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Jo Coles - York and North Yorkshire Deputy Mayor for Policing, Fire and Crime

Jo Coles - North Yorkshire Deputy Mayor for Policing, Fire and Crime

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HMICFRS Inspections

HMICFRS inspections and responses from the Commissioner

The Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner as elected local policing body has a duty in law to comment on any HMICFRS report which includes information about North Yorkshire Police. The Commissioner must ask the Chief Constable for a response, prepare their own comments and intended actions and then publish this material – and send a copy to HMICFRS and to the Home Secretary within 56 days of receipt of the report

We want to keep the public fully informed. This page contains links to the HMICFRS reports along with our responses.

In summer 2017, HMIC took on inspections of England’s fire & rescue services, assessing and reporting on their efficiency, effectiveness and leadership. To reflect this new role, the name changed from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary to Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Service (HMICFRS) and later, His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Service (HMICFRS) .

For the full list of inspections  visit the HMICFRS website

Report on the Criminal Justice Alliance’s super-complaint – Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 and independent community scrutiny of stop and search

Super-complaint — 15 December 2023

HMICFRS, the College of Policing and the Independent Office for Police Conduct have published a report in response to the super-complaint  from the Criminal Justice Alliance Section. This super-complaint is about the police’s use of section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, and the scrutiny of all stop and search powers.

Report on the Criminal Justice Alliance’s super-complaint – Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 and independent community scrutiny of stop and search

North Yorkshire Police: PEEL cause of concern letter

Published on: 6 December 2023

Between 3 and 15 October 2022, we inspected North Yorkshire Police as part of our police efficiency, effectiveness and legitimacy (PEEL) programme. During our inspection, we identified a cause of concern, in which we said that North Yorkshire Police doesn’t have adequate governance in place.

On 17 March 2023, we published this cause of concern in our 2021–22 PEEL assessment of North Yorkshire Police.

This letter gives an update on our findings.

Get the letter

Race and policing: An inspection of race disparity in police criminal justice decision-making

Race, Thematic inspection  —  

In this report, we examine what published demographic data is available for a range of police criminal justice decisions. We then detail the policy context that exists for these, before setting out the findings from the fieldwork that we carried out.

Race and Policing: A review of the police service’s leadership and governance arrangements for race-related matters

Race, Thematic inspection  —  

This inspection considers the effectiveness of the national leadership and governance arrangements that relate to race and policing.

Homicide prevention: An inspection of the police contribution to the prevention of homicide

Homicide, Joint inspection  —  

This inspection examined how effectively the police understood, and contributed to the prevention of, homicides.

An inspection of how effective police forces are in the deployment of firearms

Firearms  —  

In this inspection we examined how effective police forces are in the deployment of firearms, including specialist munitions.

Police performance: Getting a grip

PEEL, Police performance, Spotlight  —  

This report focuses on the findings from our police effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy 2021/22 inspection programme, which assesses the performance of the 43 police forces in England and Wales.

State of Policing: The Annual Assessment of Policing in England and Wales 2022

Annual reports  —  

This is His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary’s first annual report to the Secretary of State under section 54(4A) of the Police Act 1996. It contains his assessment of the effectiveness and efficiency of police forces in England and Wales, based on the inspections we carried out between 1 December 2021 and 31 March 2023.

Vetting, misconduct and misogyny in the police service: review of progress

Correspondence, Integrity and corruption, Letter  —  

The Home Secretary commissioned HMICFRS to carry out an urgent review of progress on vetting and counter-corruption in England and Wales. This letter and annex set out our findings.

North Yorkshire – National child protection inspection post-inspection review

Published on: 3 May 2023

This inspection reviewed the progress made by North Yorkshire Police since the publication of our last report for North Yorkshire in 2021. It is part of a rolling programme of inspections of all police forces in England and Wales.

During this inspection we:

  • examined force policies, strategies and other documents;
  • interviewed senior leaders, managers and spoke with frontline staff; and
  • audited 33 child protection cases (11 cases were good, 8 required improvement and 14 were inadequate).

This report sets out our findings.

