Police force must improve call response times

Warwickshire Police must improve how fast it responds to 999 and 101 calls, the policing watchdog has said.

A report by His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) found whilst the force's call handling had improved since its last inspection in 2022, inspectors still had "serious concerns" about how quickly officers responded once the calls had been answered.

But inspectors also found the force was good at preventing and deterring crime, and reducing reoffending.

Warwickshire Police said it was already taking steps to improve on its response times and now had additional officers and staff in its investigation teams.

Inspectors found that the force met its attendance times in only 33 of 68 relevant cases - and informed callers of delays in only 15 of 31 relevant cases.

They said that the force had not improved in this area since its last inspection and was still failing to meet its own published targets.

But the report also found that the force had improved how it investigates crime, with an increase in the number of cases closed.

The force was found to be inadequate at responding to the public, and requiring improvement at protecting vulnerable people, building, supporting and protecting the workforce, and leadership and force management.

Inspectors graded Warwickshire Police as being good at recording data about crime and preventing and deterring crime and antisocial behaviour, and reducing vulnerability.

His Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary Lee Freeman said while it was positive to see that the force had made progress in some areas - he was concerned about how well it protected vulnerable people.

He said: "The force needs to make sure that its governance and performance structures are capable of quickly identifying and addressing any potential harm to vulnerable people.

"It is evident that the force is committed to achieving this. However, given the scale of the changes required, this is still work in progress."

Chief Constable Alex Franklin-Smith said: "We were already taking steps to improve and have been working closely with HMICFRS in the months since the inspection.

"We have changed how we respond and investigate and now have additional officers and staff in our investigation teams. This has resulted in a better response and outcome rates."

Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Seccombe said the report highlighted the work to improve the force's service to the public was already taking place.

He said: "Since the inspection period, the force has continued to sustain these improvements, despite increases in demand."

He said the overall grade of inadequate for public contact was "disappointing", but added: "Nevertheless, the report needs to be seen in its full context, many of the issues it has highlighted come down to an overall lack of people to meet the increased demand or process investigations more quickly and effectively.

"Warwickshire Police receives among the lowest amount of central government funding per head of population of any force and similarly ranks among the forces with the lowest numbers of officers compared to the population it serves.

"I have been clear for some time that there needs to be a fundamental review of the funding landscape for policing."

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