Gloucestershire PEEL 2016

Gloucestershire Constabulary requires improvement in respect of how it prevents crime, tackles anti-social behaviour and keeps people safe. The force lacks a comprehensive understanding of all the threats and risk facing its communities because it has not completed strategic research in this area. By contrast, its research profiles on certain types of crime, including child sexual exploitation and modern slavery, are thorough and informative.

Neighbourhood teams are at the centre of the force’s approach to working with communities, and these teams communicate well with local people through a range of communication methods. The force also uses a range of tactics and powers to prevent crime and anti-social behaviour. However, reassigning neighbourhood officers to 999/101 response duties limits their ability to plan and undertake preventative activities. This limitation is further exacerbated by the lack of a consistent approach to problem solving at a local level and the absence of a central repository of good practice information.

Gloucestershire Constabulary’s approach to investigating crime and managing offenders requires improvement. This is consistent with the findings of HMIC’s 2015 inspection. The force has not made enough progress in this area and further improvement is required before it can be judged as good.

The force’s approach to allocating crime for investigation is inconsistent. This means that in some cases, investigators do not have the right skills and experience to manage the complexity of the investigation. Exceptions to this can be found in the PPB, where its development of a domestic abuse matrix brings assurance that the victim’s level of risk determines which investigator is assigned to the case. There is a clear distinction between the standards investigated in the PPB/CID domain and those at local policing level. Supervision of cases in PPB/CID is also good. By contrast, standards of investigation and supervision at a local policing level are inconsistent. The force’s Crime Management Investigation Standards (CMIS) programme identifies the work streams needed to improve this situation. However, HMIC is concerned that, despite the publication of very clear areas for improvement in early 2016, the force’s progress is slow in this area and that in some cases victims do not receive the right level of service.

The force is good at protecting the public from the most prolific, serious and dangerous offenders. It has an established integrated offender management scheme, but its focus is narrow, concentrating on offenders who commit large volumes of offences rather than those who cause the most harm. The force works well with other organisations to manage the most dangerous offenders and registered sex offenders.

HMIC is concerned about the management of individuals who are wanted by the force or have been named by victims as suspected of committing a crime. The force does not have a central process for progressing and prioritising the arrest of all wanted persons.

Gloucestershire Constabulary requires improvement in how it protects those who are vulnerable from harm and supports victims. The force has made progress in some areas, but its understanding of the nature and scale of vulnerability is hindered by a lack of analytical capacity. The force has developed assessments of vulnerability, for example vulnerable adults and modern-day slavery, but nevertheless these do not include data held by partner organisations.

HMIC is assured that victims subject to repeat victimisation will be identified by the force at the first point of contact. Call handlers and frontline staff can identify the different features which can lead to an individual being vulnerable. However, HMIC believes a wider understanding of repeat victimisation would encourage staff to look proactively for hidden vulnerability. We are however reassured that officers who initially attend an incident do all they can to protect victims against further exposure to harm by arresting perpetrators.

The force has effective procedures in place to fast-track cases to other agencies to provide further support to victims. Daily multi-agency safeguarding hub (MASH) meetings, domestic violence conferences and multi-agency risk assessment conferences (MARACs) consider all referrals and start devising safety plans. The force has successfully configured its investigative resources into specialist teams to prioritise high-risk investigations. The force makes good use of Clare’s Law to inform individuals of the violent past history of their partners. More could be done however to use other preventative legislation to protect victims.

Gloucestershire Constabulary’s approach to tackling serious and organised crime is inadequate. Since HMIC’s last inspection, the force has made limited progress against the recommendations made and failed to address the cause of concern identified in 2015. It has failed to establish a structured approach to threat assessment at a strategic level and has not developed serious and organised crime local profiles with partner organisations. As a consequence, the force cannot demonstrate a sufficient understanding of the threat posed by serious and organised crime, and it lacks the ability to prioritise activity against organised crime groups systematically or objectively. The force also lacks a countywide partnership board structure which would bring a range of organisations together to work against organised crime.

Current force priorities remain concentrated on traditional areas such as Class A drugs and burglary, with too little progress being made in new and emerging crimes. The force needs to develop a better understanding of the links between organised crime and vulnerability.

OCG mapping, in procedural terms, is carried out correctly and in accordance with national guidance. Additionally, the force has made concerted efforts to ensure that all mapped OCGs are subject to regular scrutiny and oversight.

The force is developing its understanding of the different pathways into a life of organised crime. It also has several established projects across the county aimed at helping young people avoid a life of crime.

HMIC found evidence of effective communication with the public about organised crime together with examples of successful outcomes and preventative messages publicised across a range of different media.

Gloucestershire Constabulary has yet to complete detailed analysis of the main threats set out in the Strategic Policing Requirement (PDF document), but it does have detailed operational plans for addressing these threats. It regularly tests these plans and assesses its capabilities in response to a range simulated incidents in an exercise programme. The programme includes testing the force’s ability to maintain its principal functions should a major incident happen.

The force is well prepared to respond to a firearms attack. As part of the tri-force arrangement with Wiltshire Police and Avon and Somerset Constabulary, it has recently reviewed the assessment of threat, risk and harm, which sets out the capabilities required of armed officers in the region. A plan is under way to accelerate training and increase skills in order to improve the force’s capacity for responding to armed threats.