I am very pleased with the overall performance of Essex Police. I am particularly pleased with the progress that the force has made in the effectiveness with which it keeps people safe and reduces crime.
There have been improvements across all areas including in how the force supports people who are vulnerable. There are still some areas that I would like to see the force improve upon, but overall it is very encouraging progress.
The force has taken on board our recommendations on how it should improve its crime prevention work, and it is committed to tackling anti-social behaviour to prevent it from escalating.
I am particularly encouraged by the way in which the chief constable and his chief officers have made an enormous effort to drive improvement in how the force protects vulnerable people, especially children. Control room staff are now good at identifying risk and the force has clear systems and processes for assessing and responding to victims and vulnerable people. Some of the changes to the force’s approach to child protection were not fully established in all parts of the force, particularly among frontline officers. Although there is still work to do in this area, Essex Police has made significant progress.
I am pleased that Essex Police has improved how it investigates crime. The control room uses a structured approach to assess whether calls require an officer to attend, and, when officers do, they collect and preserve evidence effectively. However, I am still concerned about the number of suspects who have yet to be investigated and the number of incidents that remain unresolved, despite reductions in the number of both since the last time we inspected the force.
The force works well with other local partners to prevent reoffending by some of its most prolific offenders, but it accepts that it needs to do more to improve how it manages the risks posed by registered sex offenders living in its area.
The public can have confidence in Essex Police’s ability to tackle organised crime. The force, in an effective collaboration with Kent Police, not only pursues and disrupts these high-end criminal organisations, but works to prevent them from taking root in its communities.
The force manages its resources against current and future demand, and it has developed an impressive and comprehensive mapping process to predict this. As a result, it has a sophisticated understanding of new, emerging and hidden demand, including internet crime, hate crime, and female genital mutilation.
I am pleased to see how Essex Police has improved its management of current demand since last year. However, I remain concerned about the number of suspects who have yet to be investigated and the number of incidents that remain unresolved, despite reductions in the number of both since the last time we inspected the force.
The force has a proven ability to achieve savings and has ambitious but credible and realistic plans in place to continue to achieve further efficiencies. It has a very strong track record of working closely with other forces and with partner organisations to improve the service it can offer to its communities and to reduce inefficiencies.
Essex Police has a comprehensive understanding of the skills in its workforce. It is good at allocating the right number of appropriately trained officers and staff to the right places to provide effective services to the public.
I am impressed with the force’s determination to understand the issues that are important to the people of Essex, and with how hard it works to gather feedback from those who identified as having less trust in the police, in order to learn and improve. We found positive examples of the force communicating with both the public and its own workforce on the results of misconduct and corruption cases. This helps to improve confidence inside and outside the force, which encourages people to come forward with their concerns.
I was encouraged to find a clear focus on the well-being of the workforce. This is clearly demonstrated by its open and positive approach to supporting staff, including those with performance or attendance problems, and its emphasis on removing the stigma of mental health issues. The force could do more, however, to communicate what action it has taken on the issues raised by its workforce.
In summary, the force provides a good level of service to the people of Essex and I am pleased that it has maintained its performance since my previous assessment.
Context
Essex Police provides policing services to the county of Essex. Essex is generally affluent, although there are some areas of deprivation. The force area is home to around 1.8 million people, who mainly live in the city of Chelmsford, as well as the towns of Clacton-on-Sea, Southend-on-Sea and Harlow. The resident population is increased by university students and the large numbers who visit, socialise in, or travel through the area each year. The transport infrastructure includes 154 miles of motorway and trunk roads, and a major airport and major sea ports.
The proportion of areas in Essex that are predicted (on the basis of detailed economic and demographic analysis) to present a very high challenge to the police is higher than the national average. The most challenging areas are generally characterised by a high concentration of people living, working, socialising, or travelling in the area.
Features which both cause and/or indicate a concentration of people include the number of commercial premises, including licensed premises and fast-food premises, public transport, and social deprivation. In some areas, these features are combined.
Working arrangements
Essex Police collaborates extensively with Kent Police across a range of areas of business. The force is planning to co-locate some services with Essex County Council.
Looking ahead to 2017
In the year ahead, I will be interested to see how the force responds to this assessment and to the areas for improvement that HMIC identified last year.
I will be particularly interested to see:
- how the force makes further progress on protecting vulnerable people and supporting victims, in particular children; and
- how it continues to reduce the numbers of unresolved open incidents and numbers of suspects who have not yet been investigated.
