I am very pleased with the overall performance of North Yorkshire Police.
North Yorkshire Police works well with partner organisations to tackle local problems and keep people safe. The force has a clear commitment to preventing crime and anti-social behaviour, with a strong focus on neighbourhood policing.
I am reassured that the quality of crime investigation is generally good, and the force works well with other organisations to manage offenders, particularly dangerous and repeat offenders.
However, it needs to improve its understanding of the threat and risk posed by serious and organised crime, and improve its approach to tackling it. I would like to see the force adopting a longer-term approach to dismantling organised crime groups that encompasses preventative measures as well as reactive investigation.
North Yorkshire Police is good at identifying at the earliest opportunity people who may be vulnerable. The force uses its assessments of the risks people face to determine the most appropriate response, and it puts significant effort into dealing with vulnerable victims appropriately. I am pleased with the force’s improvement in the level of support it provides to victims of domestic abuse, and with its approach to preventing further incidents while dealing firmly with perpetrators.
The force has a very good understanding of both the present demand for its services and of potential future demand, which informs the force’s allocation of resources. The force’s financial and people plans are similarly aligned with its understanding of current and future demand.
I am reassured that North Yorkshire Police is good at treating the people it serves and its workforce with fairness and respect. Senior leaders actively promote ethical and lawful behaviour through the force’s values, and the workforce is positive about the force’s culture.
North Yorkshire Police seeks feedback from the public using a variety of methods, such as surveys and social media. It also actively monitors and analyses data on complaints, compliments, misconduct, grievances and diversity. The force is good at acting on this information and at responding to the issues of greatest concern to the public: for example, it has established a rural taskforce to deal with problems in more remote parts of the county.
I am impressed by North Yorkshire Police’s strong commitment to valuing and developing its workforce. Police staff and officers have a clear understanding of what is expected of them and feel comfortable challenging more senior staff.
In summary, the force provides a good level of service to the people of North Yorkshire. I am pleased that it has maintained its performance since my previous assessment.
Context
North Yorkshire Police provides policing services to the county of North Yorkshire. North Yorkshire is generally affluent, although there are some areas of deprivation. The force area is home to around 0.8 million people, who live in a predominantly rural setting. Its distinct urban areas include the coastal towns of Scarborough and Whitby as well as the city of York.
The resident population is increased by university students and the very large numbers who visit or travel through the county each year. The transport infrastructure includes 151 miles of motorway and trunk roads and major rail stations.
The proportion of areas in North Yorkshire that are predicted (on the basis of detailed economic and demographic analysis) to present a very high challenge to the police is lower than the national average. The most challenging areas are generally characterised by a high concentration of people living, working, socialising, or travelling in the area.
Features that both cause and/or indicate a concentration of people include the number of commercial premises, including licensed premises and fast-food premises, public transport, and social deprivation. In some areas, these features are combined. The police force area is very large, relative to other forces in England and Wales, and it takes a comparatively long time to travel across the area by road, which increases the difficulty of providing police services.
The force policed the Tour de Yorkshire cycle race in April 2016, which was a significant additional resource requirement.
Working arrangements
North Yorkshire Police collaborates with other police forces in the Yorkshire and Humber region to provide a range of specialist policing services. It also has shared arrangements with other forces in areas including major crime investigation and dog support.
The force is part of a longstanding collaborative arrangement with Durham Constabulary and Cleveland Police, operating as ‘Evolve’.
Looking ahead to 2017
In the year ahead, I will be interested to see how North Yorkshire Police responds to this assessment and to the areas for improvement that HMIC identified last year.
I will be particularly interested to see further development of the force’s understanding of the threat and risk posed by serious and organised crime, and its approach to dismantling organised crime groups.
