Cambridgeshire PEEL 2017

Cambridgeshire Constabulary is good at treating all the people it serves with fairness and respect. Leaders communicate the force’s values to the workforce and ensure officers and staff understand the importance of treating people fairly and with respect. The force provides training and guidance on effective communication skills and on the appropriate use of coercive powers, and is introducing training on how to recognise and overcome unconscious bias. The workforce have a good understanding of how to use coercive powers fairly and respectfully as well as what constitutes reasonable grounds for carrying out a search.

The force is developing its scrutiny of the use of force to ensure that it is fair. The force receives feedback and challenge from a new external ethics and advisory group and ensures it responds appropriately. The force has two effective external scrutiny groups that assess the use of stop and search powers. The force recognises and is addressing its lack of effective internal scrutiny of body-worn video camera footage.

Cambridgeshire Constabulary is good at ensuring its workforce behaves ethically and lawfully. Ethics and values are well established throughout the force and are used by leaders in their decision-making. Leaders develop and review policies and procedures in line with the Code of Ethics. The force has an internal ethics group which reviews ethical issues and provides support and guidance. The chief officer team is approachable and the workforce feel confident to raise ethical issues with its members.

The force does not yet comply with the national vetting standards and is taking a risk-based approach, meaning that vetting for high-risk posts and new recruits is prioritised. However, it has an achievable plan to comply with the standards.

Cambridgeshire Constabulary makes it easy for members of the public to make a complaint using its website, which includes options for information in other languages and support for people who have visual or hearing impairments. Front counter staff do not have force-specific printed information on how to make a complaint. The force is good at updating complainants on the progress of their complaint and provides them with easily understood information on the outcome. The force generally identifies and investigates public complaints of discrimination well. However, in the cases we reviewed involving internal misconduct allegations, the parties involved in the allegations did not always receive regular updates. The force should ensure that it refers internal misconduct cases of discrimination to the IPCC.

Cambridgeshire Constabulary is good at treating its workforce with fairness and respect. The force is committed to understanding the issues that have the greatest effect on officers, staff and volunteers. The chief officer team encourages challenge and feedback. Officers and staff we spoke with said that the force has an open culture in which they are able to express their views. The force is proactive in the way that it identifies and resolves workforce concerns. It is working to increase equality and diversity in its workforce so that it is more representative of the communities it serves.

The force has a comprehensive and accessible wellbeing programme and has put in place preventative measures to improve workforce wellbeing. Since last year, the force has improved its welfare training for all supervisors so they can recognise warning signs and intervene early. The officers and staff we spoke with felt that their wellbeing is a priority for the force.

In the three forces in the alliance, processes for managing individual performance, development and promotion opportunities are being aligned to make them consistent and fair. Work is in progress at the alliance level to identify how to make the personal development review process more meaningful.