PEEL: Police effectiveness 2017

An inspection of Essex Police

March 2018

© HMICFRS 2018

ISBN: 978-1-78655-537-3

www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmicfrs

2

Contents

Force in numbers ..................................................................................................... 3

Risk-based inspection ............................................................................................. 5

Effectiveness overview ............................................................................................ 6

Preventing crime and tackling anti-social behaviour ............................................ 8

Prioritising prevention ............................................................................................. 8

Understanding communities ................................................................................... 8

Tackling crime and anti-social behaviour ................................................................ 9

Investigating crime and reducing re-offending ................................................... 12

Initial investigation ................................................................................................ 12

Investigation quality .............................................................................................. 13

Reducing re-offending .......................................................................................... 15

Protecting vulnerable people and supporting victims ........................................ 16

Identifying vulnerability ......................................................................................... 16

Initial response ..................................................................................................... 17

Mental health ........................................................................................................ 19

Investigating crimes involving vulnerable people .................................................. 19

Partnership working .............................................................................................. 20

Specialist capabilities ............................................................................................ 22

National policing responsibilities ........................................................................... 22

Firearms capability ................................................................................................ 22

Annex A – About the data ...................................................................................... 24

3

Force in numbers

4

*Figures are shown as proportions of outcomes assigned to offences recorded in the 12

months to 30 June 2017. For further information about the data in this graphic please see

annex A.

5

Risk-based inspection

HMICFRS adopted an interim risk-based approach to inspection in 2017 in order to

focus more closely on areas of policing where risk to the public is most acute.1

Under this approach, not all forces are assessed against every part of the PEEL

effectiveness programme every year. Essex Police was assessed against the

following areas in 2017:

• Preventing crime and tackling anti-social behaviour;

• Investigating crime and reducing re-offending;

• Protecting vulnerable people; and

• Specialist capabilities.

Judgments from 20162 remain in place for areas which were not re-inspected in

2017. HMICFRS will continue to monitor areas for improvement identified in previous

inspections and will assess how well each force has responded in future reports.

1 More details of the interim risk-based approach are on the HMICFRS website:

www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmicfrs/peel-assessments/how-we-inspect/2017-peel-

assessment/#risk-based

2 The 2016 effectiveness report for Essex Police is on the HMICFRS website:

www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmicfrs/publications/peel-police-effectiveness-2016-essex

6

Effectiveness overview

Judgments

Overall effectiveness 2017 Good

Question Grade Last inspected

Preventing crime and tackling anti-social

behaviour Good

2017

Investigating crime and reducing

re-offending Good

2017

Protecting vulnerable people

Good

2017

Tackling serious and organised crime

Good

2016

Specialist capabilities Ungraded 2017

Summary

Essex Police is good at keeping people safe and reducing crime. It has made

considerable improvements across a number of areas since 2015, and its overall

progress is positive.

The force has an effective approach to preventing crime and tackling anti-social

behaviour. Officers have a good understanding of their communities and what is

important to those communities, and they work hard to respond to their needs.

The community safety hubs where police and partners (such as local councils) work

7

side by side are becoming very effective, allowing for more successful problem-

solving to address the underlying causes of crime. However, the force could still do

more to disseminate learning and what works well.

Crimes are generally investigated to a good standard. Investigations conducted by

specialist officers are consistently of a high standard. The force provides victims of

crime with a good service, and most victims of crime are regularly updated with the

progress of the investigation. The force continues to improve the way it reduces

re-offending and it is has a number of schemes to manage offenders, including

domestic abuse offenders. Of concern is the decision taken by the force to step

outside national guidelines for the management of low-risk registered sex offenders.

The force has stopped all mandatory visits to these offenders, instead it will only visit

and assess a low risk offender if the offender comes to notice by some other means,

such as intelligence or a complaint. HMICFRS has concerns regarding this approach

and will revisit this area in future inspections.

Essex Police has made considerable efforts to improve its ability to protect

vulnerable people. It is generally good at responding to victims who are vulnerable

and at investigating crimes committed against them. The force has worked hard to

develop constructive relationships with partner organisations to enable it to support

vulnerable people more effectively and to address the needs of victims.

The force has the necessary arrangements in place to fulfil its national policing

responsibilities, and to respond initially to an attack that requires an armed response.

8

Preventing crime and tackling anti-social behaviour

Good

Prioritising prevention

Essex Police is good at prioritising crime prevention. It has a comprehensive crime

prevention strategy that identifies seven priority areas for the force and those

partners that the force will work with to reduce crime in each priority. The strategy

acknowledges the Policing Vision 2025.3 Its vision for local policing is

well-understood by officers and staff. Local policing commanders have the

resources, skills and support they need to prevent crime effectively, and carry out

problem-solving and communication with the public at a local level. Supervisors

provide good leadership. We found numerous examples of the force providing the

public with a high-quality service which is focused on preventing crime and anti-

social behaviour, and not simply reacting when these take place.

There are dedicated community policing officers and staff who are permanently

deployed to defined geographical areas. They include police and community support

officers (PCSOs) who are trained and skilled at problem-solving. The force does not

have an explicit policy which ensures that these dedicated officers are not taken

away from their main roles to support other functions. However, we found that

despite this, such redeployments are minimal and likely to be only for short periods.

Understanding communities

Essex Police has a good understanding of its communities. It uses local crime

profiles to retain information on its communities, and these are refreshed every year.

We found that the latest versions of these documents were delayed as the force

wishes to include data on firearms held by the National Ballistics Intelligence

Service4 (NABIS) but which has not yet been approved by NABIS.

The force also maintains counter-terrorism profiles which contain relevant community

information in the event of a terrorist attack, and it made good use of these in

response to the recent terrorist attacks in London and Manchester. The force has

3 The NPCC (National Police Chiefs’ Council) and APCC (Association of Police and Crime

Commissioners), working with the College of Policing, staff associations and the National Crime

Agency, have drafted a vision for policing in 2025 that sets out why and how the police service needs

to transform. For more information, see: www.npcc.police.uk/documents/policing%20vision.pdf

4 The National Ballistics Intelligence Service (NABIS) provides fast-time forensic

intelligence and strategic intelligence in tackling all firearms crime in the UK.