Get the report

 

Responses to the super-complaint from the Tees Valley Inclusion Project

Coercive and controlling behaviour, Ethics and accountability, Honour-based violence, Super-complaint  —  

A report on the Tees Valley Inclusion Project super-complaint, about the police response to victims of sexual abuse from ethnic minority backgrounds who may be at risk of honour-based abuse

PEEL 2021/22 – An inspection of North Yorkshire Police

Published on: 17 March 2023

PEEL is HMICFRS’s assessment of police forces in England and Wales. PEEL stands for police effectiveness, efficiency, and legitimacy.

This report sets out the findings for North Yorkshire Police.

Get the report

An inspection of how well the police tackle serious youth violence

Research, Thematic inspection  —  

We examined how well police address serious youth violence to reduce violent crime involving young people.

Young people’s experiences of serious youth violence: Care not criminalisation

Research  —  

We commissioned User Voice to conduct research on the lived experience of those who have committed, and been on the receiving end, of serious youth violence.

Terms of reference: Home Secretary’s commission for rapid review of vetting and counter-corruption

Integrity and corruption, Terms of reference  —  

HMICFRS will carry out an urgent review of the police service’s progress on vetting, misconduct and counter-corruption.

PEEL Assessment Framework (PAF) 2023–2025

Effectiveness, Efficiency, Legitimacy, PEEL, PEEL methodology  —  

This is our assessment framework for our police effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy (PEEL) programme for 2023-2025. We assess each police force in England and Wales, giving graded judgments across several core questions set out in this framework.

Second National Police Chiefs’ Council response to Police perpetrated domestic abuse: Report on the Centre for Women’s Justice super-complaint

Domestic abuse, Ethics and accountability, Integrity and corruption, Super-complaint  —  

Today the second responses from the National Police Chiefs’ Council to the Police perpetrated domestic abuse super complaint have been published on GOV.UK.

How the police respond to victims of sexual abuse when the victim is from an ethnic minority background and may be at risk of honour-based abuse

Super-complaint  —  

HMICFRS, the College of Policing and the Independent Office for Police Conduct have published a report in response to the super-complaint  from the Tees Valley Inclusion Project about how the police respond to victims of sexual abuse when the victim is from an ethnic minority background and may be at risk of honour-based abuse.

Terms of reference: Homicide prevention

Homicide  —  

HMICFRS will carry out a thematic inspection of homicide prevention, jointly supported by the National Police Chiefs’ Council, the College of Policing and the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

An inspection into how well the police and other agencies use digital forensics in their investigations

Digital, National report  —  

In this inspection, we examined the provision of digital forensics in police forces and regional organised crime units.

Responses to Police perpetrated domestic abuse: Report on the Centre for Women’s Justice super-complaint

Domestic abuse, Ethics and accountability, Integrity and corruption, Super-complaint  —  

Today we published the responses to the report: Police perpetrated domestic abuse, a report on the Centre for Women’s Justice super-complaint

An inspection of vetting, misconduct, and misogyny in the police service

Published on: 2 November 2022

Following the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving police officer, the then Home Secretary commissioned HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) under section 54(2B) of the Police Act 1996 to assess current vetting and counter-corruption capacity and capability in policing across England and Wales. This was to include forces’ ability to detect and deal with misogynistic and predatory behaviour.

We were asked to consider current vetting (and re-vetting), arrangements for transferees, whistleblowing arrangements, the work of counter-corruption units and, where relevant, wider Professional Standards Departments.

Read the report

North Yorkshire – National child protection inspection

Published on: 29 March 2022

This report is a summary of the findings of our inspection of police child protection services in North Yorkshire, which took place in November 2021.

We examined how effective the police’s decisions were at each stage of their interactions with or for children. This was from initial contact through to the investigation of offences against them. We also scrutinised how the force treated children in custody. And we assessed how the force is structured, led and governed, in relation to its child protection services.

We adapted this inspection because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Working within national guidelines, we conducted an onsite inspection, agreeing with the force to carry it out both safely and effectively.

This report sets out our findings.

Press release

PFCC Response to HMICFRS NCPI

2018/19 PEEL Annual Assessment

This is HMICFRS’s fifth PEEL (police effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy) assessment of North Yorkshire Police. PEEL is designed to give you information about how your local police force is performing in several important areas, in a way that is comparable both across England and Wales, and year on year.

North Yorkshire Police was inspected in tranche two and we found:

  • the extent to which the force is effective at reducing crime and keeping people safe is good.
  • the extent to which the force operates efficiently and sustainably is good.
  • the extent to which the force treats the public and its workforce legitimately requires improvement.

