Devon and Cornwall PEEL Assessment 2023–2025

Overall summary

Our judgments

Our inspection assessed how good Devon and Cornwall Police is in ten areas of policing. We make graded judgments in nine of these ten as follows:

We also inspected how effective a service Devon and Cornwall Police gives to victims of crime. We don’t make a graded judgment for this area.

We set out our detailed findings about things the force is doing well and where the force should improve in the rest of this report.

We also assess the force’s performance in a range of other areas and we report on these separately. We make graded judgments for some of these areas.

PEEL 2023–2025

In 2014, we introduced our police efficiency, effectiveness 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 moved to a more intelligence-led, continual assessment approach, rather than the annual PEEL inspections we used in previous years. Forces are assessed against the characteristics of good performance, set out in the PEEL Assessment Framework 2023–2025, 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.

Terminology in this report

Our reports contain references to, among other things, ‘national’ definitions, priorities, policies, systems, responsibilities and processes.

In some instances, ‘national’ means applying to England or Wales, or England and Wales. In others, it means applying to England, Wales and Scotland, or the whole of the United Kingdom.

HM Inspector’s summary

I have concerns about the performance of Devon and Cornwall Police in keeping people safe, reducing crime and providing victims with an effective service.

In particular, I have serious concerns about how it manages its investigations. In view of these findings, I have been in regular contact with the chief constable as I don’t underestimate how much improvement is needed.

Since our previous inspection, the force has made significant efforts to improve in the areas we highlighted as causes of concern or areas for improvement, which is recognised. However, despite those improvements, more is required to place the force in a position where it is consistently providing a good standard of service to its local communities.

The force still isn’t attending incidents resulting from calls for service as quickly as it should. This was something we found in our previous inspection in 2021/22 and, although there have been some recent improvements, it is still the case that the force isn’t meeting the targets it has set to attend incidents.

Devon and Cornwall Police has made several improvements in the force control room to address these and other areas, including increasing staffing levels, improving training and slowly improving its systems. These have achieved some positive results. For example, the time taken to answer 999 calls is much improved and the number of non-emergency calls abandoned is reducing.

I am concerned that the standards of its investigations have deteriorated and this is now a cause of concern. Although aspects of crime investigation governance have improved, the force has understaffed and inexperienced teams investigating serious offences. There are delays in crime allocation and supervision, with many investigations lacking a detailed investigation plan or effective supervision. The force needs to improve in this area to achieve better outcomes for victims of crime.

In our inspection we found the force had improved how it manages its offenders and registered sex offenders. It was pleasing to see an increased focus and investment in these areas, but more work is needed. A continued focus is required to make sure the risks posed by such individuals are properly understood and managed.

The force continues to support its neighbourhood policing teams to carry out prevention and deterrence work. But neighbourhood officers are frequently being diverted to manage other demand, and this is affecting the service the force provides in this important area of policing.

I am pleased to see that the force continues to treat the public well. Its officers receive communication skills training and use body-worn video cameras when appropriate. The force needs to do more to make sure all officers are trained in how to carry out stop and search. But it is good that training on communication skills and how to use force appropriately is being improved. Internal and external monitoring of the use of these powers is making sure the public in Devon and Cornwall are treated fairly.

The force has made considerable improvements in how it treats the people who contact it, from the quality of the initial call to the services the force offers. But the force still needs to improve the time it takes to attend incidents.

The force provides good welfare and well-being support for its workforce. But it must make sure that the support it offers its officers and staff is accessible and that it understands the reasons why they are accessing the support. The force experiences high levels of demand and officers and staff are working additional hours to maintain services. This needs to be understood in more detail to support a more sustainable solution.

Finally in leadership and force management, Devon and Cornwall Police hasn’t made the improvements we identified in our previous inspection and still has work to do. The force has substantial issues with recording and reporting data and isn’t able to access all the information it needs. The force must make sure that its data reporting processes are accurate and timely. A restructured leadership team is now in place to help it improve in areas that still need attention. These include the visibility of leadership and understanding demand. The force is making changes to improve its operating model to support the workforce more effectively. This will provide better insight and help it to achieve a balance with the operational requirements, the geographical challenges it experiences and the working practices of its officers and staff. Its financial plans are sound.

All these observations are made while also acknowledging external factors beyond the force’s control, such as its funding levels (which are within the typical range for forces in England and Wales) and levels of deprivation.

I also accept that operating as a temporary senior leadership team since June 2023 hasn’t been easy. Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly is one of the largest policing regions in England and Wales. The infrastructure of both Devon and Cornwall presents challenges in how the force can use resources to improve services in the areas we have identified. The number of officers it now has is the highest it has had for some time and although some of these officers will be less experienced, this presents a good opportunity for the force to make progress.

I look forward to seeing how the force continues to work to improve its performance, which I will be closely monitoring.

Andy Cooke

HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary

Providing a service to the victims of crime

Victim service assessment

This section describes our assessment of the service Devon and Cornwall Police provides to victims. This is from the point of reporting a crime and throughout the investigation. As part of this assessment, we reviewed 100 case files.

When the police close a case of a reported crime, they assign it an ‘outcome type’. This describes the reason for closing it.

We selected 100 cases to review, including at least 20 that the force hadn’t finalised at the time of the audit.

Although our victim service assessment is ungraded, it influences graded judgments in the other areas we have inspected.

The force needs to improve the time it takes to answer emergency and non‑emergency calls

The force needs to improve the time it takes to answer emergency calls and reduce the number of non-emergency calls that are abandoned because the call isn’t answered. Call handlers use a structured process that assesses the threat, harm, risk and vulnerability. The force usually identifies repeat victims, meaning that it is almost always fully aware of the victim’s circumstances when considering what response should be given. We found call handlers are polite and give advice on how to preserve evidence but don’t always give advice on crime prevention.