9

also developed active local independent advisory groups5 on each of its district

policing areas (DPAs), which enable communities to maintain positive continuing

communication with the force. The force is good at assessing threats to its

communities and at gathering community intelligence, helping further to develop its

understanding of where harm is most likely to occur.

The force makes good use of social and digital media. Communication with local

communities is good despite the fact that the force has not yet finalised its

engagement strategy. Officers are committed to providing effective and meaningful

interaction with the public, including coffee mornings, traditional meeting forums, and

street meetings as well as via social media. Neighbourhood officers are aware of and

are engaged in the disruption activity against local criminal groups, including the

proactive use of legislation such as community penalty notices to disrupt these

groups.

Tackling crime and anti-social behaviour

The force is good at tackling crime and anti-social behaviour. Officers and staff use a

long term problem-solving approach, known as SARA,6 aimed at addressing the

underlying causes of crime and anti-social behaviour. The force and its partners

have established community safety hubs where their officers and staff work closely

together. These hubs are working well and in some instances exceptionally well

(for example, in Southend). There are a few locations where the hubs are only

‘virtual’, for example in Chelmsford where it is very clear that joint working is not as

strong as it is elsewhere in the county.

Alongside its problem-solving activity, the force makes good use of the powers and

tactics available to help tackle crime and anti-social behaviour. In one case officers

worked with local council officials to improve lighting conditions in a shopping centre

that was suffering with late-night anti-social behaviour. Officers and staff worked with

business owners and residents to obtain a range of anti-social behaviour orders and

contracts to stop the problem. Officers are able to give crime prevention advice

including basic cyber-crime advice. The availability of crime prevention equipment is

limited in some areas, although officers are aware of and have successfully bid for

such equipment from funds made available by the police and crime commissioner

(PCC). Although Essex Police uses fewer anti-social behaviour powers than many

other forces relative to the size of its population, it does make some use of

5 Independent advisory groups (IAGs) advise on policing issues that may cause concern to local

people and communities. IAG members are volunteers drawn from local communities from various

backgrounds.

6 The Scanning, Analysis, Response, and Evaluation (SARA) model is a common approach used by

community policing agencies to identify and solve repeat crime and community problems.

10

community protection notices. In particular, local officers, and those officers who

focus on criminality linked to gangs, use these orders because they have found them

to be very effective at disrupting gang activities.

Figure 1: Rate of anti-social behaviour (ASB) powers per 1 million population, by force, in the

12 months to 30 June 20177

Source: 2016 and 2017 HMICFRS data return

For further information about this data, please see annex A

Although the sharing of effective practice with partners has developed, often as a

direct consequence of closer working within the community safety hubs, the routine

gathering, evaluation and sharing of problem-solving plans is not consistent despite

HMICFRS having identified this as an area for improvement in 2016. The force does

not have a single good practice (or ‘what works’) database from which officers are

able to benefit and learn from previous activity. The local policing support unit

(LPSU) is actively seeking to address this, but since the force is not actively

managing and disseminating good practice across its own workforce and partners,

it is likely to be missing opportunities further to improve its approach to preventing

crime and anti-social behaviour.

7 Bedfordshire, Derbyshire, Greater Manchester, the Metropolitan Police and Suffolk forces were

unable to provide any 2017 ASB use of powers data. Gloucestershire, Hertfordshire, Humberside and

Merseyside forces were only able to provide partial 2017 ASB use of powers data. Greater

Manchester Police was unable to provide any 2016 ASB use of powers data.

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

Du

rha

m

No

rth

um

bri

a

No

rfo

lk

So

uth

Yo

rksh

ire

So

uth

Wa

les

No

ttin

gh

am

sh

ire

Gw

en

t

Avo

n a

nd

So

me

rse

t

Sta

ffo

rdsh

ire

Ch

esh

ire

Cle

ve

lan

d

He

rtfo

rdsh

ire

Ha

mp

sh

ire

We

st Y

ork

sh

ire

Wilts

hir

e

Cu

mb

ria

We

st M

erc

ia

Dyfe

d-P

ow

ys

Ke

nt

Glo

uce

ste

rsh

ire

Th

am

es V

alle

y

Wa

rwic

ksh

ire

No

rth

Wa

les

Lin

co

lnsh

ire

City o

f L

on

do

n

No

rth

Yo

rksh

ire

De

vo

n a

nd

Co

rnw

all

Me

rse

ysid

e

Ca

mb

rid

ge

sh

ire

We

st M

idla

nd

s

La

nca

sh

ire

Le

ice

ste

rsh

ire

No

rth

am

pto

nsh

ire

Do

rse

t

Hu

mb

ers

ide

Esse

x

Su

sse

x

Su

rre

y

Essex Police England and Wales 2016 ASB powers per 1 million population

11

Area for improvement

• The force should evaluate and share effective practice routinely, both

internally and with partners, to continually improve its approach to

preventing crime and anti-social behaviour.

12

Investigating crime and reducing re-offending

Good

Initial investigation

Essex Police is good at initial investigation. It attends incidents promptly when this is

appropriate, and makes informed decisions based on risk to victims. The previous

high levels of unresolved open incidents which HMICFRS found in the control room

have reduced, and are now being maintained at acceptable levels. We found that

attending officers are taking the appropriate steps to identify and secure evidence as

part of the ‘golden hour’ immediately after an incident. Overall the use of body-worn

video cameras is improving, although not as many cameras are available as the

force would wish. Officers understand the effectiveness of body-worn video footage

at domestic abuse incidents, for example, and we found officers to be very

supportive of the cameras. The quality of the handover of cases between units is

generally good. Officers who first attend the scene record valuable evidence.

The force has moved to electronic handover packages on its IT system.

Essex Police investigates 29.5 percent of incidents over the telephone (12 months to

30 June 2017). This compares with England and Wales rate of 30.3 percent over the

same period. In many instances this is wholly appropriate and the most efficient way

of resolving less serious crimes where it is immediately apparent that there are no

viable lines of enquiry. We reviewed a small sample of telephone investigations

during our inspection and found them to be appropriate for this type of resolution.

