Lancashire 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?
This question was not inspected in 2017. The grade and findings from last year’s inspection still stand.
How effective is the force at protecting those who are vulnerable from harm, and supporting victims?
Lancashire Constabulary requires improvement in the way it protects vulnerable people from harm and supports victims.
Examples of effective practice include:
- excellent relationships with partner organisations, providing good support to vulnerable people and meeting victims’ needs;
- co-ordinated support to families and communities through nine partnership hubs, allowing problems to be resolved at the earliest opportunity; and
- a mental health action plan involving all Lancashire’s public services to co-ordinate support, making mental health the main priority in the area.
However, the constabulary needs to ensure that:
- vulnerability is always properly identified, and a clear risk-assessment rationale recorded;
- all immediate safeguarding actions are taken when officers respond to vulnerability calls, with information accurately recorded at the earliest opportunity to allow longer-term safeguarding assessments;
- supervision of investigations of less serious offences is more effective, particularly when a vulnerable victim is involved; and
- the backlog of risk assessments for registered sex offenders is reduced to effectively manage the risks they pose.
Areas for improvement
- The constabulary should ensure that officers and staff working in call handling are appropriately trained, understand and complete assessments of threat, risk and harm to appropriate standards, consistently record them on constabulary systems and are supervised effectively.
- The constabulary should ensure that frontline officers are proficient in completing vulnerability assessments and there is sufficient supervisory oversight to ensure opportunities to safeguard vulnerable victims are not missed.
- The constabulary should ensure consistent supervision of less complex crimes to investigate them to a good standard.
- The constabulary should reduce the backlog of risk assessments for registered sex offenders to ensure the risks posed are managed effectively.
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 constabulary:
- works with other forces to ensure enough trained staff and officers are available to respond to national threats;
- tests its skills and capabilities in training exercises; and
- has developed an adequate understanding of the threat to the public from an armed attack.
However, the constabulary should:
- set out its understanding of the criminal use of firearms in a threat assessment.