other areas that they are advised to improve.
The PEEL report comes as part of a massive overview of all police forces in England and Wales.
However, the report has many encouraging features that the chief constable Steven Kavanagh and the Conservative police and crime commissioner, Nick Alston have focussed on.
Chief Constable Stephen Kavanagh said: “I am pleased the HMIC report recognises how hard officers and staff have worked in order to reduce and prevent offending and tackle anti-social behaviour. We have also taken significant steps to identify and deal with victims of crime who are particularly vulnerable and we will continue to build on this work in the future.
“To score ‘good’ in five out of six graded categories demonstrates that we have worked extremely hard to provide the public with a service that is both effective and efficient.
“There is always more to be done and in a confident force like ours every person has the ambition to get even better at delivering a service to the people of Essex.
“We recognise the need to improve the quality of our investigations and like many other forces across the country, need to encourage more officers to work and train as detectives in order to help achieve this.
“We have put a training programme in place and now all student constables complete an investigative development module within their probationary period, giving them skills to investigate a wide range of crimes and prepare case files to a high standard. Officers produce a record of achievement which is used towards gaining their diploma in policing and accreditation which forms part of the national
Police training standard. The programme provides an opportunity to identify those officers with potential to become detectives in the future and for them to follow a defined career pathway with further mentoring and development available.
Police and Crime Commissioner Nick Alston added: “I’m sure Essex residents will be pleased to hear our force is performing well.
“However inspectors also found Essex Police has some improvements to be made around the investigation of crimes. HMIC found the force to have inconsistencies in skills and training of investigative staff and that some opportunities for resolving crime are missed.
“This is not a surprise and something I have already discussed with the chief constable. On arrival he made improving detections a priority for the force and it has already made strides to improve its investigative capability, particularly around domestic abuse with the reintroduction of specialist dedicated teams. I know the chief constable is firmly committed to building on these improvements.”
The full report by Her Majesties Inspectorate, Zoe Billingham is as follows:
"This is the first PEEL Assessment of Essex Police. In making this assessment I have used my professional judgment to consider the evidence available from inspections undertaken in the past 12 months.
The available evidence indicates that:
• in terms of its effectiveness, in general, the force is good at reducing crime and preventing offending and is good at tackling anti-social behaviour. However, it requires improvement in the way it investigates offending;
• the efficiency with which the force carries out its responsibilities is good; and
• the force is acting to achieve fairness and legitimacy in most of the practices that were examined this year.
In making this first PEEL Assessment of Essex Police I have taken into account the challenges of policing Essex.
Essex is a diverse county with almost a third of residents living in rural areas, while the south of the county is heavily urban, skirting the Thames. Essex is the gateway for people and freight going in and out of the country, and has major road networks linking international air and sea ports.
The force’s legacy of tragic domestic abuse murders has rightly led the force leadership radically to reassess its priorities. The new approach, aimed at protecting those most at risk of harm, has clearly been shaped by the lessons the force has learned following past failings.
I have been impressed with the improvements made by Essex Police across a number of areas, notably the service it provides to victims of crime and anti-social behaviour.
It has also improved its ability to identify and deal with people who are vulnerable (this could be because of their age or because they have been victimised before).
The chief constable has taken personal oversight of the improvements in how the force responds to domestic abuse.
I have been pleased with the way Essex Police has responded to the financial challenge of this spending review. The force is on track to achieve its savings challenge. The force has achieved significant cost reductions while protecting frontline posts. The continued commitment to collaboration with Kent Police is likely to form the basis of an affordable way of providing policing across the county in the future.
The force’s approach to crime-recording is good, with a high degree of accuracy.
I do have concerns that the force needs to do more to improve its standards of crime investigation, supervision of investigators and the way that it responds to calls for service from the public.
Our intention is to examine leadership specifically as part of future PEEL Assessments, once criteria have been established. This will allow us to take account of the College of Policing review of leadership that is currently underway.
In common with other forces, there is a need to develop a better understanding of the changing demands for police services.
Over the past 12 months, there have been a number of inspections made of Essex Police that have suggested that the force’s focus on ethical policing, and providing a quality service to victims, are recurrent themes.
I am particularly interested to see how the force responds to the areas HMIC has identified for improvement over the next 12 months and I will continue to monitor closely the progress the force is making in improving its service to victims of domestic abuse.