The force is currently trialling a new model of triage, the crime allocation rational

assessment (CARA), for telephone investigations in an effort to improve public

service and manage demand more effectively in its crime bureau where these

investigations take place. The testing of this approach included two levels of quality

assurance: an initial investigative review led by a detective, to check the quality,

followed by a process that seeks to ensure that low-level crimes, which are

potentially linked to wider crime series, are not missed. The investigative quality

assurance review has since been removed. This seems premature given that the

pilot has not ended.

The force’s figures show that over the 12 months to 30 June 2017 the National Fraud

Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) referred 1,403 cases to the force including cases for both

enforcement and victim care. All of these were subject to a proper examination to

determine whether further investigation was necessary. The progression of the

force’s response to fraud is well-developed and timely. We found some examples of

response officers being allocated fraud cases that were beyond their abilities.

It is the force’s intention to create primary and volume fraud teams in the very near

13

future that will investigate all fraud cases. The approach has been subject to a peer

review by officers from City of London Police’s financial investigation unit.

Recruitment for the officers and staff for these teams is well under way.

Although these teams will have an investigative focus, the force’s overall response to

fraud is based upon the four Ps approach.8 The aim of this approach to fraud is to

help protect vulnerable people from being targeted, and bring perpetrators of fraud to

justice.

Investigation quality

Investigations conducted by Essex Police are generally of a good quality. The force

continues to develop its detective capability. The majority of such posts are filled by

qualified officers, or those who are on the detective career pathway or are about to

embark on it. HMICFRS reviewed a sample of 60 investigation files and found the

majority to be of a good standard. Investigators generally receive good supervision,

ensuring that lines of enquiry are pursued and progress is maintained. This is

particularly so with specialist units and criminal investigation teams (CID).

Investigations conducted by LPA officers are not always as good, and supervision is

not always as intrusive as it should be. Training on the management of investigations

is being provided to LPA sergeants, and those who have attended the course spoke

positively of it. Acting and temporary LPA sergeants do not receive this training and

the force should consider giving some specific guidance for these officers to enable

them also to improve their management of investigations. In the 12 months to 30

June 2017, 6.8 percent of offences resulted in a charge or summons outcome. This

has reduced from 7.5 percent in the same period in 2016. In the same 12 months to

30 June 2017, 28.1 percent of offences in Essex are yet to be assigned an outcome.

The force also recorded a lower rate of cases where there are evidential difficulties

when compared to the England and Wales rate, which is positive. Officers actively

seek to keep victims engaged in investigations, especially in high and medium-risk

domestic abuse cases.

8 4Ps is a national framework for tackling serious and organised crime (SOC) developed for national

counter-terrorist work, with four thematic pillars, often referred to as the 4Ps: pursue (prosecuting and

disrupting people engaged in SOC); prevent (preventing people from engaging in SOC); protect

(increasing protection against SOC); and prepare (reducing the impact of this criminality).

14

Figure 2: Proportion of investigations where action was taken, by force, for offences recorded

in the 12 months to 30 June 20179,10

Source: 2016 and 2017 Home Office Outcomes Data

For further information about this data, please see annex A

The force provides victims of crime with a good service and we found in our file

review that most victims of crime were updated on the progress of the investigation.

However, we found a small number of cases where the victim did not receive any

update until the very end of the investigation when the officer made contact to inform

them of the final outcome. Essex Police is in the process of devising new ways of

seeking the views of victims using surveys, including for victims of domestic abuse.

The force expects that once this is introduced, it will gain a valuable source of

feedback which it can use to improve services for victims. The force expects that its

new fraud investigation units will help improve contact with victims of fraud and in

particular with victims who are vulnerable.

The force’s approach to the examination of digital devices such as mobile

telephones and computers in support of investigations has improved. The force has

recruited local digital media investigators, who advise and assist officers in this area.

There are no backlogs in the examination of digital devices.

9 Investigations where action was taken includes the outcome categories of Charged/Summonsed,

Taken into consideration and Out-of-court (formal and informal).

10 Suffolk Constabulary was unable to provide 2017 crime outcomes data. Dorset Police was unable

to provide 2016 crime outcomes data. Therefore figures for England and Wales will differ from those

published by the Home Office. For further information about this data, please see annex A.

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%N

ort

h Y

ork

sh

ire

No

rfo

lk

So

uth

Wa

les

Lin

co

lnsh

ire

Dyfe

d-P

ow

ys

Du

rha

m

City o

f L

on

do

n

Ch

esh

ire

No

rth

Wa

les

Cu

mb

ria

Cle

ve

lan

d

Do

rse

t

Hu

mb

ers

ide

We

st M

erc

ia

De

vo

n a

nd

Co

rnw

all

Sta

ffo

rdsh

ire

De

rbysh

ire

Gw

en

t

Glo

uce

ste

rsh

ire

Ca

mb

rid

ge

sh

ire

Be

dfo

rdsh

ire

No

rth

um

bri

a

He

rtfo

rdsh

ire

We

st M

idla

nd

s

La

nca

sh

ire

Me

tro

po

lita

n P

olice

No

ttin

gh

am

sh

ire

Wa

rwic

ksh

ire

Th

am

es V

alle

y

Su

sse

x

Su

rre

y

Me

rse

ysid

e

No

rth

am

pto

nsh

ire

So

uth

Yo

rksh

ire

Ke

nt

Avo

n a

nd

So

me

rse

t

Esse

x

We

st Y

ork

sh

ire

Wilts

hir

e

Le

ice

ste

rsh

ire

Ha

mp

sh

ire

Gre

ate

r M

an

ch

este

r

Charged/Summonsed Taken into considerationOut-of-court (formal and informal) Essex PoliceEngland and Wales investigations actioned 2016 investigations actioned

15

Reducing re-offending

Essex Police continues to improve the way it reduces re-offending. People who are

wanted for offences are subject to determined and continuous efforts to seek their

earliest arrest. The force circulates the details of wanted people quickly on the Police

National Computer (PNC), and the rate of wanted records on the PNC per 10,000

population in Essex is higher than the England and Wales rate. This means that

other police forces are able to help to find or arrest these people, and thereby reduce

the risk to the public.

The force is good at identifying and managing arrested foreign nationals. In the 12

months to 30 June 2017, Essex Police arrested 2,743 foreign national offenders.