In many cases, the force doesn’t respond promptly to calls for service

On many occasions, the force doesn’t respond to calls for service within set timescales. Victims aren’t always informed of delays, meaning that victims’ expectations aren’t always met. This may cause victims to lose confidence and disengage from the process.

The force doesn’t always carry out effective or timely investigations

In some cases, the force doesn’t carry out investigations in a timely way or complete all relevant and proportionate lines of inquiry. The force doesn’t always supervise investigations well. A thorough investigation increases the likelihood of perpetrators being identified and arrested, providing a positive result for the victim.

The force also doesn’t always update victims regularly. Victims are more likely to have confidence in a police investigation when they receive regular updates.

When victims withdraw support for an investigation, the force doesn’t always consider progressing the case without the victim’s support. This can be an important method of safeguarding the victim and preventing further offences being committed. In some cases, the force doesn’t record whether it considers using orders designed to protect victims, such as Domestic Violence Protection Notices (DVPNs) and Domestic Violence Protection Orders (DVPOs).

The Code of Practice for Victims of Crime requires forces to carry out a needs assessment at an early stage to determine whether victims need additional support. The force doesn’t always carry out this assessment and record the request for additional support.

The force isn’t consistently achieving appropriate outcomes for victims of crime

The force doesn’t consistently close crimes with the appropriate outcome type and there are long delays in assigning an outcome. It doesn’t record a clear rationale for using a certain outcome and this isn’t effectively supervised. The force doesn’t always seek victims’ views when deciding which outcome type to assign to a closed investigation. It isn’t always able to provide an auditable record of the victim’s wishes. The force also doesn’t always inform victims of crime what outcome code has been assigned to the investigation.

Recording data about crime

Devon and Cornwall Police requires improvement at recording crime.

The Home Office Counting Rules, which provide the standard for crime recording in England and Wales, have changed since the last time we inspected the force for crime data integrity.

This change mainly relates to the way forces record violent crime. This means we can no longer compare the findings from this audit to those from previous audits.

We estimate that Devon and Cornwall Police is recording 90.6 percent (with a confidence interval of +/- 2.8 percent) of all reported crime (excluding fraud).

We estimate that the force is recording 95.0 percent (with a confidence interval of +/- 4.1 percent) of sexual offences.

We estimate that the force is recording 89.8 percent (with a confidence interval of +/- 4.6 percent) of violent offences.

Main findings

In this section we set out our main findings that relate to crime data integrity.

The force has improved the time it takes to record reports of crime

For crimes the force had recorded correctly, we found it had improved the time it took to record them. We found that almost 9 out of 10 crimes were recorded within 24 hours of the force receiving the initial report. In 2022, we found that 8 out of 10 crimes were recorded within 24 hours. Recording crimes without delay means that victims can access support services quickly and there is no delay in starting investigations into the crime.

Police powers and treating the public fairly and respectfully

Devon and Cornwall Police is adequate at using police powers and treating people fairly and respectfully.

Main findings

In this section we set out our main findings that relate to police powers and treating people fairly and respectfully.

The force makes sure all officers understand how to use stop and search powers fairly and respectfully

Devon and Cornwall Police scrutinises use of force and stop and search powers well. Officers know they must use body-worn video for all stop and search encounters and when they use force. The video recordings are used as part of ongoing monitoring, in both internal scrutiny and external scrutiny panels.

During our inspection, we reviewed a sample of 239 stop and search records from 1 January 2022 to 15 November 2022. The force was unable to supply data for a full year. Based on this sample, we estimate that 81.6 percent (with a confidence interval of +/- 4.8 percent) of all stop and searches carried out by the force during this period had reasonable grounds. This is broadly unchanged compared to the findings in our 2021/22 PEEL inspection, in which we found that 77.4 percent (with a confidence interval of +/- 5.8 percent) of stop and searches in Devon and Cornwall had reasonable grounds. Of the records we reviewed for stop and searches on people from ethnic minorities, 9 out of 11 had reasonable grounds recorded.

But the body-worn video system is unable to identify if a supervisor has reviewed specific video footage. The force systems for monitoring both use of force and stop and search are being updated. Once this is complete, the force will have access to better data to improve the effectiveness of feedback from internal and external scrutiny panels.

The force supports the continuous development of independent stop and search and use of force external scrutiny panels

The force has well-established independent scrutiny and community panels, which review stop and search and use of force. All Devon and Cornwall Police officers are issued or have access to a body-worn video device, which they are expected to use when exercising police powers. Officers’ high levels of compliance with this expectation means body-worn video recordings can be reviewed at a later stage.

The force has an internal scrutiny process. This includes supervisors reviewing stop and search encounters and internal panels dip sampling stop and search and use of force incidents each month. The internal panels supply information to external panels, which are independently chaired and have members that are representative of the community. All panel members have received training in stop and search and have been offered the opportunity to go on patrol with officers. Both internal and external panels review body-worn video recordings and give feedback to officers. The effectiveness of this scrutiny could be improved by providing additional documents, such as the officer’s notes made at the time and the context relating to the stop and search.

We found both internal and external panels reviewed the circumstances of each case thoroughly and offered effective challenge. They provided the force with meaningful insight to make improvements. The force uses this information to identify themes in the use of force and this contributes to the training officers receive.

The force learns from stop and search and use of force incidents

Sergeants aren’t expected to review every use of force incident. During our inspection, the force told us it had carried out 184 body-worn video reviews in the last year to identify any issues in the ways officers use force. Force-level governance meetings, chaired by the deputy chief constable, discuss themes and feedback, including from external scrutiny panels. Once a review has been carried out, feedback is given to the individual officer.

We found some evidence of the force sharing lessons learned from its external and internal scrutiny and from analysis of wider organisational learning. This includes the force adjusting training given to officers during personal safety annual accreditation. The force plans to adopt the College of Policing recommendations to include communications training for officers during its annual personal protective equipment training, extending the training from two days to three days.

