This year, for the first time, we have assessed the leadership across the force at every level. The assessment has led to a narrative rather than graded judgment, which is summarised below.
Read more about my assessment of Cambridgeshire Constabulary’s performance this year, including any exceptional events and where I would like to see improvements next year.
I am satisfied with most aspects of Cambridgeshire Constabulary’s performance in keeping people safe and reducing crime. However, I have concerns about some parts of the service provided by the force.
Cambridgeshire Constabulary works well to prevent crime and anti-social behaviour, and there are good arrangements in place to disrupt the most serious criminality. However, although I have seen undoubted improvements in the service that the force provides to victims of domestic abuse since last year, there is still considerable room for improvement. While officers assess risk and protect victims there is a lack of positive action – for example, arresting the perpetrator. The approach to collecting evidence using body-worn video cameras is inconsistent, which means that the service to vulnerable victims is not as good as it should be. The force also needs to improve the consistency of its crime investigations.
I am reassured that Cambridgeshire Constabulary is fully prepared to face its future financial challenges. It has achieved this through consistent and careful planning. The force recognises the scale of the future challenges and has strong collaborative arrangements with Bedfordshire Police and Hertfordshire Constabulary to achieve further efficiencies.
There is a strong culture within the force to give careful thought to ethical considerations. This is reflected in good examples of public engagement and an effective police response to issues that are of most importance to the communities of Cambridgeshire.
Description of force area
Cambridgeshire Constabulary provides policing services to the county of Cambridgeshire. Although there are some areas of deprivation, Cambridgeshire is generally affluent. Around 0.8 million people mainly live in the urban centres which include the cities of Cambridge, Ely and Peterborough. This resident population is ethnically diverse, with 10 percent from black, Asian and minority ethnic communities, and is increased by university students and the large numbers who visit or travel through the county each year.
The proportion of areas in Cambridgeshire that are predicted to present a very high challenge to the police is higher than the national average. These are characterised by social deprivation or a concentration of commercial premises (including licensed premises), and in some cases both.
Working arrangements
Cambridgeshire Constabulary’s mature and successful collaboration with Bedfordshire Police and Hertfordshire Constabulary brings efficiencies across specialist operational and support services. There are clear plans in place to develop further joint arrangements and the force recognises future opportunities in this strong alliance.
A new chief constable (previously the deputy chief constable) and deputy chief constable have been appointed within the past year.
Effectiveness
In our effectiveness inspection, we judged Cambridgeshire Constabulary to require improvement in the way in which it keeps people safe and reduces crime. The force works well to prevent crime and anti-social behaviour and protects most victims well, but improvement is needed to ensure the services are consistent and vulnerable people are properly supported. There are good arrangements in place to keep communities safe and tackle the most serious crimes. However, the force needs to improve its approach to ensuring that crime investigations are of a consistently good quality so that it can effectively fight crime and bring more offenders to justice. This is the first year HMIC has graded forces on their overall effectiveness so a year-on-year comparison is not possible.
Efficiency
Cambridgeshire Constabulary is well prepared to face its future financial challenges. The force has achieved greater levels of savings than it needed to since 2010 and has built up financial reserves, which it plans to use to smooth the impact of budget cuts over the next few years until anticipated savings are achieved. The force has plans in place to make all the expected savings needed through to 2019. It has worked hard to minimise the impact of budget cuts on frontline policing through working jointly with other forces to save money, and an ambitious approach to using new technology to improve police efficiency. In last year’s value for money inspection, which considered how forces had met the challenge of the previous spending review period, Cambridgeshire was judged to be good.
Legitimacy
The chief officer team takes seriously the need for an ethical and inclusive workforce and there is an effective approach to improving wellbeing. Local teams have a good understanding of their neighbourhoods and engage positively with the public and decision-making by Taser-trained officers is fair and appropriate. The force has more to do in order to comply with the Best Use of Stop and Search scheme. This is the first time HMIC has graded forces on their legitimacy, so no year-on-year comparison is possible.
Leadership
Cambridgeshire Constabulary has strong leadership and the senior officer team has set a clear direction, which is understood by police officers and staff across the force. HMIC found good communication with the workforce at all levels of the organisation. This is illustrated by a series of staff surveys conducted by the force, with improvements having been made as a result of the findings.
Insights from other inspections
HMIC undertakes other inspections in addition to the PEEL programme. Since the last PEEL assessment there have been five reports published on inspections that included Cambridgeshire Constabulary. More detail on some of these inspections can be found under the Other inspections section.
Looking ahead to PEEL 2016
In the year ahead, I will be interested to see how the force responds to this assessment, and to the cause of concern and areas for improvement and that HMIC has identified in the last year.
I will be particularly interested to see:
- improvements in the services to vulnerable victims, particularly victims of domestic abuse;
- compliance with the Best Use of Stop and Search scheme;
- how the force continues to develop its collaboration arrangements with Bedfordshire Police and Hertfordshire Constabulary; and
- how the new chief constable’s plans for improvement lead to better police services for the people of Cambridgeshire.
In May 2016, like the majority of forces in England and Wales, the force will see the second elections for its police and crime commissioner.
