Who we inspect

For over 160 years, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary independently assessed and reported on the efficiency and effectiveness of police forces and policing, in the public interest.

In summer 2017, HMIC (now HMICFRS) took on inspections of England’s fire & rescue services, assessing and reporting on their efficiency, effectiveness and leadership.

Fire & rescue services in England

Our inspections of fire & rescue services allow the public to see how well their local service is performing and improving year on year, from a small set of easy-to-understand categories.

Our objectives for the inspection of fire & rescue services are:

  • improve the services they provide and to ensure they reduce the risks identified by local communities;
  • identify good practice, transformation and areas for improvement; and
  • improve transparency and accountability to the communities they serve.

Police forces in England and Wales

HMICFRS inspects and monitors the 43 territorial police forces in England and Wales, sometimes also referred to as Home Office-funded forces.

HMICFRS has statutory powers to inspect and report on the efficiency and effectiveness of these police forces, as set out in Section 54 (2) of the Police Act 1996. Each year, we consult on, and then publish, an inspection programme, including a schedule of inspection.

The schedule includes the inspections which form our regular annual assessment of police force performance, called the PEEL assessments. PEEL stands for police effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy. It is the programme in which HMICFRS draws together the evidence from its annual all-force inspections. HMICFRS introduced these assessments so that you’re able to judge the performance of your force and policing as a whole.

Use our interactive map of England and Wales, to read the PEEL assessment for each of the 43 forces.

In addition to the inspections in the schedule, HMICFRS can be commissioned by the Home Secretary, and local policing bodies (police and crime commissioners, the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime, and the City of London Corporation) to inspect any, or all, of these police forces on a particular subject.

Other police forces and agencies

HMICFRS also inspects other forces and organisations, which police specific areas of infrastructure or particular types of crime.

HMICFRS has a duty to inspect the following:

To find out more about these organisations and the inspections we have carried out, visit Our work, where you can search for the area you’re interested in.