Preventing and deterring crime and antisocial behaviour, and reducing vulnerability

Devon and Cornwall Police is good at prevention and deterrence.

Main findings

In this section we set out our main findings that relate to prevention and deterrence.

The force prioritises preventing and deterring crime, antisocial behaviour and harm and reducing vulnerability

Devon and Cornwall Police prioritises neighbourhood policing, which is led at executive level by an assistant chief constable responsible for the force’s neighbourhood policing strategy. The proportion of staff allocated to neighbourhood policing shows the priority the force gives to neighbourhood policing and makes sure its approach is sustainable. The force is investing in dedicated trainers and has specialist problem-solvers to give frontline staff access to advice on how best to resolve problems affecting their areas. The specialist problem-solvers evaluate problem-solving plans and identify good practice and areas for improvement. Their findings are used in monthly briefings to share good practice.

The force sends out monthly newsletters to each area, which had been recently introduced at the time of our inspection. These newsletters highlight priorities, good work and involvement with the local community. They are valued by the teams and help to provide direction, support and visibility.

The force understands and demonstrates a long-term commitment to problem‑solving and evidence-based policing

Devon and Cornwall Police uses SharePoint to make its problem-solving plans available across the force so that successful strategies and good practice can be used consistently. It is developing a bespoke portal for officers to find out what works well in problem-solving. The force has given problem-solving training to officers and staff across differing areas of policing to promote a problem-solving culture that is wider than just in neighbourhood policing teams.

The force has a good understanding of antisocial behaviour and vulnerability and works well with partner organisations to address them. In the year ending 31 March 2023, Devon and Cornwall Police recorded 25,315 incidents of antisocial behaviour. This is a rate of 14 per 1,000 population, which is within the normal range for forces across England and Wales (the average rate for forces across England and Wales is 17.4 antisocial behaviour incidents per 1,000 population). Devon and Cornwall Police has seen a reduction in antisocial behaviour incidents, from 32,878 incidents recorded in the year ending 31 March 2022 to 25,315 incidents in the year ending 31 March 2023.

Between 1 April 2022 and 30 September 2022, the force issued 13 community protection notices, 5 criminal behaviour orders and 2 civil injunctions, and used antisocial behaviour dispersal powers 42 times. (Note: the force couldn’t provide more recent data on its use of antisocial behaviour orders.) When the force uses these powers, it uses them well. For example, in Liskeard, the neighbourhood policing team used a problem-solving plan to address antisocial behaviour affecting one person. A full partnership plan was put in place with clear objectives and targeted activity to address the problem, leading to a joint acceptable behaviour contract being issued. In Plymouth, a problem-solving plan was used to address antisocial behaviour in a new housing complex, which led to an acceptable behaviour contract and a community protection notice.

The force works well with partner organisations, including local councils and health and fire services. In Cornwall, it has tri-service officers working across police, fire and health. It has invested in additional officers with partners to support this effective approach. These officers support prompt and effective sharing of information across the emergency services to prevent crime and antisocial behaviour, and to reduce vulnerability.

For example, in Project Vigilant, force specialists worked with external partners to use their expertise in improving the use of CCTV to better safeguard vulnerable people. The force secured funding for CCTV, operators and enhanced training to improve understanding of the opportunities to intervene in developing incidents. Project Vigilant was used effectively at Boardmasters, a five-day music event that attracts people of all ages from across the UK. The force told us that, working with partners at Boardmasters, it was able to intervene on ten occasions. It also said there were fewer reports of rape and sexual assault than at previous Boardmasters events.

The force actively seeks views and support from its communities

Devon and Cornwall Police works well with local communities, including new communities and those who are isolated. The force supports drop-ins and coffee mornings and uses locations such as libraries and health centres to increase its contact with the public. It also uses social media to share information and have two‑way discussions with the public. The force uses Devon and Cornwall Alert, a service that sends out policing information to members of the community who sign up to it. The force also sends out letters and officers visit people to gather information on what matters to the communities it is policing.

The force evaluates its interactions with communities to identify what problems are most important to them and then puts plans in place to address these problems. For example, Operation Loki is an annual neighbourhood operation to reduce antisocial behaviour. The force also has a speed watch initiative and an operation called Farm Watch. It also uses the LionHeart Challenge, a national charity, to run events with local children aged nine to ten years old. These events encourage children to work together to find solutions to challenges and then present their findings. They aim to help increase children’s confidence and improve their trust in local policing. The neighbourhood team in Dartmouth has used this scheme to improve local children’s confidence and trust in the police.

The force is keen to share good practice and produces monthly internal newsletters highlighting successful results. For example, the newsletters have covered its interactive learning sessions for 9- to 11-year-olds on how they can keep safe, which nearly 1,000 children attended, and the continued increase in the number of public enquiry offices to improve public contact and reporting.

Devon and Cornwall Police supports local people to volunteer in local policing activities. It has a small team of staff who look for roles that can be carried out by volunteers and then finds people to fill them. At the time of our inspection, the force told us it had 254 volunteers across 23 different roles, including a cadet scheme. The force has made sure volunteers are supported. The most recent survey of volunteers has shown that they feel valued.

The force is increasing the opportunities for special constables, which will include increased specialist training such as driving, wildlife crime and negotiation skills. Special constables receive the same degree-level training as paid officers. The force makes sure courses are tailored to meet the needs of attendees. For example, it runs courses at weekends for officers unable to attend courses on weekdays.

Responding to the public

Devon and Cornwall Police is inadequate at responding to the public.

Main findings

In this section we set out our main findings that relate to how well the force responds to the public.

The force has effective oversight of its response to public contact

Devon and Cornwall Police has a management structure that provides governance and oversight of the force control room, but it hasn’t yet improved standards across all services.

Since our last PEEL inspection, the force has changed the management structure in the force control room. The control room is led by an assistant chief constable and is now supported by a management team that includes an experienced business lead. This management team reports regularly to the senior leaders on efforts to improve performance. Senior leaders take an active interest in the control room in terms of understanding performance and the support needed to promote improvement.

