Watchdog eases scrutiny of Devon and Cornwall Police

Devon and Cornwall Police is no longer under extra scrutiny over its handling of violent and sexual offenders in communities, it announced.

In October 2022, the force was moved into an enhanced level of monitoring by the police inspectorate.

The watchdog found three areas for improvement; emergency call response, recording of crime and management of registered sex and violent offenders.

"Additional scrutiny" has been lifted for the third strand, the force said.

But it continues for emergency call response and recording of crime His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICRFS) said.

Acting Chief Constable Jim Colwell said: "I am extremely proud of the hard work and resilience of my officers and staff across the organisation who accepted HMICFRS's findings and have worked relentlessly over the last 18 months to resolve the management of violent and sexual offenders in our communities."

The force said HMICFRS had "recognised clear and sustainable improvements" in this area.

It said this included investment in public protection teams, reducing officer workload and overdue visits, as well as a boost to staffing.

The police inspectorate's monitoring process consists of two stages: scan and engage.

All police forces are in the scan phase by default, but may be escalated to engage, as was the case with Devon and Cornwall Police.

Following the decision to launch extra monitoring, a further report from the inspectorate in February 2023 identified the need for urgent improvements in the three areas.

Inspectors calculated the force had failed to record more than 18,000 crimes over a one-year period.

Call response times were also a concern, with some people waiting "over an hour" after dialling 101.

Identification of repeat and vulnerable callers was missed, and callers were not always given the appropriate advice on preservation of evidence or crime prevention, the inspectorate found.

It also found the force was unable to adequately manage registered sexual and violent offenders, which it said meant an increasing risk of further offending may not be identified.

Acting Chief Constable Colwell added: "Although we remain in the engage phase for the other two areas identified and recognise there is still work to do, improvements continue at pace."

He said an "open and honest dialogue" with HMICFRS would continue, with a "structured and measured response" to their findings to deliver "sustained improvements".

Giving statistical examples of how the force had improved, the force said 96.2% of 999 calls were answered within 10 seconds in December 2023, up by 13.7% compared to the same month in 2022.

It said the number of 101 calls abandoned had fallen from 65.2% in June 2023 to 24.8% in December 2023.

The force's overall crime recording compliance stood at 87.8% in September 2023, an uplift of 7.5% since 2022, it added.

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