Warwickshire Police 'misses chances to protect vulnerable people'

A police force is "missing opportunities to safeguard vulnerable people", a watchdog has found.

Warwickshire Police needs to work on how it assesses calls from the public so that vulnerable people and repeat callers are regularly spotted, a report says.

The force was also told it requires improvement for its investigation of crime and management of offenders.

Chief Constable Debbie Tedds said she "welcomed" the independent scrutiny.

The inspection, carried out by His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) in October, highlighted the force's need "to do better at consistently giving advice" about the prevention of crime and preserving evidence when people contact the police.

When it comes to crime, the report found "too many of Warwickshire Police's serious investigations aren't supervised well enough and aren't effective enough".

"The force doesn't always pursue evidence-led prosecutions where appropriate and it doesn't always follow the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime," Wendy Williams, inspector of HMICFRS said.

She added: "This is resulting in a poor service to some victims of crime."

The watchdog said it was satisfied with several aspects of the force's performance but has issued a series of recommendations including revising the force's IT infrastructure as well as making changes to its systems within three months.

It comes after the inspection discovered staff had been moved from critical areas of work to manage demand, and some teams were left under-resourced and without the specialist skills needed to perform their role.

Following the report's publication, Ms Tedds of Warwickshire Police said: "The recommendations for improvement are very helpful, and they are areas we are already committed to addressing."

The force has said by Spring 2023, organisational changes it has begun implementing will ensure it "has the right people in the right place with the right skills".

It has also announced it is investing in protective services, prevention resources and provision for domestic abuse, rape, serious sexual offences, child exploitation and abuse, trafficking and exploitation will enable us to more effectively prevent crime and safeguard vulnerable people.

Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: [email protected]