The force sought support from several forces, which has helped to inform a comprehensive plan to improve its work with the public. This plan includes staffing, training, performance measurement and IT systems. The force uses resource and incident management officers to actively manage demand and available resources.

The force should improve how it manages crime scenes and early evidence opportunities

We found that supervisors, including response sergeants, were unable to support their officers as effectively as they would like. High levels of demand can mean that supervisors aren’t always able to attend scenes to provide advice or support. And we also found ‘golden hour’ tasks (those vital early investigative steps such as seizing items for forensic examination or recovering CCTV footage) often weren’t completed. The reasons for this were varied and included the demand on smaller response teams, a lack of experience in officers in response teams and a lack of effective supervision.

We found response officers were carrying high workloads and supervisors were struggling to keep up with the day-to-day requirements of their role. These included workloads reviews, one-to-one conversations and performance conversations.

The force is introducing new measures to improve monitoring and to support its officers. These include new crime management investigation teams and internal auditing, where inspectors regularly dip sample their teams’ cases. These measures should increase capacity and improve the quality of service.

The force should make sure the new measures bring about the improvements needed so that all incidents are managed effectively and work is properly supervised.

The force is failing to carry out secondary risk assessments effectively

In our victim service assessment we found that the force effectively carries out initial risk assessments in the control room. We found a structured approach and consideration of the needs of the victim/caller in 70 out of 80 calls and an accurate account of the call in 65 out of 70 calls.

While this is positive, we found that if immediate attendance wasn’t required or necessary, incidents were passed to other departments, including investigation teams, response teams and neighbourhood policing teams. These incidents could then await allocation or be placed in a diary system. We found these incidents were often delayed and, due to the demand experienced by officers, supervisors and wider teams, they were often left without being viewed, addressed or actioned. This meant the initial assessment wasn’t reviewed and any new information wasn’t considered. We also found that officers were carrying out secondary risk assessments overnight, which meant that they weren’t always able to contact the victim. This may result in new or developing risks being missed. It is essential that a secondary assessment is carried out as soon as is practicable.

Devon and Cornwall Police has recognised the challenge this represents. At the time of our inspection, it told us it planned to introduce crime management investigation units by April 2024 to provide additional support in this reassessment process.

Despite this, we were pleased to see that call handlers identify vulnerability at the first point of contact and provide appropriate advice politely.

The force provides various ways for members of the public to contact it and is making efforts to increase the options available

Devon and Cornwall Police is increasing the ways members of the public can make contact. It has a well-developed website and makes use of social media to promote the ways people can contact the force in non-emergency cases and as an alternative to the telephone, such as the single online home. The force is also increasing the number of public enquiry offices.

Within the control room, the force has made improvements to IT systems so that calls to the non-emergency number can be diverted to other numbers. Callers can also choose to be called back rather than wait in a queue. These measures are beginning to improve rates of non-emergency call abandonment.

The force is currently exploring the use of artificial intelligence, or ‘bots’, to automate crime identification and allocation. This is creating efficiencies in the control room. But further work is required to address the type of incidents being passed directly to sergeants and teams.

Investigating crime

Devon and Cornwall Police is inadequate at investigating crime.

Main findings

In this section we set out our main findings that relate to how well the force investigates crime.

The force is improving its governance arrangements to make sure it has effective oversight of investigations

We found that senior leaders have begun work to improve investigative standards and crime outcomes. A new management structure, led by the deputy chief constable, oversees this work. The force has also completed initial work to change its operating model to improve investigations, Project Synergy. This is supported by a detailed performance data set that provides insight into the effectiveness of investigations. The new operating model will mean detectives work in hubs. The first hub has been introduced in Exeter. This will be a more sustainable model for investigating crime. It also means more complex investigations can be led by detective sergeants and experienced detectives.

The force is progressing its crime management investigations teams, which will manage high-volume crimes. This will reduce the demand placed on response officers and supervisors so that they can improve the quality of ‘golden hour’ enquiries, support supervisory review and develop more detailed investigation plans. The force told us this will give specialist investigators more capacity to handle serious cases. It also anticipates that this will help less experienced officers to develop their skills in investigating crime.

High caseloads and investigative delays are affecting outcomes for victims

Officers we spoke with describe a pride in working for Devon and Cornwall Police. We observed that officers were committed to their duties and wanted to serve their community. But we also found that workloads were high. Often officers failed to build on initial enquiries, which meant cases weren’t dealt with for several months. We also found statutory time limits were missed in some cases as well as delays in digital forensics analysis and reports of up to ten months.

The force is below capacity in its professionalising investigations programme 2 trained officers. The force has a resilience plan and work is ongoing to encourage staff to consider investigative roles. But the force doesn’t have a detailed understanding of where its resources are located and what the capacity of those resources are to deal with the levels of demand experienced. The force has introduced a workforce plan, which will improve this understanding and help it plan more effectively.

We did find that if investigation plans were created, they were followed. But far too often there was no investigation plan and without a clear plan investigative opportunities were missed. The force is improving scrutiny through regular dip sampling. It has also introduced a new template to support the reviews of investigation plans, which is audited to monitor compliance.

The force is failing to secure justice for victims and isn’t providing a good service to victims of crime

During our inspection, we looked at the standards of initial investigations and communication with victims. We found the force is failing to take all investigative opportunities. The force missed opportunities in 29 out of 94 cases we reviewed. We also found unnecessary delays in 25 out of 100 cases. Our conversations with investigators reflected that high workloads, a lack of investigation plans and a lack of victim updates were common.

The force has recognised the need to improve and we saw it is focusing on making changes to improve performance.

Investigative quality is an area where the force is focusing on improvements. The force carried out an audit of 477 cases to find out if investigation plans were present, if supervision was effective and if victims were being supported. The force gives training to officers and staff that includes file quality and golden hour principles. Supervisors are receiving enhanced training to improve standards across the force. The internal audit is now a regular performance measure reported to the force’s performance board.

