Hampshire Police praised for the protection it offers to vulnerable people but told it needs to answer calls more quickly
Hampshire Police has been praised for the protection it offers to vulnerable people, but has been told that it needs to improve how quickly it responds emergency and non-emergency calls.
The verdict came from the police inspectorate, His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS), which graded Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary’s performance across eight areas of policing. It found the constabulary was ‘good’ in two areas and ‘adequate’ in six areas, bucking a national trend with a number of other forces told they required improvement in some areas.
HMICFRS said that the constabulary is good at protecting vulnerable people and works well with partners within the multi-agency safeguarding hub to keep those at risk safe. Inspectors highlighted the constabulary’s innovative safeguarding training, which is provided to both staff and partners and has been assessed as best practice by the College of Policing.
Since the constabulary’s last inspection, it has also taken steps to improve how it communicates with communities to identify problems and gather intelligence. As well as this, it is working effectively in partnership with a wide range of other organisations on problem-solving, crime prevention and early intervention.
Inspectors found that the constabulary had improved the quality of its investigations. This has resulted in thorough investigations where investigators look for opportunities to bring offenders to justice, even when victims are unwilling to proceed. However, the number of crimes solved following investigations remains low and there is still more to do to achieve positive outcomes for victims.
The inspectorate also found that the constabulary doesn’t always answer calls or attend calls for service as quickly as it should, which can cause victims to lose confidence and disengage with the process. However, inspectors noted that the constabulary had made significant sustainable improvements to its call answering since its previous inspection.
His Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary Roy Wilsher said: “I am pleased with some aspects of Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary’s performance in keeping people safe, reducing crime and providing victims with an effective service, although there are areas where it can improve.
“The constabulary works effectively with other organisations to keep vulnerable people safe and tackle the behaviour of perpetrators. It uses innovative digital processes that help identify risk to vulnerable people who are victims at the earliest opportunity.
“While the constabulary’s move to a new area model has resulted in better focus and control of staff and assets at a local level, key areas such as response, neighbourhood and investigative policing have been severely stretched at times. Although, I was pleased to find that the constabulary was effective at building, supporting and protecting its workforce.
“I hope that the operational changes the constabulary is making will help it better meet the needs of the public and its workforce and I will be monitoring its progress closely.”
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Hampshire Police has welcomed the findings, with Acting Chief Constable Sam de Reya saying it was ‘a testament to the work of the officers, staff and volunteers who come to work every day to deliver for the public and to keep communities safe’.
“We have worked incredibly hard as a collective effort to improve since our last inspection and the findings of this report rightly recognise the positive changes we have made.
“Throughout the inspection period, we constantly collected feedback and immediately started on the work required to continually improve, recognising that we still have more to do.
“The report reflected that we have made significant changes, are better connected with our local communities, improved the way we investigate to bring more offenders to justice, provided better outcomes for victims and reduced crime.
“I am particularly pleased to see the efforts we take to protect vulnerable people and deal with those who cause them harm, with many areas identified as promising or innovative practice.”
The Constabulary has said that it has already made ‘significant investments’ to improve the speed at which calls are answered through opening a second contact management centre, recruiting more call handlers and a better understanding of abandoned calls.
It said in the past two years, the average speed to answer has improved considerably, from over eight minutes to around two and a half minutes, meaning we are now answering non-emergency calls more than three times quicker than we had been. There has also been a significant reduction in abandoned 101 calls, ensuring that more members of the public receive a timely response.
It also pointed to recognition for its strong engagement with communities, as well as praise for praise for its focus on prolific shoplifters, with shoplifting also often linked to other crimes. See the video embedded in this story for more information about one of these initiatives.
It also highlighted that despite the demand, the workforce is well supported and protected, with a strong wellbeing offer to reduce the pressures on our teams and ensure they have the capacity and space to deliver policing within our communities.
Acting Chief Constable Sam de Reya added: “While there were no areas identified as requiring improvement, we are not complacent. The public expects a police service that responds when they need us, investigates crime to a high standard, keeps them updated on what is happening and brings offenders to justice.”
The report acknowledged the levels of funding are below the average rate across England and Wales, and the force has one of the lowest number of officers compared to its population. Despite this, there is effective management of funds to provide efficient services to the public.