West Mercia 2018/19

I have concerns about some aspects of the performance of West Mercia Police in keeping people safe and reducing crime and, in particular, serious concerns about the force’s efficiency. In view of these findings, I have been in regular contact with the chief constable, because I do not underestimate the challenges ahead.

The force is good at preventing crime and tackling anti-social behaviour. But it needs to improve the way it investigates crime and how swiftly it brings offenders to justice. I am concerned that crimes are not always allocated to appropriately trained staff and that they are not investigated thoroughly enough or supervised effectively. The force also needs to improve how it protects vulnerable people. In particular, it needs to make sure that it responds to all reports of people at risk in a timely manner and works more closely with partners to ensure that such people are adequately safeguarded.

The force has demonstrated significant improvements in the way it deals with serious and organised crime (SOC). It is a force priority, and the force understands the threat it poses and has effective systems in place for managing it. The efforts made by the force in this respect are to be commended.

The force currently provides many of its services through an alliance with Warwickshire Police, an arrangement that it will end in October 2019. I am sure this will have been a difficult decision for the force to make, given that there were potentially significant implications for both forces. For this reason, I am concerned that the force’s decision to terminate the alliance does not appear to have been based on a well-evidenced business case, nor were the public or partners consulted beforehand. There is no certainty as to how it will provide these services in the future, and the costs and benefits of terminating the alliance are not yet fully known. The force understands its current demand, but it also needs to understand the capability and capacity of its workforce, and anticipate future pressures. It is vital that a clear plan for a new operating model is developed quickly to ensure that all policing services to its communities are maintained.

The force continues to uphold an ethical culture and promote standards of professional behaviour well. However, it needs to increase its engagement with the workforce and improve the confidence of the workforce that all staff are treated fairly. In addition, the force needs to do more to ensure the wellbeing of its officers and staff.

My overall assessment is that, notwithstanding the notable improvements in SOC, the force’s performance has declined since last year.