1,688 referrals were made to the Immigration Enforcement command and control

unit. This is a compliance rate of 61.5 percent which is above the England and

Wales rate. The force works closely with Immigration Enforcement to check identity

and nationality, as well as considering options to remove or deport those who have

committed serious crimes or pose a threat to communities.

The force has a number of projects in place to reduce re-offending in Essex. It uses

the integrated offender management (IOM) model11 which enables it to work with

partner organisations such as the probation service to tackle the behaviour of prolific

criminals. IOM managers have a clear understanding of the benefits of the scheme

and can demonstrate sustained reductions in re-offending as a result of this work,

with a re-offending rate of 4 percent. The force runs Operation Shield, which has a

small number of staff working effectively with domestic abuse offenders. This team is

highly effective at targeting work with high-risk domestic abuse offenders to reduce

offending and to arrest them if this is necessary.

11 Integrated offender management (IOM) is a multi-agency approach aimed at reducing the harm

caused in communities by the most persistent and prolific offenders.

Areas for improvement

• The force should ensure that there is regular and active supervision of

investigations to improve quality and progress.

• The force should ensure that it is fully compliant with the Code of Practice

for Victims of Crime.

• The force should ensure that all those carrying out investigations are

provided with appropriate training and support.

16

Protecting vulnerable people and supporting victims

Good

Identifying vulnerability

Essex Police continues to improve in this area and it is clear that the force has made

considerable efforts which are now reaping rewards. Awareness of, and activity to

support, vulnerability is now a routine part of the force’s daily activities. The force has

a clear definition of what vulnerability is, and a strategy for protecting vulnerable

people. The force communicates this strategy effectively, and officers and staff

display a good understanding. This is supported by an improving understanding of

the nature and scale of vulnerability in the force area. The force continues to work

closely with local authorities and other partner agencies to analyse data, helping it to

assess where harm is concentrated and what forms of exploitation exist in local

communities. Officers and staff take proactive steps to uncover ‘hidden’ forms of

harm such as vulnerable people being trafficked or subjected to forced labour,

and are working with partners to improve this area further.

The force is good at identifying vulnerable people when they contact the police,

and there is a further level of review of these cases by the public protection

assessment team. The team ensures that the force makes all referrals to appropriate

partner agencies, and has also undertaken initial safeguarding. Call handlers follow

a structured risk-assessment process, known as THRIVE,12 to ensure that they

recognise vulnerable people at the earliest opportunity. The force’s IT systems allow

it to flag cases involving vulnerable or repeat victims by name and location so that

this information is clearly visible to staff who need it. The force uses this risk-

assessment process to help it to decide how to respond to incidents that involve

vulnerable people, and, where appropriate, to trigger additional or specific services.

For example, female rape victims are given the opportunity to ask that a female

officer attends to minimise further distress.

12 THRIVE is a structured assessment based on the levels of threat, harm, risk and vulnerability faced

by the victim, rather than simply by the type of incident or crime being reported, in order to help staff

determine the appropriate level of response to a call.

17

Initial response

Essex Police is good at initially responding to incidents involving vulnerable people,

particularly victims of domestic abuse and those who have mental health conditions.

Frontline staff, including neighbourhood officers, follow a clear process when

assessing risk and addressing the nature of a victim’s vulnerability. Officers identify

safeguarding measures through the DASH risk-assessment process,13 which officers

complete at all domestic abuse incidents. The assessment requires a ‘risk to victim’

report, with actions noted to remove, avoid, reduce or accept the risk. Officers record

details on the same form of children within the household, or who are present at the

scene, to enable suitable consideration and safeguarding of their needs. The forms

are subject to supervision and scrutiny to ensure accuracy.

Essex Police also arrests a high proportion of domestic abuse suspects compared to

forces across England and Wales. For every 100 domestic abuse-related offences

recorded by Essex Police in the 12 months to 30 June 2017, officers made 55

arrests (compared with the England and Wales rate of 46).

In the 12 months to 30 June 2017, Essex Police dealt with 272 domestic abuse

suspects by means of voluntary attendance14. This is a rate of two suspects dealt

with by voluntary attendance per 100 domestic abuse flagged crimes in Essex. The

force uses body-worn video cameras, although not all officers have access to

cameras and consequently some incidents, including a small number of domestic

abuse cases, do not benefit from their use. Immediate safeguarding is carried out

appropriately, and the force works well with partner organisations to provide

longer-term safeguarding. An example of this is the Sanctuary Scheme which is a

multi-agency victim-centred project which enables households at risk of violence to

remain in their own homes and reduce repeat victimisation through provision of

enhanced security measures and support.

The rate of arrest for domestic abuse offences can provide an indication of a force’s

approach to handling domestic abuse offenders. Although for the purpose of this

calculation arrests are not linked directly to offences, a high arrest rate may suggest

that a force prioritises arrests for domestic abuse offenders over other potential

13 DASH (domestic abuse, stalking and harassment) is a risk identification, assessment and

management model adopted by UK police forces and partner organisations in 2009. The aim of the

DASH assessment is to help frontline practitioners identify high-risk cases of domestic abuse, stalking

and so-called honour-based violence.

14 A voluntary attendance is a police station interview when the 'volunteer' attends to assist the police

with an investigation and they are not under arrest. Volunteers have the right to access independent

legal advice and are free to leave the police station at any time unless and until they are arrested.

18

forms of action (for further information, please see annex A). HMICFRS has

evaluated the arrest rate alongside other measures during our inspection process to

understand how each force deals with domestic abuse overall.

Figure 3: Domestic abuse arrest rate (per 100 domestic abuse-related offences), by force, in

the 12 months to 30 June 201715,16

Source: 2016 and 2017 HMICFRS data return, 2016 and 2017 Home Office domestic abuse

crime data17

For further information about this data, please see annex A

15 Durham, Lancashire, Warwickshire and West Mercia forces were unable to provide 2017 domestic

abuse arrest data. Cambridgeshire, Derbyshire, Durham and Gloucestershire forces were unable to

provide 2016 domestic abuse arrest data.