Outcomes data isn’t detailed enough to help the force understand if it is achieving positive results for victims

The force has struggled to provide accurate data on its investigation outcomes. This means it can’t be sure outcomes are being applied effectively. It is also unable to identify what is required to improve performance and to support victims of crime.

In March 2022, we reported that Devon and Cornwall Police was failing to assign outcomes to crimes. During this inspection, we found this hadn’t been resolved.

We found the force had significant backlogs in its crime standards unit. At the time of our inspection, the force reported a backlog of 86,480 reported incidents and 37,962 required tasks in its crime management systems. The force has placed additional people in this area to reduce the backlogs, including using agency staff, which helps to address some of the risk. This has reduced backlogs by 40 percent since November 2023. But backlogs in force systems affect the quality of service people receive, for example, leading to delayed outcomes. Staff assigned to managing backlogs could be used elsewhere during periods of high demand. Also, backlogs mean the force doesn’t have a full picture of the data held in its systems, for example what the outcomes are or are likely to be.

The force has responded well to both issues with improved governance. But it needs to make sure processes and systems are sustainable to maintain performance.

Protecting vulnerable people

Devon and Cornwall Police is adequate at protecting vulnerable people.

Main findings

In this section we set out our main findings that relate to how well the force protects vulnerable people.

The force has effective governance arrangements to protect vulnerable people

The force has a chief officer lead for safeguarding. Governance of safeguarding and vulnerability is overseen by the protecting vulnerable persons’ board. It also has a strategic safeguarding improvement hub, with effective governance and structure. The hub provides a high level of detail in relation to panels, forums and meetings, covering modern slavery, domestic abuse investigations and rape and serious sexual offences. There are additional working groups covering stalking and harassment.

The force has a vulnerability plan that is supported by tactical action plans managed by its strategic safeguarding improvement hub. The performance and analysis team is responsible for the vulnerability plan. Action plans are reviewed every three months to monitor how they are being carried out and this has good oversight. The vulnerability plan is effective. The force gave us examples of where review and oversight led to learning being shared. For example, the force reviewed public protection notices concerning neglect and identified that mandatory vulnerability training was needed to cover gaps in knowledge and experience.

The force runs reflective learning and scrutiny panels. These review cases that have been assigned as no further action, examine themes that involve more than one service and assess individual officers’ performance to enhance learning and improve performance and awareness.

The force provides safeguarding support for vulnerable people

Devon and Cornwall Police has a lead officer for each of the 13 areas of vulnerability designated by the College of Policing. Each area of vulnerability is supported by relevant action plans and oversight.

The force supports preventative activity. An example of this is Project Vigilant, in which the force works with partners to prevent sexual offences by identifying predatory behaviour, approaching individuals and recording the interaction using their body-worn video.

The force has dedicated support for the use of protective orders

We found Devon and Cornwall Police makes effective use of DVPNs and DVPOs, as well as other protective orders that enhance safeguarding for victims. For example, in the year ending 31 March 2023, Devon and Cornwall Police made DVPO applications in 4.6 percent of recorded domestic abuse related crimes. This was one of the highest rates across forces in England and Wales. The average rate across all forces in England and Wales for the same period was 1.3 percent of recorded domestic abuse related crimes.

The force has a team of legal advisers who give advice about and obtain civil preventative orders, including sexual harm prevention orders, sexual risk orders, stalking protection orders, DVPNs, DVPOs, closure orders and civil injunctions. This work supports the force’s priority of protecting the vulnerable and providing victims with a positive outcome. It also closely aligns with the force’s work to address violence against women and girls.

The number of DVPOs the force applies for has continued to increase. The force told us that, in the period from 1 January 2023 to 28 February 2024, it has applied for 669 DVPOs. The investment in a team of legal advisers has increased officers’ and staff awareness of these orders. Officers and staff we spoke with understood the importance of these protective measures and appreciated the support they received from the legal advisers to increase the chance of successful applications.

The force has responded well in improving awareness of vulnerability

Devon and Cornwall Police gives vulnerability training on neglect and other types of vulnerability to all its officers. The training covers police powers, types of vulnerability and process, and legislative updates. It also includes training from national leads and other forces and organisations. The modules cover missed opportunities, child safeguarding practice, domestic abuse, the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime and the quality of public protection notices.

This is a positive step in increasing awareness and knowledge and will support the force in making improvements to safeguard its communities.

The force has multi-agency safeguarding hubs but there is a lack of clarity about working practices

Multi-agency safeguarding arrangements are in place across Devon and Cornwall Police. We found officers and staff work in partnership with other agencies and saw evidence of positive working relationships and information-sharing.

But we found a lack of clarity about working practices within the multi-agency safeguarding hubs. Demand in some areas meant officers and staff were moved to support other teams. The ability to view demand across Devon and Cornwall Police and to take action by moving officers and staff is positive. But at times officers and staff weren’t always aware of different working practices in each multi-agency safeguarding hub. Each area has different approaches and officers and staff involved in multi-agency working arrangements don’t always have the necessary training or skills to carry out their role. The force needs to make sure training for these officers and staff is consistent, because skills and experience varied across the multi-agency safeguarding hubs.

Managing offenders and suspects

Devon and Cornwall Police requires improvement at managing offenders and suspects.

Main findings

In this section we set out our main findings that relate to how well the force manages offenders and suspects.

Risk assessments are of a good standard, but processes need to be improved

The force uses nationally recognised risk assessment tools to risk-assess registered sex offenders. These are the active risk management system and the Risk Matrix 2000. Its risk assessments are in line with the College of Policing’s authorised professional practice and we found them to be timely.

