This year, for the first time, we have assessed 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 North Wales Police’s performance this year, including where I would like to see improvements next year.
Os hoffech chi ddarllen hwn trwy’r Gymraeg (PDF document)
I am satisfied with most aspects of North Wales Police’s performance in keeping people safe and reducing crime, but there are some areas that need to be improved in order to provide a consistently good service.
The force is good at preventing crime and anti social behaviour and in tackling serious and organised crime. However, it needs to improve its allocation of crimes for investigation in a manner that matches the skills and experience of the investigator to the needs of vulnerable victims.
I have concerns about how the force responds to vulnerable victims. The force is developing its understanding of the scale and impact of child sexual abuse and its joint service delivery with Barnardo’s is building stronger support for young people who are at risk. However, this initiative is being hindered by the difficulty of identifying those who are most vulnerable from harm during their initial contact with the police. There are also inconsistencies in the management of offenders and in the assessment of and response to victims of domestic abuse. I welcome the steps that the force is taking to address these areas, including the use of body-worn cameras to improve the quality of evidence that may be obtained. The increase in the number of independent domestic violence advisors will help to bolster the support available for those victims at greatest risk.
I am satisfied that the force has plans, matched to improvements in working practices, that will meet the challenge of doing more with less. Improvements include the wider use of new technology and, in particular, the use of mobile data. These technological changes will enable frontline officers to have access to police IT systems and information, so they can work efficiently and effectively without the need to return to a police station.
Description of force area
North Wales Police provides policing services to the areas of Anglesey, Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Gwynedd and Wrexham. Although there are some more affluent areas, North Wales has a high level of poverty. Around 0.7 million people live in a largely rural setting. Its several distinct and small urban areas include the town of Wrexham. The resident population is increased by university students and the very large numbers who visit or travel through the area each year. The transport infrastructure also includes a major sea port.
The proportion of areas in North Wales that are predicted to present a very high challenge to the police lower than the national average. These are characterised by social deprivation or a concentration of commercial premises (including licensed premises), and in some cases both. Providing services across the entirety of the force area is hindered by the size of the force area and the road network.
Working arrangements
North Wales Police is part of the all-Wales counter terrorism unit. It works collaboratively with Cheshire Constabulary on firearms and the force is developing a way to work collaboratively with Merseyside Police and Cheshire Constabulary to provide forensic services. It is also working with the North Wales Fire and Rescue Service and the Welsh Ambulance Service to identify potential areas for collaboration.
Effectiveness
In our effectiveness inspection, we judged North Wales Police to require improvement in the way in which it keeps people safe and reduces crime. The force is good at preventing crime and anti-social behaviour. However, in relation to how the force investigates crime, offender management is inconsistent and officers are sometimes assigned crimes to investigate that are beyond their level of training. Also, a more accurate assessment of risk when people first make contact with the force would ensure a better service is provided to victims. The force tackles serious and organised crime effectively in many respects although there is scope for improvement in some specific areas. This is the first year HMIC has graded forces on their overall effectiveness so a year-on-year comparison is not possible.
Efficiency
HMIC found that North Wales Police is prepared to face its future financial challenges. The force has managed its finances well. It has faced smaller than average reductions in its budgets and has therefore faced fewer job cuts, but it needs to do more work to plan how it will manage future reductions. In last year’s value for money inspection, which considered how forces had met the challenge of the previous spending review period, North Wales Police was judged to be good.
Legitimacy
HMIC found that North Wales Police took seriously the need to establish an ethical and inclusive workforce, and was committed to supporting the workforce’s wellbeing. Local policing teams have a good understanding of their communities and are committed to the service they provide to victims of crime.
North Wales Police is compliant with most aspects 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
North Wales Police is a well led force and can show that it understands the capability and capacity of its workforce. The force has a clear, realistic and motivating sense of its future plans and priorities and its vision, ’A Safer North Wales‘, has been communicated to its workforce and outside the organisation. The senior officer team engages positively with the workforce, though some expressed concerns to us during our inspection that the leadership programme is not fully inclusive.
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 North Wales Police. 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:
- the continued investment in new technology, such as body-worn cameras and mobile data, to improve the quality of service provided to vulnerable victims;
- improvements in the identification of and response to vulnerable people;
- better use of collaborative working to bring about future savings and efficiencies, for example the tripartite venture with Merseyside Police and Cheshire Constabulary, covering forensic services; and
- the work the force undertakes to improve the overall quality of investigations.
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.
Darllenwch y Trawsgrifiad fideo yn Gymraeg (PDF document)
