Six police forces in England placed in special measures

Six police forces in England are under special measures, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) said.

The Metropolitan Police, the UK's largest police force, was placed under special measures this week after a series of failures.

The watchdog said there are now six police forces in special measures.

The forces are the Met, Greater Manchester, Cleveland, Gloucestershire, Staffordshire and Wiltshire.

Inspectors have raised "systemic concerns" about the Met, including its substandard response to emergency calls, "barely adequate" crime recording and a backlog of child abuse referrals.

A watchdog letter to the Met said failures have been exacerbated by the number of young and inexperienced recruits brought in as part of the national drive to replace thousands of officers cut during austerity measures.

Matt Parr, from HMICFRS, wrote to acting Met Commissioner Sir Stephen House, saying the organisation has had "substantial and persistent concerns" about the force "for a considerable time".

These included the findings of a damning report in March which said the force's approach to tackling corruption was "fundamentally flawed" and "not fit for purpose".

Wiltshire Police was the latest to confirm it will move into special measures.

PCC Philip Wilkinson told BBC Radio Wiltshire's Dan O'Brien that a report into the force, due to be released next week, will show the change.

He said: "My role as PCC is clear: to be the public's voice on policing, to scrutinise, challenge and support Wiltshire Police to provide an effective, efficient, policing service which meets the needs of its communities and to hold Wiltshire Police to account for the service it provides to the public.

"I am aware of, and welcome, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) intention to provide closer scrutiny to Wiltshire Police further to their recent PEEL (Police Efficiency, Effectiveness and Legitimacy) inspection, and their intention to move Wiltshire Police to the 'engage' phase of scrutiny.

"We remain in close contact with the Inspectorate and I will be able to make a more detailed statement once the inspection report has been published in full."

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