This area has improved since our previous inspection. We also found that the officers and staff who assess risk were properly trained in the use of the assessment tools. We saw that decisions by supervisors were well recorded and that multi-agency public protection arrangements were in line with national guidance. But officers weren’t always effectively using the action tab on the Violent and Sex Offender Register, the case management system used to record actions taken regarding registered offenders. This means actions were difficult to follow and the force may miss actions set, which affects its ability to manage offenders effectively.

We found Devon and Cornwall Police doesn’t use the Police National Database effectively to gain a full intelligence picture as part of the risk assessment and to inform the subsequent risk management plan. Without proactively using the Police National Database, the force may not have the full intelligence profile on the offender. In addition, we found that visits to registered sex offenders weren’t always unannounced. The force’s approaches to using the Police National Database and carrying out visits to registered sex offenders don’t comply with recommended good practice. The force should make sure it introduces better governance in these areas.

The force is effective at arresting and managing suspects

The force effectively oversees activity to arrest wanted persons and manage suspects.

Chief officers scrutinise activity relating to high-risk outstanding offenders at the force daily management meeting. During these meetings, the force discusses offenders who haven’t yet been arrested and puts in place appropriate interventions and actions.

The force has a suspect contact management plan. This means officers keep in contact with the suspect while they are on bail. This is particularly important given the time it takes to get a case to court.

Most neighbourhood policing teams are aware of registered sex offenders in their area

The officers we spoke with in the management of sexual offenders and violent offenders (MOSOVO) team were positive about the role neighbourhood policing teams can play in managing risk from sex offenders. But some MOSOVO officers expressed mixed opinions about the value a neighbourhood officer can add during visits. They said the process to identify a neighbourhood officer to support visits was time‑consuming and wasn’t always effective given the distance officers had to travel.

The force requires neighbourhood officers to support joint visits. When we spoke with neighbourhood policing teams, most but not all were aware of sex offenders living in their area. Neighbourhood officers support joint visits when requested to do so by the MOSOVO team. This was creating greater awareness of the risks registered sex offenders might pose. It was clear that a process to assign work was in place and officers were being used frequently.

The MOSOVO team and police online investigation team are well resourced and supported with good data

Devon and Cornwall Police has invested in extra officers and staff to manage its sexual and violent offenders and we found improvements in performance since our previous inspection. At the time of this inspection, the ratio of offender managers to registered sex offenders was 1 manager to 38 offenders, which is positive. The force has committed to further growth over the next two years to make sure it manages the forecast increased demand and maintains performance improvements.

The force has developed performance data to understand how effectively it manages registered sex offenders and offenders who access indecent images of children. We found that this data is detailed and well informed, and is helping to improve the force’s understanding. This is supporting improved performance. The force uses the active risk management system for managing the risk posed by dangerous offenders. We found that, despite some delays in completing them, the content and quality of the risk management plans were good.

Officers and staff we spoke with reported manageable workloads. They had received training and guidance to support them in their roles.

Building, supporting and protecting the workforce

Devon and Cornwall Police is adequate at building, supporting and protecting the workforce.

Main findings

In this section we set out our main findings that relate to how well the force builds, supports and protects the workforce.

The force provides comprehensive well-being support to officers and staff but could improve its oversight of how this is used

The workforce is aware of, and able to access, a good range of preventative and supportive measures to improve their physical and mental well-being. The force has well-being leads. And it provides information on various topics, including menopause, mental health, alcohol and drugs. Most officers and staff we spoke with felt they knew how to access what support was available. But in our PEEL workforce survey we found that only 63.6 percent of all respondents (1,032 of 1,621 respondents) agreed they had time to access the well-being support they need.

The force has a positive approach to supporting officers and staff who have been assaulted. It adheres to the nationally recognised Operation Hampshire protocols. It reviews every assault at chief officers’ meetings to make sure officers and staff receive appropriate support.

But officers told us well-being services are ‘headquarters-centric’. They aren’t always given the time to travel to headquarters or to take up the additional well-being options the force has put in place. For example, high work demand meant many officers missed the opportunity to use a well-being wagon that toured the force, where officers could discuss their well-being and be assessed in relation to a healthy lifestyle. Officers also said they couldn’t attend a wellness day organised by the force because of high work demand.

The force effectively supports its new recruits to progress and remain within Devon and Cornwall Police, but this could be improved

All new recruits are assigned a tutor. The force introduced resilience tutors who work with new recruits for the first 8 to 12 weeks. A resilience tutor is an officer who isn’t fully accredited but is capable of carrying out the initial phases of tutoring. This supports the force in deploying and using fully trained tutors and maintains support for new recruits on a one-to-one basis. Fully trained tutors are assigned during the first 8 to 12 weeks if they are available. The force said this approach is supported by the College of Policing. When the initial period of 8 to 12 weeks is complete, the final tutorship phase is carried out by a fully qualified tutor.

The force keeps a student record. This is a chronological record that covers the student’s individual requirements and early conversations about these requirements. This record continues through the tutor phase, which means that students continue to be supported when posted to their new teams. The force has also introduced a passport for new recruits, in which they can disclose information relevant to their learning and development and their specific needs. This information is only shared with the permission of the student officer. The passport means officers don’t need to make repeated disclosures of personal information throughout their career.

The force also involves new recruits in community practical training, which is supported by a three-day community placement in a range of 200 host organisations, with a focus on underrepresented groups. The recruits share their experiences with their peers so all officers benefit from the learning. Placements can also be with the force’s independent advisory group.

Devon and Cornwall Police uses a range of data and information to identify retention patterns and trends. It uses this specifically to understand the challenges for new recruits from underrepresented groups. The force has a good understanding of workforce attrition and retention rates, which helps it to identify why people are leaving and what changes may be needed.

But while the force examines the reasons leavers give for resigning, it only collects this information using a survey when individuals are leaving or after they have left the force. This process could be more insightful if supported by exit interviews. The force told us it now has a retention group and plans to introduce exit and stay interviews in 2024.

