2015 PEEL assessment
In February 2016 we published our second PEEL assessment of the 43 police forces in England and Wales.
We inspected the effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy of police work using evidence that was collected, analysed and interpreted during 2015. We then graded core aspects of policing as outstanding, good, requires improvement, or inadequate.
For an explanation of the grades please see the How we inspect page. More information on the questions which were answered as part of PEEL 2015 is given below.
In February 2016, HMI Inspectors used the PEEL grades, together with findings from other inspections carried out in 2015, to make a rounded assessment of each police force. Choose a force from the PEEL assessments page to find out about its performance in 2015.
National assessment
The Police Act 1996, requires Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary to report each year on his assessment of the efficiency and effectiveness of policing in England and Wales. His national assessment of policing is published alongside the PEEL assessments.
Read ‘State of Policing: The Annual Assessment of Policing in England and Wales 2015′
PEEL 2015 questions
A new set of questions was developed for PEEL 2015 after consultation with a wide range of interested parties, including police forces and police and crime commissioners. This year, in addition to the core themes of effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy, we also assessed forces on their leadership (although we didn’t grade them on this).
The questions are listed below.
Os hoffech chi ddarllen hwn trwy’r Gymraeg (PDF document)
Effectiveness
Definition: an effective force is one that keeps people safe and reduces crime.
Headline question
How effective is the force at keeping people safe and reducing crime?
| Core question | Diagnostic |
|---|---|
| How effective is the force at preventing crime and anti-social behaviour, and keeping people safe? | How well does the force work to prevent crime and anti-social behaviour, and keep people safe? |
| How well does the force work with partners to prevent crime and anti-social behaviour and keep people safe? | |
| How effective is the force at investigating crime and managing offenders? | |
| How well does the force investigate crime and keep victims safe and informed? | |
| How well does the force identify and manage offenders to prevent re-offending? | |
| How effective is the force at protecting from harm those who are vulnerable, and supporting victims? | |
| How well does the force identify those who are vulnerable and assess their level of risk and need? | |
| How well does the force respond to vulnerable victims? | |
| How well does the subsequent police action and work with partners keep victims safe? | |
| How well does the force respond to and safeguard specific vulnerable groups (missing and absent & victims of domestic abuse), and how well prepared is it to tackle child sexual exploitation? | |
| How effective is the force at tackling serious and organised crime, including its arrangements for fulfilling its national policing responsibilities? | |
| How well does the force understand the threat and risk posed by serious and organised crime? | |
| How effectively does the force respond to serious and organised crime? | |
| How effectively is the force working with partners to prevent serious and organised crime? | |
| How effective are the arrangements in place to ensure that the force can fulfil its national policing responsibilities? |
To answer the four inspection questions, HMIC collected data and documents from all 43 forces; examined the police and crime plans for each area; interviewed chief constables, police and crime commissioners, and the officers responsible for these four areas of policing in each force; surveyed the public, and organisations which work in partnership with the police; and held focus groups with officers and staff.
The extent to which a police force is successful at identifying, protecting and supporting those who are vulnerable is a core indicator of its overall effectiveness. We therefore conducted an inspection of how all forces support and protect vulnerable people as part of our PEEL effectiveness programme, and reported on it separately. The vulnerability inspection answers question 3 of the effectiveness programme.
Efficiency
Definition: an efficient force maximises the outcomes from its available resources.
Headline question
How efficient is the force at keeping people safe and reducing crime?
| Core question | Diagnostic |
|---|---|
| How well does the force use its resources to meet its demand? | How well does the force understand its demand? |
| How well does the force match resources to demand? | |
| How well are the force’s services meeting the demand from the public? | |
| How well is the force managing demand? | |
| How well does the force monitor and understand outputs, outcomes and costs? | |
| How well is the force using new working methods to improve services? | |
| How sustainable and affordable is the workforce model? | |
| How well does the force’s current workforce model match demand, organisational and financial requirements? | |
| How well does the force’s projected workforce model match demand, organisational and financial requirements? | |
| How sustainable is the force’s financial position for the short and long term? | |
| Has the force achieved its saving requirements and balanced the budget for the spending review period and 2014/15? | |
| Has the force achieved a balanced budget for 2015/16? | |
| How well has the force maximised other funding opportunities? | |
| How well does the force control expenditure? | |
| How well do the force’s financial plans reflect the objectives set out in the PCC’s Police and Crime Plan? | |
| How well does the force provide timely and relevant financial information to the OPCC and are shared assumptions used to develop current and future plans? | |
| How well developed are the force’s plans for possible further savings? |
To answer these questions, HMIC inspected all 43 forces, and carried out a survey of whether the public had noticed changes in the service they receive from the police as a result of operational changes made in response to budget reductions. We also interviewed chief constables, police and crime commissioners and the chief officers responsible for finance, organisational change, human resources and performance in each force, and held focus groups with officers and staff.
Legitimacy
Definition: a police force is legitimate if it has the consent of the public, and those working in the force consistently behave in a way that is fair, reasonable, effective and lawful, which generates the trust and cooperation of the public.
Headline question
How legitimate is the force at keeping people safe and reducing crime?
| Core question | Diagnostic |
|---|---|
| To what extent does practice and behaviour reinforce the wellbeing of staff and an ethical culture? | How well does the force develop and maintain an ethical culture? |
| How well does the force provide for the wellbeing of staff? | |
| How well has the code of ethics been used to inform policy and practice? | |
| How fairly and consistently does the force deal with complaints and misconduct? | |
| To what extent are forces recording crimes in accordance with the Home Office Counting Rules? | This question is not being assessed in 2015. |
| How well does the force understand, engage with and treat fairly the people it serves to maintain and improve its legitimacy? | |
| How well does the force understand the people it serves and the benefits of engaging with them? | |
| How well does the force engage with all the people it serves? | |
| To what extent are people treated fairly and with respect when they come into contact with police officers and staff? | |
| To what extent are decisions taken on the use of Stop and Search and Taser fair and appropriate? | |
| To what extent does the force ensure that it complies with the Best Use of Stop and Search scheme? | |
| To what extent does the force ensure that Tasers are used fairly and appropriately? |
To answer these these questions, HMIC inspected all 43 forces – including interviewing senior leaders, collecting data and documentation, holding focus groups and surveying public perceptions of the force. In addition to inspection fieldwork we reviewed Taser deployment forms; stop and search records; public complaint and internal misconduct files; and calls for assistance from members of the public.
Leadership theme
| Core question | Diagnostic |
|---|---|
| How well led is the force? | |
| How well does the force have a clear understanding of the current state of its leadership at every level? | |
| How well has the force provided a clear and compelling sense of the future direction of the organisation? | |
| How is the force developing leadership, motivating the workforce and encouraging staff engagement? | |
| To what extent is leadership improving the effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy of the force? |
Consultation
Ipsos MORI research
HMIC commissioned Ipsos MORI to conduct research with frontline police officers and police staff and the public about our approach to the PEEL assessments. Ipsos MORI interviewed a nationally representative sample of 1,804 members of the general public in England and Wales using a face-to-face general public omnibus survey, and these findings provide an overview of the public’s immediate response to the proposal for the PEEL assessments. To allow our proposed approach to be presented and discussed in more detail; five evening workshop events were held with members of the general public.
Victims of certain types of crime were also interviewed separately to gain their views on the service they received from the police.
Interviews with police officers and staff were also conducted across five police forces in order to hear the views of those working on the frontline.
The research also informed the 2014 PEEL assessment.