Derbyshire PEEL 2018
Legitimacy
How legitimately does the force treat the public and its workforce?
To what extent does the force treat all of the people it serves with fairness and respect?
Derbyshire Constabulary is good at treating the public fairly. This is consistent with our last inspection of this area in 2017. The force has a long-standing commitment to neighbourhood policing, and it works closely with local communities. It regularly seeks feedback about its services from all sections of the community. And it consults the public about local and force-level priorities.
The force has a large, well-established and effective volunteer programme. Participants feel valued by the force. Many are prepared to offer more support, but the force doesn’t have a way of capturing all its volunteers’ relevant skills.
Since early 2019, Derbyshire Constabulary has considerably improved the way it scrutinises use of force. It now has a consistent depth of scrutiny for all instances when force is used. This includes assessments by members of the IAG, who review a sample of incidents monthly.
Nearly one third of the force’s frontline officers and staff haven’t received safety training in the past year. This is a situation that the force must remedy soon. It must also take action to improve the understanding of unconscious bias across the workforce. There was considerable disparity among the staff we spoke to.
Officers’ line managers scrutinise use of stop and search. Senior leaders also carry out dip-samples, as does a sub-group of the IAG. The force generates extensive data every month so that chief officers can monitor trends or signs of inappropriate use. Officers praised recent training events for their innovation and realism. These events also raised their awareness of unconscious bias. The force is now compliant with the Best Use of Stop and Search Scheme (BUSS).
Areas for improvement
- The force should ensure that all relevant officers and staff have in-date officer safety training.
How well does the force ensure that its workforce behaves ethically and lawfully?
Derbyshire Constabulary is good at making sure that its workforce operates in an ethical and lawful way. This is consistent with our last inspection of this area in 2017. Chief officers are developing a values-driven culture within the force. They encourage the workforce to make all decisions on an individual ethical basis. To support this, they emphasise organisational learning and a shift away from allocating blame when mistakes happen.
The force publishes outcomes from misconduct cases on its intranet in a way that stimulates discussion. The workforce can add comments on the webpage. Case summaries explain the shortfall in standards, and the basis for the sanction applied.
Senior officers and some representatives attend a meeting that discusses ethical dilemmas encountered by the workforce. The force could better publicise the results of these discussions.
The force has sustained its high standards with regards to vetting and dealing with risks relating to corruption. Backlogs for vetting are rare. Effective processes help to mitigate potential unfairness in outcomes between people from different ethnic backgrounds. The workforce understands its responsibilities in relation to business interests and notifiable associations. There is also clarity about professional boundaries, especially in terms of abuse of authority for sexual purposes.
The force manages well intelligence about potential corruption. Specialist investigators can monitor all ICT systems and devices. The force has a well-structured approach to preventing and investigating corruption.
Detailed findings for question 2
To what extent does the force treat its workforce with fairness and respect?
This question was not subject to detailed inspection in 2018/19, and our judgment from the 2017 legitimacy inspection has been carried over.