16 North Yorkshire Police was unable to provide comparable domestic abuse arrest data. Therefore, it

has been removed from the graph. For further information, please see annex A.

17 The Home Office has provided HMICFRS with data on domestic abuse-related offences recorded in

the 12 months to 30 June 2017. These data are more recent than those published by the Office for

National Statistics.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Lin

co

lnsh

ire

Cu

mb

ria

City o

f L

on

do

n

De

rbysh

ire

No

rfo

lk

Ke

nt

Be

dfo

rdsh

ire

So

uth

Wa

les

Esse

x

Hu

mb

ers

ide

We

st M

idla

nd

s

We

st Y

ork

sh

ire

Th

am

es V

alle

y

Ca

mb

rid

ge

sh

ire

Do

rse

t

No

rth

Wa

les

He

rtfo

rdsh

ire

Cle

ve

lan

d

Ch

esh

ire

Me

rse

ysid

e

Le

ice

ste

rsh

ire

Gre

ate

r M

an

ch

este

r

No

rth

um

bri

a

Wilts

hir

e

Dyfe

d-P

ow

ys

Su

ffo

lk

No

ttin

gh

am

sh

ire

Me

tro

po

lita

n P

olice

Su

rre

y

No

rth

am

pto

nsh

ire

Su

sse

x

Avo

n a

nd

So

me

rse

t

Glo

uce

ste

rsh

ire

Gw

en

t

So

uth

Yo

rksh

ire

De

vo

n a

nd

Co

rnw

all

Sta

ffo

rdsh

ire

Ha

mp

sh

ire

Essex Police England and Wales 2016 domestic abuse arrest rate

19

Mental health

Essex Police’s response to mental health is positive with extensive work being

undertaken both in force and with partner organisations. Discussions are advanced

with the relevant partner organisations and essential agreements are in place to

allow provision of more effective services to people who have mental health

conditions. Officers and staff in the control room have a good understanding of the

importance of acting immediately where necessary to protect those with mental

health conditions, and they are also supported by mental health specialists who work

in the control room. There are good processes in place for assessing risk which

enable staff to make effective decisions. Training is provided to all frontline officers

and there is some joint training with mental health partners with more planned.

There is an established mental health triage scheme jointly funded by the police and

the local NHS Trust. Under this scheme, mental health nurses accompany police

officers to help them to identify and support people who have mental health

conditions. The service operates seven-days a week (including bank holidays)

between 10.00am – 2.00am with an out-of-hours service in place between

2.00am – 10.00am. The triage process is established and is viewed positively by the

workforce and partners. Although it has yet to be formally evaluated, the force’s

initial findings are that it has reduced the number of people being brought into

custody at police stations. No person who has been arrested under Section 136 of

the Mental Health Act18 has been brought to a police station since May 2017. The

force has a developing understanding of the extent of mental health demand, and

introduced this scheme based on an analysis of the number of people approaching

the police in need of specialist support for mental health.

Investigating crimes involving vulnerable people

Essex Police is good at investigating crimes that involve victims who are vulnerable.

The majority of these crimes are allocated to specialist staff within the force’s public

protection command. These officers receive appropriate levels of training and

supervision from more senior investigators, with regular opportunities for continuing

professional development (CPD). We found the standard of investigation by these

units to be good. The domestic abuse investigation teams (Juno) investigate all high

and medium-risk domestic abuse cases and we found their investigations to be

good. The workloads of officers in specialist units are satisfactory. Supervision is

appropriate, visible and effective. This means that victims are more likely to receive

the best possible service. However, the same is not the case with some standard

18 Section 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983. This enables a police officer to remove, from a place

other than where they live, someone who they believe to be suffering from a mental disorder and in

need of immediate care and control, and take them to a place of safety – for example, a health or

social care facility, or the home of a relative or friend.

20

cases which are allocated to LPA officers where some cases are not investigated as

well as they should be. In cases where there are evidential difficulties, Juno officers

always contact victims in an effort to re-engage them with the investigation.

This does not happen with standard cases, which means that some victims who

might re-engage with the investigation are being missed.

The force makes use of a range of legal powers, such as domestic violence

protection orders (DVPOs) to protect victims of domestic abuse and the use of

Clare’s Law, to safeguard victims19. We note that breaches of DVPOs by offenders

linked to high and medium-risk cases are always actively followed up. However, this

is not always so with standard cases where the force takes a case-by-case

approach. This may mean that victims are left unnecessarily at risk when the

measures to intervene positively are available. The rate at which Essex Police

charges domestic abuse offenders with a crime is slightly higher than the rate for

England and Wales.

The force developed a revised domestic abuse action plan for 2016/17, which

contained 28 individual actions to be undertaken. Of these only one action is left to

be completed. The work on the action plan is led by the head of public protection

who reports progress to an assistant chief constable with overall responsibility for the

area. Activity on the action plan has been consistent and has improved the force’s

response to domestic abuse.

Partnership working

Essex Police has worked hard to develop relationships with partner organisations

which enable it to support vulnerable people and address the needs of victims.

Multi-agency safeguarding hub (MASH) structures are in place in the unitary

authorities of Thurrock and Southend.20 This is not the case in the Essex County

Council area where a compromise has been reached and a structure that comprises

many of the benefits and attributes of a MASH has been introduced that will enable

19 The Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme, often referred to as Clare’s Law, has been in place in

all 43 police forces in England and Wales since 8 March 2014. It enables the police to disclose

information about a partner’s previous history of domestic violence or violent acts. “Right to know”

cases are those where domestic abuse professionals consider that an individual should be notified as

a precautionary measure of a perpetrator’s violent past to their partner(s) to make them more aware

of the level of violence they may face.

20 A MASH (one per local authority area) brings together into a single location principal safeguarding

agencies to better identify risks to children (and in some areas, vulnerable adults), and improve

decision-making, interventions, and outcomes. A MASH enables the multi-agency team to share all

appropriate information in a secure environment, and ensure that the most appropriate response is

provided to effectively safeguard and protect individuals.

21

victims to receive a suitable service. This means that across the whole of Essex the

force and its partners can develop effective safety plans for both victims and

offenders who need support.

