West Mercia PEEL 2015
Other inspections
How well has the force performed in our other inspections?
In addition to the three core PEEL pillars, HMICFRS carries out inspections of a wide range of policing activity throughout the year. Some of these are conducted alongside the PEEL inspections; others are joint inspections.
Findings from these inspections are published separately to the main PEEL reports, but are taken into account when producing the rounded assessment of each force's performance.
Other reports
Honour-based violence (HBV)
West Mercia Police, in alliance with Warwickshire Police, is not yet prepared across all areas to protect people from harm from HBV.
West Mercia Police, in alliance with Warwickshire Police:
- has prepared its leadership and governance structures in order to support its ability to identify and respond to cases of HBV;
- is prepared in respect of its awareness and understanding of HBV, and ensures that its officers and staff recognise, understand and identify victims from the first point of contact;
- is not yet prepared in respect of the levels of protection to be offered to victims of HBV; and
- is not yet prepared in respect of enforcement against perpetrators of HBV, but is prepared to prevent offences occurring.
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The depths of dishonour: Hidden voices and shameful crimes – a national overview of forces’ preparedness to deal with honour-based violence, forced marriage and female genital mutilation.
Published: 8 December 2015
Firearms licensing
The firearms licensing arrangements in West Mercia are not sufficiently robust in some important respects, which means that public safety may be compromised and is a matter of concern.
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Targeting the risk – a national overview of the efficiency and effectiveness of firearms licensing in police forces in England and Wales.
Published: 15 September 2015
Police custody
There were some weaknesses in the management of police custody in Warwickshire and West Mercia.
Overall, the creation of the custody alliance between West Mercia and Warwickshire was a sensible strategy. However, at the time of this inspection, these new arrangements were still bedding in. There were significant gaps in the management structure and despite adequate care overall, weak oversight and partnerships had led to poor management of some vulnerable detainees, in some cases including children, and the much too regular use of inappropriate and disproportionate restraint techniques. Healthcare and arrangements for detainees with severe mental health problems were generally much better and provided a model that other aspects of the custody arrangements could follow.
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Warwickshire and West Mercia – Joint inspection of police custody
Published: 20 May 2015
Child protection
West Mercia Police is clearly committed to improving child protection services and has invested in new structures, specialist teams and resources to improve the timeliness of investigations.
Despite this commitment, West Mercia Police needs to improve in a number of areas. We found that the initial response to child protection issues was sometimes slow, and that investigations were not always of the highest quality. We also found that there were significant delays in some investigations, which can have a negative impact on the child. The force also needs to make sure staff who undertake child protection work are sufficiently skilled.
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West Mercia – national child protection inspection
Published: 19 February 2015
West-Mercia – National Child Protection Inspection post-inspection review
Published: 21 January 2016