Hampshire PEEL 2017
Effectiveness
How effective is the force at keeping people safe and reducing crime?
How effective is the force at preventing crime, tackling anti-social behaviour and keeping people safe?
This question was not inspected in 2017. The grade and findings from last year’s inspection still stand.
How effective is the force at investigating crime and reducing re-offending?
Hampshire Constabulary is good at investigating crime and reducing re-offending. The force:
- allocates investigations to officers and staff with the appropriate skills and experience; and
- investigates more serious crimes and updates victims to a consistently high standard.
The force has improved its:
- investigations and updates to victims for other less serious crime;
- contact with crime victims; and
- ability to examine digital devices in support of investigations.
However, the force could further improve the consistency and recording of victim updates and supervisory instructions. We also found that the quality of initial enquiries carried out by response officers is inconsistent.
It has good processes in place to:
- protect the public from prolific and dangerous offenders; and
- manage the risk from foreign national offenders.
Areas for improvement
- The force should take steps to ensure that all available evidence is recorded at the scenes of crimes.
- The force should ensure that volume crime investigations receive consistent, regular, and active supervision, and that it maintains meaningful contact with victims to further improve investigation quality and progress.
How effective is the force at protecting those who are vulnerable from harm, and supporting victims?
Hampshire Constabulary is good at identifying and protecting vulnerable people. Officers and staff:
- display a good understanding of when a person may be vulnerable; and
- use structured risk assessment methods to inform their decision-making.
Although the quality of referrals to specialist officers is good, the force needs to ensure that information about children who may be affected by an incident is fully recorded.
The force works well with partner organisations, such as:
- mental health trusts to support people with a mental health condition; and
- domestic abuse victim support organisations.
It is also involved in effective multi-agency arrangements to provide support to vulnerable victims.
The force has increased its use of powers and reduced the proportion of victims of crime who do not support police action.
Areas for improvement
- The force should ensure that officers dealing with incidents involving children who may be vulnerable consistently record all relevant information.
- The force should ensure its process to obtain feedback from victims of domestic abuse includes those victims who do not support police action.
How effective is the force at tackling serious and organised crime?
This question was not inspected in 2017. The grade and findings from last year’s inspection still stand.
How effective are the force’s specialist capabilities?
National threats often require forces to work together, across force boundaries. These threats include terrorism, large-scale disorder and civil emergencies. We examined the capabilities in place to respond to these threats, in particular a firearms attack.
Most positively, the force:
- works constructively with other organisations to build skills and competence in this area;
- tests its skills in training exercises; and
- has developed a good understanding of the threat that the public face from an armed attack.