There is also an established multi-agency risk assessment conference (MARAC)

process. A MARAC is a meeting where information about the highest-risk domestic

abuse cases is shared between the police and other specialists, including local

independent domestic violence advisors who support victims. We reviewed the

MARAC process and found the system to be effective.

Essex Police’s multi-agency public protection arrangements (MAPPAs) remain under

pressure. MAPPA arrangements are used by the force and partner organisations,

including prisons and probation services, to monitor those offenders assessed as

presenting a high risk to the public and to stop them re-offending. The numbers of

registered sex offenders (RSOs) continues to increase, and in response the force in

2016 took part in a National Police Chiefs’ Council pilot. This sought to base visits to

registered sex offenders on an assessment of threat and risk, rather than a strict

schedule of visiting all offenders at regular intervals. This means that the force does

not visit low-risk RSOs who have not committed a crime, or about whom it has not

received adverse intelligence in the previous year. Offenders are subject to regular

intelligence checks, and if there is any suggestion that they are becoming a higher

risk the force conducts a full reassessment of the offender, and takes whatever

action is necessary to manage the risk to the public. At the time of inspection, the

force was managing 112 low-risk RSOs in this way, and it reported that none of

these offenders had become a cause of concern. The impact of this approach for the

force is that its RSO managers are now better able to ensure effective management

of very high-risk and high-risk offenders. Nonetheless, the approach is not without

risk and HMICFRS will continue to review the process while the force awaits the

outcome of a post-implementation review of the pilot. The force routinely seeks to

use preventative or ancillary orders to protect the public from dangerous and sexual

offenders, and it actively manages breaches of such orders. The force reports that it

dealt with 82 offences in the year to 31 March 2017. This includes low-level

breaches such as reporting late to a police station.

Areas for improvement

• The force should clarify the deployment and use of body-worn video

cameras by officers attending incidents of domestic abuse.

• The force should review its use of domestic violence protection orders to

ensure that it is making best use of these powers to safeguard victims of

domestic abuse.

22

Specialist capabilities

Ungraded

National policing responsibilities

The Strategic Policing Requirement (SPR)21 specifies six national threats: terrorism,

cyber-crime, public order, civil emergencies, child sexual abuse and serious and

organised crime.

Essex Police has the necessary arrangements in place to ensure that it can fulfil its

national policing responsibilities. The force has assessed its capability to respond to

the six national threats included in the SPR. Responsibility for the threats rests with

an assistant chief constable and the force’s preparedness to respond to each of

them is assessed every month.

The force has established a comprehensive programme to test its response to

national threats. For example, a recent training exercise tested the force’s ability to

confront a marauding terrorist attack. The exercise involved every armed officer in

the force and learning points were identified to improve firearms training. The force

has also recently been praised for leading an investigation, involving several forces,

into a cyber-attack on the NHS in the South East.

Essex Police also takes responsibility for co-ordinating large numbers of officers in

the Eastern region if any incident or emergency escalates beyond the control of a

single force. This includes establishing a ‘casualty bureau’ as a single point of

contact should large numbers of injured people need to be reunited with relatives.

Firearms capability

HMICFRS inspected how well forces were prepared to manage firearms attacks in

our 2016 effectiveness inspections. Subsequent terrorist attacks in the UK and

Europe have meant that the police service maintains a firm 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 Police use of Firearms

21 The SPR is issued annually by the Home Secretary. It sets out the latest national threats and

appropriate national policing capabilities required to counter them. National threats require a co-

ordinated or aggregated response from police forces, national agencies or other partners. The

Strategic Policing Requirement, Home Office, March 2015. Available from:

www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/417116/The_Strategic_Policin

g_Requirement.pdf

23

and Less Lethal Weapons22 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).

Essex Police has a good understanding of the potential harm facing the public;

its APSTRA conforms to the requirements of the code and the College of Policing

guidance.23 The force last reviewed its APSTRA on 13 November 2017.

We found that the designated chief officer scrutinises the APSTRA closely.

She formally approves its content which includes the levels of armed capability and

capacity that the threats require. Her decisions and the rationale on which they are

based are clearly auditable.

The force has put plans in place to increase the availability of armed response

vehicles. HMICFRS found that a clear justification for this decision had been set out

in the force APSTRA.

22 Code of Practice on Police use of Firearms and Less Lethal Weapons, Home Office, 2003.

23 College of Policing Authorised Professional Practice on armed policing, available at:

www.app.college.police.uk/app-content/armed-policing/?s

24

Annex A – About the data

The information presented in this report comes from a range of sources, including

data published by the Home Office, the Office for National Statistics, inspection

fieldwork and data collected directly from all 43 geographic police forces in England

and Wales.

Where HMICFRS collected data directly from police forces, we took reasonable

steps to agree the design of the data collection with forces and with other interested

parties such as the Home Office. We gave forces several opportunities to quality

assure and validate the data they provided us, to ensure the accuracy of the

evidence presented. For instance:

• Data that forces submitted were checked and queried with those forces where

data were notably different from other forces or were internally inconsistent.

• All forces were asked to check the final data used in the report and correct

any errors identified.

The source of the data is presented with each figure in the report, and is set out in

more detail within this annex. The source of Force in numbers data is also set out

below.

Methodology

Data in the report

British Transport Police was outside the scope of inspection. Any aggregated totals

for England and Wales exclude British Transport Police data, so will differ from those

published by the Home Office.

Where other forces have been unable to supply data, this is mentioned under the

relevant sections below.

Population

For all uses of population as a denominator in our calculations, unless otherwise

noted, we use Office for National Statistics (ONS) mid-2016 population estimates.

These were the most recent data available at the time of the inspection.

For the specific case of City of London Police, we include both resident and transient

population within our calculations. This is to account for the unique nature and

demographics of this force’s responsibility.

25

Survey of police staff

HMICFRS surveyed the police workforce across forces in England and Wales, to

understand their views on workloads, redeployment and the suitability of assigned

tasks. This survey was a non-statistical, voluntary sample which means that results

may not be representative of the workforce population. The number of responses

varied between 16 and 1,678 across forces. Therefore, we treated results with

caution and used them for identifying themes that could be explored further during

fieldwork rather than to assess individual force performance.

