Commissioner Zoë responds to North Yorkshire Police inspection: ‘Our Police Force needs to do significantly better’
“As Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for York and North Yorkshire it is my statutory responsibility to set strategic priorities on behalf of the public, annual budgets, and hold the Chief Constable to account for the services that North Yorkshire Police (NYP) delivers to keep our communities safe and feeling safe.
“I welcome regular inspections from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS), because the reports are an independent and rigorous assessment which I can use to intensify the level of scrutiny required to ensure North Yorkshire Police are aspiring towards becoming an outstanding service.
“I’m pleased to see the latest report recognises the good work that takes place to engage with the public and treat people with fairness and respect. Notably this includes the creative ways in which Neighbourhood Policing Teams engage with communities and how North Yorkshire Police monitors the use of force and stop and search powers well.
“The ways in which North Yorkshire Police responds to the public has been criticised but I expect to see immediate change in this area after recently approving an investment of 1.8 million into the Force Control Room. This is expected to transform how quickly 999 and 101 calls are answered and re-instate confidence amongst the public, whilst also ensuring the wider Customer Contact Function is fit for the future and continuing to meet the needs of communities in the longer term. I have been assured this will continue and that I’ll see a drastic improvement by the end of the year.
“Unfortunately, I’m more than disappointed with other findings in the report and I’m sure members of the public will be too. It’s unacceptable that North Yorkshire Police requires improvement in multiple areas, in particular its strategic planning, organisational management and value for money – clearly more needs to be done and is being done as I continue to hold the Chief Constable to account. Our Police Force needs to do significantly better.
“I’m confident that the Chief Constable is overseeing significant transformation work within North Yorkshire Police to improve these outcomes, and that since October 2022 has implemented a trusted organisational improvement plan that can be effective at pace. To reinforce this confidence, HMICFRS have acknowledged that North Yorkshire Police has worked closely with inspection staff, responded well to initial findings and acted quickly to address concerns and areas for improvement.
“As Commissioner my role is clear, to intensify scrutiny activity, challenge the areas that need improving and continue to be the advocate for communities who want their voices heard. I’m bolstering my approach to this in 2023 with a relaunch of my Public Accountability Meetings, during which I will regularly question and request information from North Yorkshire Police in relation to specific areas of the HMICFRS report and hold Chief Officers to account for progress made on behalf of the public. My scrutiny work does not stop at these meetings and will continue in every scrutiny panel, executive board, committee and other frequent interaction I have with police services for assurance the Force is on track with their plans. There is no accepting simply what I am told; I must receive evidence of transformation in all areas for improvement.
“The Chief Constable has spoken out about the operational concerns and good practice detailed in the report and I will dive deeper into this response during a live broadcast of my Public Accountability on Monday 20 March at 2.30pm. Documents relating to the meeting can be found on my website from today and I invite the public to watch the session if they can and if not, a recording will be made available. Please visit: https://bit.ly/PAM20March2023
“In addition, I encourage any member of the public to send questions or concerns for us to address during the live meeting. Please email [email protected] or to ask a question during the live broadcast, post your question on Twitter using #NYscrutiny
“HMICFRS have expressed Cause for Concern about North Yorkshire Police’s internal governance. Essentially, they say that the Chief Constable and her team must have a better system in place for running the internal workings of their organisation. The Force needs to make sure that they are clear what their business needs are from their support services and how they can best be met. I agree with HMI about that.
“Ultimately what I expect to see from North Yorkshire Police is the clear delivery of outcomes in line with the public priorities set out in my Police and Crime Plan, which include enhancing positive culture, working to prevent harm and damage and to deliver the “Right people, Right Support” every time.
“The inspection team identified that North Yorkshire Police staff are proud to serve their communities and I proudly believe that North Yorkshire Police continues to be a dedicated and hard-working public service, however, there needs to be significant progress to address the issues raised in this report and I have set the expectation with the Chief Constable that upon re-inspection in October 2023, I need to see overall gradings moved into the ‘good’ category.”
You can read the Chief Constable’s response to the HMICFRS report on the North Yorkshire Police website.
The Commissioner continues to encourage the public to complete her open and ongoing Public Trust and Confidence Survey to measure the public’s trust and confidence in North Yorkshire Police. This can be accessed here: https://bit.ly/TrustConfidence
The HMICFRS report is an inspection of North Yorkshire Police and not of Commissioner Zoë and the work of her Office (OPFCC). You can read more about this work here: Commissioner Zoë’s Newsletter – February 2023 (campaign-archive.com)
The latest independent inspection of North Yorkshire Police has been published today.
Today, Friday 17 March 2023, His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary Fire and Rescue Service (HMICFRS) has published the report of its PEEL Inspection of North Yorkshire Police. The PEEL inspection covers the areas of Effectiveness, Efficiency and Legitimacy across a number of sub-headings. The inspection was completed in October 2022.
HMICFRS has confirmed their grading of North Yorkshire Police performance as follows:
| Good | Engaging with and treating the public with fairness and respect |
| Adequate | Preventing crime and anti-social behaviour |
| Requires Improvement | Responding to the public |
| Requires Improvement | Investigating crime |
| Requires Improvement | Protecting vulnerable people |
| Adequate | Managing offenders and suspects |
| Requires Improvement | Building, supporting and protecting the workforce |
| Inadequate | Strategic planning, organisational management and value for money |