Quickly exit this site by pressing the Escape key Leave this site
We use some essential cookies to make our website work. We’d like to set additional cookies so we can remember your preferences and understand how you use our site.
You can manage your preferences and cookie settings at any time by clicking on “Customise Cookies” below. For more information on how we use cookies, please see our Cookies notice.
Your cookie preferences have been saved. You can update your cookie settings at any time on the cookies page.
Your cookie preferences have been saved. You can update your cookie settings at any time on the cookies page.
Sorry, there was a technical problem. Please try again.
Thanks for trying the 'beta' version of our new website. It's a work in progress, we'll be adding new services over the next few weeks, so please take a look and tell us what you think.
I am pleased to share that in December I received a letter from HM Inspector, Wendy Williams CBE, informing me that HMICFRS has discharged one of our two accelerated causes of concern (ACoC): responding to the public.
I’m delighted by their decision, as it reflects the impact of the collective hard work that has been put into this critical area over the last 12 months from across the force as a whole, and particularly by the management and staff in our Force Contact Centre.
The decision is a result of our continuing improvement over several months and HMICFRS’s findings during onsite ‘reality testing’ in September and October. In her letter, Ms Williams welcomed our increased performance in answering 999 calls, and identified a number of improvements that her inspectors had observed first hand, including:
• Clear governance in the Contact Centre, with more use of data to understand demand and performance;
• Effective auditing, which gives assurance that our reported improvement is accurate;
• Significant improvement in the recording of repeat and vulnerable victims; and
• Our call handlers understanding and use of THRIVE for calls into the Contact Centre.
The discharging of this ACoC is an important step in our journey to becoming, once again, an outstanding local police service. But there is still much more to do before we can exit our ‘Engage’ status. HMICFRS still has some ongoing concerns in the area of Responding to the Public, and there is inspection activity planned in the two areas for which we previously received an inadequate grade –Investigating Crime, and Managing Offenders and Suspects – during January and February 2024.
My thanks go to our staff for their hard work to help us get to this position. However, we will not rest on our laurels. There is still much to do, both to improve our performance in how we respond to the public and in other areas where we are still deemed inadequate. I hope you will join me in celebrating this success, and this positive step along our journey to get back to being an outstanding local police force.
Chris Noble
Chief Constable