Devon and Cornwall Police moved into enhanced monitoring

Devon and Cornwall Police has today been moved into an enhanced level of monitoring by the police inspectorate.

His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) continuously monitors the performance of all police forces in England and Wales.

The monitoring process consists of two stages: Scan and Engage. All police forces are in the Scan phase by default, but may be escalated to Engage.

His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary has decided to move Devon and Cornwall Police into the Engage phase because:

  • the force’s crime recording has deteriorated since our last inspection. It doesn’t always record crimes against vulnerable victims, particularly violent or behavioural crimes, and anti-social behaviour;
  • the force does not answer, or respond to, emergency or non-emergency calls within adequate timeframes, and too many calls are abandoned. Identification of repeat and vulnerable callers is missed, and callers are not always given the appropriate advice on preservation of evidence or crime prevention; and
  • the force is unable to adequately manage registered sexual and violent offenders which means an increasing risk of further offending may not be identified.

HMICFRS said more detail about Devon and Cornwall’s performance would be included in its next inspection report, which is due to be published early next year.

His Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary Wendy Williams said:

“We move police forces into our enhanced level of monitoring, known as Engage, when a force is not responding to our concerns, or if it is not managing, mitigating or eradicating these concerns. The Engage process provides additional scrutiny and support.

“Devon and Cornwall Police has been asked to urgently produce an improvement plan and will meet regularly with our inspectors. We will work closely with the force to monitor its progress against these important and necessary changes.”

Notes

  1. For further information, please email HMICPressOffice@hmicfrs.gov.uk or call us on 07836 217 729.
  2. More information about the HMICFRS monitoring process can be found on our website.