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HMICFRS PEEL: Police effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy 2018/19 – Hampshire Constabulary

Response from: Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, Hampshire

It is both positive and reassuring to see that HMICFRS recognise the efforts of our force.

In receiving ‘good’ across the board for effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy shows the continued dedication and drive, despite being recognised as one of the lowest funded forces in England and Wales, there is continued and sustained delivery across the Hampshire Constabulary policing area.

The continued focus of protecting and supporting vulnerable people is commendable.

Currently the force continues to balance the policing budget, though it is recognised that the impending officer uplift could impact this. The OPCC will work alongside the force to monitor the advancing pressures of the uplift to mitigate challenges should they arise. The use of the force management statements will continue to provide an evidence base on the changing nature of future policing demands across Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and Southampton.

The transparent nature adopted by the force in respect of both its workforce and the public is commendable, while there are areas for improvement, the force commits resources to ensuring an ethical culture is maintained with open avenues to identify where action needs to be taken.

 

Effectiveness: areas for improvement

  • The force should take steps to reduce the proportion of 101 calls that are abandoned. It should make sure that it has effective processes in place to understand the types of calls that are often abandoned.

OPCC comment: There is much work being undertaken to continue to improve the 101 system here in Hampshire, along with developing the online reporting mechanism.  With the introduction of the Contact Management Platform it is hoped that those abandoned 101 calls will reduce significantly. Here at the OPCC we will closely monitor the 101 abandoned call rate and work with the force to ensure all residents who need help and support get through to 101.

 

  • The force has an effective approach to identifying those sharing indecent images online, but it needs to make sure that it proactively reduces the threat of indecent image sharing online through the best use of intelligence.

OPCC comment: Building upon the current intelligence capacity to reduce the threat of indecent images being shared online needs to be a priority for the force, but also in working with our partners to encourage intelligence reports to be completed and submitted by those front line practitioners.

 

Efficiency: areas for improvement

None stated

 

Legitimacy: areas for improvement

  • The force should take steps to make sure that the work of the ethics committee is more widely known, and that officers and staff are aware of how to raise ethical issues within the force.

OPCC comment: It is essential the force implements the necessary communications to ensure the entire workforce are clear and confident in how to raise ethical issues within the force, this will be monitored by the OPCC.

 

  • The force should ensure that it builds more effective relationships with the individuals and organisations that support and work with vulnerable people.

OPCC comment: Ongoing partnership development and building closer working relationships can always be further enhanced. With support from the OPCC, the extension and depth of relationships with organisations that support and work with the vulnerable can be developed and enhanced.

 

  • The force should improve its workforce’s knowledge and understanding of the abuse of position for a sexual purpose.

OPCC comment: Further education and awareness of what the abuse of position for a sexual purpose looks like, and the signs to look for should continue, so any incidents can be identified by colleagues. This will be monitored as a part of the ongoing scrutiny role the OPCC has.

 

Deputy Chief Constable, Sara Glen comments:

“Policing in Hampshire does not receive the same level of funding as elsewhere in the country. Against this context, achieving “Good” in every possible category for the second time running is impressive. It is a testament to the commitment of our officers and staff who day in day out selflessly serve the public at a challenging time when serious violence is growing across the country.”

“The support of local tax payers has helped us serve the public to the best of our ability in recent years. This, together with the welcome national increase in police officers, gives us an opportunity to invest in technology and officer wellbeing so that we can further improve the way we tackle crime and protect our communities. It will take time to deliver the full benefits of extra police officers, but they are coming and that is good news for our teams and for the communities we serve.”