The force creates opportunities for officers and staff from under-represented groups to develop and progress

Devon and Cornwall Police offers support for police officers and staff from underrepresented groups to develop and progress. This includes support with promotion processes, applications and training. For example, the positive action process increased the time given to applicants to prepare for promotion. The force has reported success, particularly with female officers. The force told us it has seen a 46 percent increase in female officers being promoted to sergeant between March 2020 and September 2023, compared with an 8 percent increase for male officers being promoted over the same period. As of September 2023, the force had 172 female sergeants.

The force is also carrying out a three-day inclusivity programme, for inspectors and above and police staff equivalents. It told us it has already given the training to 850 first-line managers, with all others due to receive it in 2024.

The force has 11 staff networks. The chief officer team meets with the relevant chairs on a regular basis. As a result of feedback, the force has developed a programme for coaching and mentoring for those seeking promotion. The force told us it has achieved a 75 percent success rate for those involved in this initiative.

The force gives extra support to officers and staff in high-risk roles and those experiencing potentially traumatic incidents

The force has a comprehensive process to screen officers and staff working in roles at higher risk of trauma and make sure they are aware of the risks and issues that may be unique to their role. Members of the workforce in high-risk roles told us they felt well supported and described regular one-to-one meetings, stress, trauma and risk assessments and regular psychological screening. These support measures are mandatory in areas such as the police online investigation team and have been extended to include MOSOVO teams. Trauma risk management is used well to support officers and staff in the control room, response and roads policing. Officers and staff commented positively on the intervention and support that was on offer after they had dealt with difficult calls or incidents.

Leadership and force management

Devon and Cornwall Police’s leadership and management requires improvement.

Main findings

In this section we set out our main findings that relate to leadership and management.

The force has an effective performance framework, making sure it tackles what is important locally and nationally at a strategic level

During our inspection, we assessed how the force scrutinises the performance of its workforce to make sure it meets its priorities. Leaders are held to account for their areas of responsibility by the deputy chief constable at a strategic monthly performance meeting. Data is used to evaluate performance and make improvements. The force is adjusting other parts of its governance framework to make sure lines of accountability are clear across all areas.

We found the force was making effective use of its tasking and co-ordination and daily management meetings to monitor emerging issues and to direct officers to tackle these issues. We also found the force made good use of its force management statement. The force is using this document as an integral part of its planning processes.

The force has good links with its communities, supported by its neighbourhood teams and effective partnerships. The force consults many community forums and includes this consultation in elements of its decision-making, alongside similar and complementary work by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner.

But we found that, overall, the force isn’t managing demand effectively. Demand is managed inconsistently across the force. Leaders need support to develop the skills required to manage demand more effectively and to decide what issues need to be escalated for strategic oversight at a force level.

Devon and Cornwall Police is investing in its estate and has opened public enquiry offices to support its communities. But the force needs to make sure it has allocated enough officers and staff to each of its departments and local policing areas so that each area has the capacity and capability it needs to provide effective and efficient local policing services in a sustainable way. This must be supported by reliable data.

Force leaders need to be more visible and work more closely with officers and staff

We found force leaders and other senior staff were passionate about supporting their teams and making positive changes across the force.

However, at a lower level there is a disconnect between leadership, officers and staff. We found different working practices across the four basic command units. The lack of consistency affects messaging and performance. Strategic decisions that aim to improve performance aren’t always clear to frontline officers.

This issue has been made worse by the issues we have described about the allocation and availability of supervisors. We found many officers and staff didn’t regularly see senior leaders in some areas of the force.

Devon and Cornwall Police has told us it now has more structure in its governance arrangements. This makes sure board meetings are well attended by the right senior individuals who are better held to account on performance matters. Though relatively new, we saw this during the meetings we attended.

The force is developing its workforce plan but this needs to be supported by a skills matrix and an understanding of capacity and capability

At the time of our inspection, the force showed us a draft workforce plan that was due to be presented to the senior executive. A detailed workforce plan is an essential requirement that should provide the force with information on how its workforce can be used to meet its demand effectively. It wasn’t clear that the force understood the demands placed on individuals or teams, workloads or the numbers of officers needed on a team to allow a more even distribution of work. Implementing the workforce plan should help improve the force’s understanding. We will monitor its implementation and whether it leads to improvements.

Some of Devon and Cornwall Police’s systems that contain skills and workforce details are old and aren’t integrated. This means the force doesn’t have a detailed skills matrix to refer to. The force is unable to balance its teams according to skills and capabilities. For example, new recruits aren’t all response trained, so officers who are response trained need to be diverted from other departments. When more experienced officers move to different areas, this results in a lack of support for new recruits and new supervisors. This causes an imbalance across the force and challenges the effective management of demand in some areas, leading to service failure.

The force collaborates well with other local forces, but lack of co-ordination in its policies, processes and procedures across the force means its understanding of productivity is inconsistent

Devon and Cornwall Police has shown it is forward thinking in its collaborations and business partnerships, both in terms of value for money and a good return on investment. The force has a good working relationship with Dorset Police. At the time of our inspection, it had recently stopped some collaborative work that hasn’t given the return on investment it wanted. The force is using BT for its IT services, which provides value for money. This planning and businesslike approach by the force is positive.

Despite the investment in IT, some officers and staff across the force still lack understanding about how IT should be used. For example, officers are still returning to the station to complete enquiries, despite having mobile devices. The force is implementing apps and robotic process automation. It should make sure these are used to improve effectiveness. There have been significant challenges in implementing NICHE, the crime recording system. Officers are still struggling to use it because they don’t fully understand how it works. The force should make sure lessons are learned from its experience of implementing NICHE before introducing new technology in the future.

The force hasn’t been able to show that it is using its workforce in a productive and effective way. Officers and staff aren’t being assigned to work in particular locations in a way that is managing demand effectively across the force. This is difficult given the geographical area the force covers. But we found the allocation of work and distribution of resources, including supervisors, didn’t help to support the workforce and more importantly the communities in more rural areas.

