North Yorkshire PEEL 2018

This question was not subject to detailed inspection in 2018/19, and our judgment from the 2016 effectiveness inspection has been carried over.

This question was not subject to detailed inspection in 2018/19, and our judgment from the 2017 effectiveness inspection has been carried over.

Officers and staff working for North Yorkshire Police have the information, training and leadership they need to understand how to treat vulnerable victims of crime well. Caring for the vulnerable is a priority at all levels of the force. We were pleased to find that many officers and staff were able to speak to us clearly about vulnerability. They had been trained recently to support broader understanding, including how to identify hidden harm.

The force’s call handling system helps staff to quickly identify vulnerable victims when they contact the control room. Staff were able to tell us how they assess risk, but we found that they don’t always record the reasons for the decisions they make using the THRIVE risk assessment tool. The force should make sure that the rationale behind these decisions is recorded so that all vulnerable victims are protected from harm.

Following the area for improvement identified in our 2017 inspection, the force now collects accurate data to protect victims, enabling comparison with other forces and supporting a consistent service. North Yorkshire Police co-operates well with partner organisations. This helps to keep people safe. The force is aware that it has work to do to make sure that the way multi-agency risk assessment conference(MARAC) referral processes are used means that all high-risk victims of domestic abuse are protected.

There is also mostly good partnership working in mental health services. And the force is working with its partner agencies to strengthen the services available across the county.

This question was not subject to detailed inspection in 2018/19, and our judgment from the 2017 effectiveness inspection has been carried over.

We have previously inspected how well forces provide armed policing. This formed part of our 2016 and 2017 effectiveness inspections. Subsequent terrorist attacks in the UK and Europe have meant that the police service maintains a focus on armed capability in England and Wales.

It is not just terrorist attacks that place operational demands on armed officers. The threat can include the activity of organised crime groups or armed street gangs and all other crime involving guns. The Code of Practice on the Police Use of Firearms and Less Lethal Weapons (PDF document) makes forces responsible for implementing national standards of armed policing. The code stipulates that a chief officer be designated to oversee these standards. This requires the chief officer to set out the firearms threat in an armed policing strategic threat and risk assessment (APSTRA). The chief officer must also set out clear rationales for the number of armed officers (armed capacity) and the level to which they are trained (armed capability).