West Yorkshire Police records crime well but must improve the way it supports the workplace and investigates crime
West Yorkshire Police is outstanding in the way it records crime data, but it needs to improve how it investigates crime and supports the workplace, the police inspectorate has said.
Get the report
PEEL 2023–2025: An inspection of West Yorkshire Police
His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) graded West Yorkshire’s performance across nine areas of policing. The inspectorate found the force was outstanding in one area, good in one area, adequate in five areas and requires improvement in two areas.
HMICFRS said the force was outstanding in the way it records crime, with its chief officers constantly monitoring and scrutinising standards of crime recording. Inspectors said the force was also effective in preventing crime and antisocial behaviour. And they said that the force is continuing to invest in how it tackles neighbourhood policing.
But the inspectorate said the force needed to improve the way it investigates crime, with only low numbers of crime being solved following investigation. West Yorkshire Police should also make sure it has the right resources and processes in place to effectively manage demand across the force.
His Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary Michelle Skeer said:
“I am pleased with some aspects of the performance of West Yorkshire Police in keeping people safe, reducing crime and providing victims with an effective service. But there are areas in which it needs to improve.
“The force needs to make sure it has effective systems that are used consistently to monitor workloads and provide support to officers. I recognise the efforts of individual officers and staff in West Yorkshire Police, who are working hard to manage these high workloads and to help victims.
“I hope that changes to the way the force operates will result in improvements that help West Yorkshire Police to provide a better service to the public. I will be monitoring its progress closely.”
Get the report
PEEL 2023–2025: An inspection of West Yorkshire Police
Notes
- For further information, please contact the HMICFRS Press Office on 0300 071 6781 or HMICPressOffice@hmicfrs.gov.uk.
- In 2014, we introduced our police effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy (PEEL) inspections, which assess the performance of all 43 police forces in England and Wales. Since then, we have been continuously adapting our approach.
- We have continued our intelligence-led, continual assessment approach, rather than the annual PEEL inspections we used in previous years.
- We have also changed our approach to graded judgments. We now assess forces against the characteristics of good performance, and we more clearly link our judgments to causes of concern and areas for improvement.
- It isn’t possible to make direct comparisons between the grades awarded in this PEEL inspection and those from the previous cycle of PEEL inspections. This is because we have increased our focus on making sure forces are achieving appropriate outcomes for the public, and in some cases we have changed the aspects of policing we inspect.
- Read more information about the new PEEL assessment framework 2023-2025.