This year, for the first time, we have assessed the leadership across the force. The assessment has led to a narrative rather than graded judgment, which is summarised below.
Read more about my assessment of Durham Constabulary’s performance this year, including exceptional events and where I would like to see improvements next year.
I would like to congratulate Durham Constabulary for building further on its excellent performance in keeping people safe and reducing crime.
The chief officer team has a clear and compelling sense of direction for the future of the organisation, which is being implemented through comprehensive and realistic plans.
I have been very impressed by the force’s ability to continue developing problem-solving approaches to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour. The force has good arrangements with partner agencies to manage serious and organised crime and to keep vulnerable people safe. The management of offenders under the innovative integrated offender management programme is very impressive and is exemplified by the Checkpoint scheme which takes a groundbreaking approach to dealing with new offenders.
The force has a strong track record of robust financial management and I am pleased to see that the force has detailed financial plans in place to achieve the savings required through to 2018/19. It has a comprehensive understanding of the demand for its services, especially from the public, and this enables its resources to be deployed effectively. The force continues to benefit from its information technology innovations and excellent use of information.
Senior leaders in the force show visible and approachable leadership, consistently engaging with the workforce to provide regular and consistent messages to reinforce their standards and expectations.
I am very impressed by the commitment shown by the force’s officers and staff in looking to improve services to the communities of Durham still further.
Description of force area
Durham Constabulary provides policing services to the areas of County Durham and Darlington. Although there are some highly affluent areas, Durham has a high level of poverty. Around 0.6 million people live in a predominantly rural setting. The area includes the city of Durham and the town of Darlington as well as several smaller towns. The resident population is increased by university students and the large numbers who visit or travel through the area each year.
The proportion of areas in Durham that are predicted to present a very high challenge to the police is broadly in line with the national average. These are characterised by social deprivation or a concentration of commercial premises (including licensed premises), and in some cases both.
Exceptional events
Durham Constabulary has an ongoing criminal investigation into allegations of historic sexual and physical abuse perpetrated by staff against detainees at Medomsley Detention Centre near Consett, County Durham. The force is investigating crimes alleged to have taken place over several decades. The enquiry team has now interviewed and supported more than 1,250 former inmates at Medomsley.
Working arrangements
Durham Constabulary’s police dog, traffic services and firearms support are now provided jointly with Cleveland Police through a special operations unit. The force is part of a regional agreement which will manage the response to chemical or nuclear incidents.
The force has signed a statement of intent to work more closely with County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue service in order to enhance services and reduce costs.
Effectiveness
In our effectiveness inspection, we judged Durham Constabulary to be outstanding at keeping people safe and reducing crime. Its approach to preventing crime and tackling anti-social behaviour is innovative and based on finding long-term sustainable solutions. Crime is investigated thoroughly and considerable effort is placed on reducing re-offending. Vulnerable people are protected well and officers know the importance of reassuring victims. The force understands the threat from serious and organised crime and tackles it as a priority at all levels. This is the first year HMIC has graded forces on their overall effectiveness so comparison of their year-on-year effectiveness is not possible.
Efficiency
Durham Constabulary is exceptionally well prepared to face its future financial challenges. The force has a comprehensive understanding of the demand for its services and is using innovative ways of working to manage demand, with evidence of widespread joint problem-solving with other local organisations. The force has an impressive track record of robust financial management, accurate budgeting and achieving planned savings. This provides significant confidence that the force can achieve the savings required through to 2018/19. In last year’s value for money inspection, which considered how forces had met the challenge of the previous spending review period, the force was judged to be good.
Legitimacy
The chief constable and chief officer team actively promote the vision and values of the force to develop and maintain an ethical culture, and it is clear that significant efforts had been made to ensure the workforce feels valued and engaged in decisions which affected them. Engagement with the public is at the heart of the policing model in Durham Constabulary.
The force is complying with almost all the requirements of the Best Use of Stop and Search scheme, and we are satisfied that Taser is used fairly and appropriately.
This is the first time HMIC has graded forces on their legitimacy, so no year-on-year comparison is possible.
Leadership
The chief officer team has a clear understanding of leadership capability and capacity across Durham Constabulary and regularly communicates its expectations to ensure leaders at all levels know what is required of them. The chief officer team has a clear sense of direction for the future of the organisation. The workforce understands the force’s plans for the short to medium term, although they are less clear about its long-term plans.
The force provides an extensive range of leadership and development opportunities to its workforce and the force is good at using technology to improve its overall capability.
Insights from other inspections
HMIC undertakes other inspections in addition to the PEEL programme. Since the last PEEL assessment there have been six reports published on inspections that included Durham 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 the areas for improvement that HMIC has identified in the last year.
I will be particularly interested to see:
- how the force continues to improve further the outstanding policing service it provides to the communities of Durham;
- the work being undertaken by the force and its partners to divert offenders away from a life of crime through the Checkpoint scheme;
- how the force continues to build on its well-developed approach to problem-solving with partner agencies and local communities;
- improvements in the oversight of firearms licensing; and
- development of the working arrangements with County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service.
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.