Crime outcomes, case handovers, crime investigations, partnership referrals and workloads were inconsistent in their number, quality and timeliness across the force. Crime allocation policies were also inconsistent across the four command areas. This inconsistency is causing service failure. The force’s work needs to be better co‑ordinated.

The force’s finances are supported by clear plans and are sustainable

The force needs to understand its use of overtime and time off in lieu to meet demand, which it has been using this way for the last five years. The force is using officers in support roles to make savings, which isn’t unusual. But it needs to have a better understanding of the cost of overtime and if officers are in the right place at the right times to reduce demand. The force needs to understand the consistent use of overtime will affect the welfare of its officers. The force buys back time off in lieu when it exceeds 30 hours, but it needs to make sure officers are able to take time off in lieu and be away from the workplace.

For the financial year 2023/24, the force received a total of £384m in funding, increased in line with year two of the three-year settlement presented in the 2021 spending review. For the financial year 2023/24, 43 percent of Devon and Cornwall Police’s total funding came from the council tax precept, which includes a 6 percent increase in council tax.

The force can demonstrate effective financial management of the funds it has available to provide police services. There is a clear link between this financial management, the constabulary’s priorities and the plans of the police and crime commissioner.

There is an effective reserves strategy for 2023/24 to 2026/27. The force has a current total reserve balance of 11 percent of the 2023/24 reserve budget and a general reserve balance of 4 percent of the 2023/24 revenue budget, which is prudent. The current expected use of earmarked reserves shows a reduction in the balance available by the end of 2023/24. The strategy shows that reserves will reduce over the four-year period but will remain within the overall limits set within it.

About the data

Annex A: About the data

Data in this report comes from a range of sources, including:

• the Home Office;
• the Office for National Statistics;
• our inspection fieldwork; and
• data we collected from the 43 territorial police forces in England and Wales.

For any charts and tables included in this report, we have listed the data source underneath.

Methodology

Data that we collect from police forces

We collect data from police forces twice a year. We agreed the design and schedule of this data collection with forces and other interested parties, including the Home Office.

Our analysts check and evaluate the collected data. We contact the force if we have any initial queries. Following this, we carry out an in-depth data review and make further contact with the force if needed. This process gives forces several opportunities to quality assure and validate the information they shared to make sure it is accurate.

We then share our analysis with the force by uploading the data to online dashboards. As they can review own and other forces’ data in context, forces can identify any notable differences or other inconsistencies.

Forces considered in this report

This report presents the results from a PEEL inspection of one of the 43 territorial police forces in England and Wales. British Transport Police is outside the scope of this report.

Any aggregated totals for England and Wales exclude data from the British Transport Police, which means that the totals will differ from those published by the Home Office. If any other police forces didn’t supply data and aren’t included in the total figures, we will mention this.

Timeliness of the data

We use data that has been collected outside our PEEL inspection to support our fieldwork.

This report contains the latest data available before the start of our inspection and the data that the force gave us during our inspection. If more recent data becomes available after our inspection fieldwork and shows that the force’s performance has changed, we will comment on this.

Reporting rates per population

In this report, we sometimes present information as rates per 1,000 population in each police force area. This allows our data to be comparable across all forces. Where population data is used in our calculations, we use the latest mid-year population estimates from the Office for National Statistics.

Reporting where the force is significantly different from the average

In this report, we have included bar charts with dotted red lines to show where a force is significantly different from the average for forces in England and Wales.

The dotted lines on the bar charts show one standard deviation above and below the unweighted average of all forces. Standard deviation summarises the difference between each individual value and the average and can be used to identify extreme or rare values.

Forces that are more than one standard deviation above or below the average are considered significantly different. These forces are outside the red dotted lines on our bar charts and we have highlighted them in either a dark blue (forces above average) or light blue (forces below average) colour. Typically, 32 percent of forces will be above or below these lines for any given measure.

Reporting on police workforce survey data

We survey the police workforce throughout England and Wales to understand their experiences at work. The survey is an opportunity for the whole workforce to share their views with us. It is a valuable source of information as it isn’t possible to speak to everyone in a force during our inspection.

However, the responses we receive come from a non-statistical, voluntary sample within the workforce. The number of responses also varies between forces. This means that the results may be not representative of the workforce population.

We treat the results with caution and don’t use them to assess police forces. Instead, we use the results to establish themes that should be explored further during our inspection fieldwork. The results can also be used to give more evidence and validate information from other sources.

Victim service assessment

We carry out a victim service assessment for all forces as part of our inspection programme.

We assess the service that a force provides to victims. This is from the point of reporting a crime and throughout an investigation.

We also evaluate how forces record crimes. We assess every force on its crime recording practices at least once every three years.

Details of the technical methodology for the victim service assessment.

Stop and search audits

We carry out a stop and search audit for all forces as part of our inspection programme.

Our stop and search audits allow us to evaluate how well forces use their stop and search powers. We review how many stop and searches a force carried out under section 1 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 or section 23 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. We analyse:

• the rate of disproportionality in use of stop and search by ethnicity;
• the proportion of stop and searches that had reasonable grounds;
• the outcomes of the stop and searches that the force carried out; and
• find rates (the rates at which officers find what they are searching for in a stop and search encounter).

Further information and documents

Download the PDF report

Devon and Cornwall PEEL assessment 2023–2025

More about Devon and Cornwall Police

You can find more about Devon and Cornwall Police on our dedicated force page.

What Devon and Cornwall Police says

Get the press release

Concerns over Devon and Cornwall Police’s performance

Our work

Find out more about HMICFRS’s work and other inspection areas.

Other forces

Find out how well other forces have performed during their PEEL assessment.

Progress

You can view the recommendations for all forces made by HMICFRS on our Progress against recommendations page. This shows how much progress has been made on these recommendations.

Data and methodology

Detailed information about the inspection methodology.