Derbyshire PEEL 2015

Derbyshire Constabulary is good at preventing crime and anti-social behaviour and keeping people safe. This is consistent with HMIC’s 2014 crime inspection where the constabulary was judged to be good at reducing crime and preventing offending.

Constabulary priorities reflect a commitment to prevention, supporting victims, partnership working and keeping people safe. This commitment is generally well understood throughout the constabulary, and it ensures that well-trained police officers and staff are assigned to local neighbourhoods who focus on preventing problems from occurring or from escalating.

The constabulary has the right systems and ways of working in place at force and neighbourhood level, alongside a range of powers and tactics, to work together with partner organisations to tackle anti-social behaviour and keep people safe.

While there are a few areas for improvement, including how the constabulary understands, evaluates and shares evidence of ‘what works’, the public can feel confident that the constabulary is working well to prevent crime and anti-social behaviour, and keep people safe.

Derbyshire Constabulary’s approach to investigating crime and managing offenders is good. This is consistent with HMIC’s 2014 crime inspection, in which the constabulary was judged as good at investigating offending.

Processes for the initial investigation and allocation of complex and non-complex crime work well. The quality of subsequent investigations is good as investigative staff are well trained, and generally properly qualified. Investigation plans are thorough and well documented, following approved practice for investigations, and there is clear evidence of effective support and review by experienced supervisors.

Victims are generally kept well informed as investigations progress and the constabulary uses ‘crime contracts’ to establish how and when the victim would like to be contacted.

Forensic and digital specialists are used effectively to support investigations, although backlogs do exist for phone investigation.

The constabulary identifies vulnerable offenders and makes efforts to divert them from further offending. While there is an area for improvement, the constabulary’s ways of working with partner organisations to identify, monitor and work with repeat and dangerous offenders to stop them re-offending generally work well.

Derbyshire Constabulary has clear processes in place to identify repeat and vulnerable victims. The constabulary makes accurate assessments of the risks victims face, its response to them is consistent and it works well with partner organisations to protect vulnerable people. HMIC judges that the constabulary’s performance is good.

The constabulary shares information effectively with partner organisations through its central referral unit. This provides direct access to external service providers and means that immediate safeguards are put in place to protect vulnerable people. There are ambitions to develop this way of working into a multi-agency safeguarding hub, which bring all service providers together and have proved successful elsewhere in providing tailored support to victims.

The constabulary is making headway in addressing areas of improvement that were identified in HMIC’s domestic abuse inspection in 2014. In particular, officers are increasingly using their professional judgment, as well as using long-established risk factors, in considering the harm that victims are facing.

The identification of vulnerability issues in more routine, frequently-occurring crime is an area where the constabulary could do more. This may reveal hidden patterns of victimisation which could signify that an individual is at more risk that it first may seem.

Derbyshire Constabulary is outstanding in the way it identifies and tackles serious and organised crime. This is the first year HMIC has graded forces on their effectiveness at tackling serious and organised crime, including a force’s arrangements for ensuring that it can fulfil its national policing responsibilities, so no year-on-year comparison is possible.

The constabulary has a well-developed understanding of the threat posed by serious and organised crime. HMIC found that the constabulary has effective ways of working to deter people from committing serious and organised crime. These include working with young people and awareness raising in schools. There is an effective multi-agency response to tackling serious and organised crime and the constabulary has a good working relationship with other forces in the region with access to an extensive range of specialist policing capabilities provided by the East Midlands Special Operations Unit. The constabulary communicates well with its communities, publicising successes and warning of the consequences of being involved in serious and organised crime.

The constabulary’s approach to tackling and disrupting serious and organised crime in collaboration with partner organisations has resulted in a number of successful operations that have improved the lives of those living in communities affected by organised crime.

The necessary arrangements are in place to ensure that the constabulary can fulfil its national policing responsibilities. It regularly tests its ability to respond to national threats, including public order events and counter-terrorist incidents, by conducting unannounced tests of its mobilisation. It has also conducted extensive exercises to test inter-operability with fire and ambulance services.