Ipsos MORI survey of public attitudes towards policing

HMICFRS commissioned Ipsos MORI to survey attitudes towards policing between

21 July and 15 August 2017. Respondents were drawn from an online panel and

results were weighted by age, gender and work status to match the population profile

of the force area. The sampling method used is not a statistical random sample and

the sample size was small, varying between 300 and 321 individuals in each force

area. Therefore, any results provided are only an indication of satisfaction rather

than an absolute.

The findings of this survey are available on our website:

www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmicfrs/data/peel-assessments

Review of crime files

HMICFRS reviewed 2,70024 police case files across crime types for:

• theft from person;

• rape (including attempts);

• stalking;

• harassment;

• common assault;

• grievous bodily harm (wounding);

• actual bodily harm.

Our file review was designed to provide a broad overview of the identification of

vulnerability, the effectiveness of investigations and to understand how victims are

treated through police processes. We randomly selected files from crimes recorded

between 1 January 2017 and 31 March 2017 and assessed them against several

24 60 case files were reviewed in each force, with the exception of the Metropolitan Police Service,

West Midlands Police and West Yorkshire Police where 90 case files were reviewed.

26

criteria. Due to the small sample size of cases selected per force, we did not use

results from the file review as the sole basis for assessing individual force

performance, but alongside other evidence gathered.

Force in numbers

A dash in this graphic indicates that a force was not able to supply HMICFRS with

data or the data supplied by the forces were not comparable.

Calls for assistance (including those for domestic abuse)

These data were collected directly from all 43 geographic police forces in England

and Wales. In 2017, the data requested from forces contained a different breakdown

of occurrences where the police were called to an incident.

Recorded crime and crime outcomes

These data are obtained from Home Office police recorded crime and outcomes data

tables for the 12 months to 30 June 2017 and are taken from the October 2017

Home Office data release, which is available from:

www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-recorded-crime-open-data-tables

Total police-recorded crime includes all crime, except fraud offences, recorded by all

police forces in England and Wales. Home Office publications on the overall volumes

and rates of recorded crime and outcomes include British Transport Police, which is

outside the scope of this HMICFRS inspection. Therefore, England and Wales rates

in this report will differ from those published by the Home Office.

Data referring to police-recorded crime should be treated with care, as recent

increases may be attributed to the renewed focus on the quality and compliance of

crime recording since HMICFRS’ national inspection of crime data in 2014.

Suffolk Constabulary was unable to submit 2017 outcomes data to the Home Office

due to data quality issues, relating to the changing of its crime recording system to

Athena. Therefore Suffolk Constabulary has been excluded from the England and

Wales figure.

Other notable points to consider when interpreting outcomes data are listed below.

• Crime outcome proportions show the percentage of crimes recorded in the 12

months to 30 June 2017 that have been assigned each outcome. This means

that each crime is tracked or linked to its outcome. Therefore these data are

subject to change, as more crimes are assigned outcomes over time.

27

• Under the new framework, 37 police forces in England and Wales provide

outcomes data through the Home Office data hub (HODH) on a monthly

basis. All other forces provide these data via a manual return also occurring

on a monthly basis.

• Leicestershire, Staffordshire and West Yorkshire forces participated in the

Ministry of Justice’s out of court disposals pilot. This means they no longer

issued simple cautions or cannabis/khat warnings and they restrict their use of

penalty notices for disorder as disposal options for adult offenders, as part of

the pilot. These three pilot forces continued to operate in accordance with the

pilot conditions since the pilot ended in November 2015. Other forces

subsequently also limited their use of some out of court disposals. Therefore,

the outcomes data should be viewed with this in mind.

• Direct comparisons should not be made between general crime outcomes and

domestic abuse-related outcomes. Domestic abuse-related outcomes are

based on the number of outcomes for domestic-abuse related offences

recorded in the 12 months to 30 June 2017, irrespective of when the crime

was recorded. Therefore, the domestic abuse-related crimes and outcomes

recorded in the reporting year are not tracked, whereas the general outcomes

are tracked.

• For a full commentary and explanation of outcome types please see Crime

Outcomes in England and Wales: year ending March 2017, Home Office, July

2017. Available from:

www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/63304

8/crime-outcomes-hosb0917.pdf

Anti-social behaviour

These data are obtained from Office for National Statistics data tables (year ending

31 March 2017), available from:

www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/policeforc

eareadatatables

All police forces record incidents of anti-social behaviour (ASB) reported to them in

accordance with the provisions of the National Standard for Incident Recording

(NSIR). Forces record incidents under NSIR in accordance with the same victim-

focused approach that applies for recorded crime, although these data are not

subject to the same quality assurance as the main recorded crime collection.

Incident counts should be interpreted as incidents recorded by the police, rather than

reflecting the true level of victimisation. Other agencies also deal with ASB incidents

(for example, local authorities and social landlords), but incidents reported to these

agencies will not generally be included in police data.

28

When viewing this data the reader should be aware that Warwickshire Police had a

problem with its incident recording. For a small percentage of all incidents reported

during 2015-16 the force could not identify whether these were ASB or other types of

incident. These incidents have been distributed pro rata for Warwickshire, so that

two percent of ASB incidents in the reporting year for 2015-16 is estimated.

Domestic abuse

Data relating to domestic abuse-flagged offences is obtained through the Home

Office for the 12 months to 30 June 2017. These are more recent data than those

previously published by Office for National Statistics. The Home Office collects these

data regularly and requires all forces to record accurately and flag domestic abuse

crimes. Domestic abuse flags should be applied in accordance with the Home Office

Counting Rules25 to ensure consistency across forces, and within published data

sets.

Data relating to domestic abuse arrests and outcomes were collected directly from

all 43 geographic police forces in England and Wales.

Further information about the domestic abuse statistics and recent releases is

available from:

www.ons.gov.uk/releases/domesticabuseinenglandandwalesyearendingmarch2017

When viewing this data the reader should be aware that North Yorkshire Police was

unable to give the Home Office comparable data on domestic abuse-flagged crimes.

The force extracted data for HMICFRS on the powers and outcomes used to deal

with these offences by using an enhanced search. This search examined additional

factors (such as the victim / suspect relationship) and included a keyword search to

identify additional domestic abuse crimes which may not have been flagged. The

force used a simpler search, which identified domestic abuse crimes by flagging

alone, to extract data it supplied to the Home Office. As North Yorkshire Police’s

data on domestic abuse are not comparable with other forces, we have excluded the

data.

