North Yorkshire PEEL 2015

HMIC found that North Yorkshire Police is committed to developing and maintaining an ethical culture. The chief constable has set out his vision and values for the force, and expected standards of behaviour. A number of methods have been used to communicate this to staff, but we found the level of understanding is inconsistent.

Officers and staff told us that they feel valued, and would be confident and willing to challenge decisions and unethical behaviour. We found a good understanding of the Code of Ethics and it has been incorporated into force policies, procedures and some training courses.

The force has provided some services for the wellbeing of its workforce, although support provided to officers and staff dealing with vulnerable people or traumatic incidents is inconsistent. A force-wide wellbeing programme was being developed at the time of our inspection, to better meet the needs of all staff.

To ensure complaints and allegations of misconduct are dealt with consistently for police officers and police staff, the force holds regular management meetings that involve professional standards, human resources, legal services and the counter-corruption departments to discuss the consistency of outcomes from complaints and misconduct allegations.

This question has not been inspected or graded in 2015.

North Yorkshire Police engages well with its local communities. Most officers and staff understand the importance of positive community engagement and how it helps to build trust and confidence in the police.

The force has a good understanding of its local communities, and engages well with them using a range of methods. Community meetings and surgeries are held to seek the views of the public and keep them informed of what the police have been doing to resolve local issues. Social media is also used as a way of engaging and communicating with local people. The force uses this engagement to assess the impact of community incidents or problems and respond effectively.

The value of volunteers in improving community engagement and trust in the police is recognised by the force. The public is encouraged to take part in local policing activities and there is a range of opportunities available to work with North Yorkshire Police.

Call-handlers and front-counter staff were generally polite, friendly and helpful. Most officers and staff understand the importance of how logical, ethical decision-making affects public trust and confidence.

North Yorkshire Police complies almost completely with the Best Use of Stop and Search scheme. However, much more needs to be done to ensure that the grounds for stops and searches are fully understood, recorded accurately and properly supervised.

The deployment of Taser-trained officers and the distribution of Taser-equipment across the force is currently being reviewed and is based on the level of risk, demand and geography of the area. Systems are in place to manage the deployment and use of Taser, with oversight to ensure its use is fair and appropriate. Taser information is published on the force website, and HMIC concluded that its use is fair and appropriate.

As North Yorkshire Police was not compliant in one or two aspects of the Best Use of Stop and Search Scheme in 2015, HMIC revisited the force in 2016 to assess improvements made since the initial inspection.

Best Use of Stop and Search letter – North Yorkshire Police