25 Home Office Counting Rules are rules in accordance with which crime data – required to be

submitted to the Home Secretary under sections 44 and 45 of the Police Act 1996 – must be

collected. They set down how the police service in England and Wales must record crime, how crimes

must be classified according to crime type and categories, whether and when to record crime, how

many crimes to record in respect of a single incident and the regime for the re-classification of crimes

as no-crimes.

29

Organised crime groups (OCGs)

These data were collected directly from all 43 geographic police forces in England

and Wales. City of London Police is excluded from the England and Wales rate as its

OCG data are not comparable with other forces due to size and its wider national

remit.

As at 1 July 2017 City of London Police had recorded 46 OCGs. However during the

inspection we found that only six OCGs were within the force’s geographical area

and the remaining 40 were part of the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau’s remit.

Figures in the report

Not all forces’ reports will contain all the figures we mention in the sections below.

This is because some forces’ data was incomplete or not comparable with England

and Wales data, and in 2017 HMICFRS undertook risk-based inspections.

More details about our risk-based approach can be found here:

www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmicfrs/peel-assessments/how-we-inspect/2017-

peel-assessment/#risk-based

Rate of anti-social behaviour (ASB) powers per 1 million population, by force, in the 12 months to 30 June 2017

These data were collected directly from all 43 geographic police forces in England

and Wales. HMICFRS collected data on anti-social behaviour powers, including:

• criminal behaviour orders;

• community protection notices;

• civil injunctions;

• dispersal orders.

Together these powers form the anti-social behaviour (ASB) powers considered in

this report.

The Crime and Policing Act 2014 introduced ASB powers which can be applied by

both local authorities and the police. The ASB powers data provided in this report

covers police data. Therefore, results should be treated with caution as they may not

include instances where local authorities exercised these powers.

When viewing this data the reader should be aware of the following:

• Bedfordshire Police, Greater Manchester Police and the Metropolitan Police

Service were unable to provide data on anti-social behaviour powers as the

data are not held centrally within each force.

30

• Greater Manchester Police was unable to provide any 2016 ASB use of

powers data. Greater Manchester Police intends for its new integrated

operational policing system to incorporate recording of ASB powers.

• Suffolk Constabulary was only able to provide data for the southern area of

the force in 2017. Therefore its data are excluded.

• The forces highlighted above are not included in the figure or in the

calculation of the England and Wales rate.

• Gloucestershire, Hertfordshire, Humberside and Merseyside forces were only

able to provide partial 2017 ASB use of powers data.

• Gloucestershire Constabulary and Hertfordshire Constabulary were unable to

obtain data regarding the number of civil injunctions as their local authorities

lead the application of these.

• Humberside Police was unable to provide data on community protection

notices and civil injunction notices as its local authorities lead the application

of these. The force does not collect data on criminal behaviour orders and

dispersal orders.

• Merseyside Police was unable to provide data on dispersal orders as these

orders are attached to individual crime files.

Proportion of investigations where action was taken, by force, for offences recorded in the 12 months to 30 June 2017

Please see ‘Recorded Crime and Crime Outcomes’ above.

Suffolk Constabulary was unable to provide 2017 crime outcomes data. Dorset

Police was unable to provide 2016 crime outcomes data. Therefore, these forces’

data are not included in the figure.

Dorset Police was unable to provide 2016 crimes outcome data, because it had

difficulty with the recording of crime outcomes for the 12 months to 30 June 2016.

This was due to the force introducing the Niche records management system in

spring 2015. Problems with the implementation of Niche meant that crime outcomes

were not reliably recorded.

Domestic abuse arrest rate (per 100 domestic abuse-related offences), by force, in the 12 months to 30 June 2017

Please see ‘Domestic abuse’ above.

• The arrest rate is calculated using a common time period for arrests and

offences. It is important to note that each arrest is not necessarily directly

linked to its specific domestic abuse offence recorded in the 12 months to 30

June 2017 in this calculation. It is also possible to have more than one arrest

31

per offence. In addition, the reader should note the increase in

police-recorded crime which affected the majority of forces over the last year.

This may mean arrest rates are higher than the figures suggest. Despite this,

the calculation still indicates whether the force prioritises arrests for domestic

abuse offenders over other potential forms of action. HMICFRS evaluated the

arrest rate alongside other measures (such as use of voluntary attendance or

body-worn video cameras) during our inspection process to understand how

each force deals with domestic abuse overall.

When viewing this data the reader should be aware of the following:

• Durham, Lancashire, Warwickshire and West Mercia forces were unable to

provide domestic abuse arrest data. North Yorkshire Police was unable to

provide comparable domestic abuse crime and arrest data, so a rate could not

be calculated. Therefore, these forces are not included in the figure.

• Cambridgeshire, Derbyshire, Durham and Gloucestershire forces were unable

to provide 2016 domestic abuse arrest data. Therefore, these forces do not

have 2016 data included in the figure.

When viewing domestic abuse arrest data for 2016, the reader should be aware of

the following:

• Cambridgeshire Constabulary was unable to provide 2016 domestic abuse

arrest data due to a recording problem that meant it could only obtain

accurate data from a manual audit of its custody records.

• Lancashire Constabulary had difficulty in identifying all domestic

abuse-flagged arrests. This affected 23 days in the 12 months to 30 June

2016. The force investigated this and confirmed that the impact on the 2016

data provided to HMICFRS would be marginal and that these are the most

reliable data it can provide.

Rate of organised crime groups (OCGs) per 1 million population, by force, as at 1 July 2017

Please see ‘Organised crime groups’ above.

Organised crime group data from City of London Police are not comparable with

other forces. Therefore, its data are not included in the figure.

For data relating to 2016 the number of OCGs in Warwickshire Police and West

Mercia Police force areas is a combined total of OCGs for the two force areas. The

OCGs per 1 million population rate is based upon their areas’ combined population.

For the 2017 data Warwickshire Police and West Mercia Police force split their

OCGs into two separate force areas.