22 March 2018 – Effectiveness, PEEL

As part of the annual inspections of police effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy (PEEL), HMICFRS assessed how effective the force is at keeping people safe and reducing crime. This report sets out the findings for North Yorkshire Police.

15 February 2018 -Crime recording

In November 2015, HMICFRS announced that it would inspect forces’ crime-recording practices in a rolling programme of every force in England and Wales. This rolling programme will be completed over a period of several years and will report on the progress made by forces since the 2014 crime data integrity inspection. This report sets out the findings of an inspection of North Yorkshire Police.

2017 PEEL Annual Assessment

This is HMICFRS’ fourth PEEL (police effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy) assessment of North Yorkshire Police. PEEL is designed to give the public information about how their local police force is performing in several important areas, in a way that is comparable both across England and Wales, and year on year. The assessment is updated throughout the year with our inspection findings and reports.

  • The extent to which the force is effective at keeping people safe and reducing crime is good.
  • The extent to which the force is efficient at keeping people safe and reducing crime requires improvement.
  • The extent to which the force is legitimate at keeping people safe and reducing crime is good.

12 December 2017 – PEEL: police legitimacy 2017

As in PEEL legitimacy 2016, this inspection looked at the extent to which:

forces treat people with fairness and respect;
they ensure their workforces act ethically and lawfully; and
those workforces feel they have been treated with fairness and respect by the forces.

09 October 2017 – PEEL: police efficiency 2017

As in PEEL efficiency 2016, this inspection:

  • examined how well forces understand the demand for their service, how well they match their resources to that demand, and how well they are planning to meet future demand; and
  • provides an assessment of their efficiency.

This report sets out the findings for North Yorkshire Police.

2 October 2017 – Abuse of position for a sexual purpose

In the HMIC 2016 legitimacy inspections, a national cause of concern was identified in forces’ ability to seek intelligence on potential abuse of position for sexual gain.

HMICFRS recommended that all forces should have started to implement a plan to achieve the capability and capacity required to seek intelligence on potential abuse of position for sexual gain.

In 2017, we reviewed all plans and associated documentation provided by forces in response to this recommendation. Each force was sent a letter setting out our assessment of its individual plans.

12 April 2017 – 2016 PEEL Annual Assessment

Forces are assessed on their effectiveness, efficiency, legitimacy and leadership. At the end of the PEEL year, HMIs bring together all the judgments made throughout the year together with other findings and information to produce a rounded annual assessment of each force.

02 March 2017 – PEEL: police effectiveness 2016 – North Yorkshire Police

As part of our annual inspections of police effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy (PEEL), HMIC assessed how effective police forces are at keeping people safe and reducing crime.

2 February 2017 – Best Use of Stop and Search revisit – North Yorkshire Police

In 2014, the Home Office and College of Policing launched the Best Use of Stop and Search (BUSS) scheme. The scheme aims to achieve greater transparency and community involvement in the use of stop and search powers, and to support a more intelligence-led approach, leading to better outcomes. These reports set out the findings of a revisit inspection of North Yorkshire Police, which was one of 19 forces found to not be complying with one or two features of the scheme in 2015 inspections.

8 December 2016 – PEEL: Police leadership 2016

As in PEEL 2015, this inspection examined how well forces understand, develop and display leadership; and provides an assessment of how well led they are.

8 December 2016 – PEEL: police legitimacy 2016 – North Yorkshire Police

As in PEEL legitimacy 2015, this inspection looked at the extent to which forces treat people with fairness and respect; the extent to which they ensure their workforces act ethically and lawfully; and the extent to which those workforces themselves feel they have been treated with fairness and respect by the forces. This report sets out the findings for North Yorkshire Police.

17 November 2016 – North Yorkshire – 2016 Value for money profile

The Value for money (VfM) profiles provide comparative data on a wide range of policing activities. For instance: does your force spend more or less than other similar forces? Does it receive fewer or more 999 calls? How does the crime rate differ from other force areas? This profile sets out the value for money information for North Yorkshire Police for 2016.

3 November 2016 – PEEL: police efficiency 2016 – North Yorkshire Police

This inspection examined how well each force in England and Wales understands the demand for its service and how well it match its resources to that demand; and provides an assessment of its efficiency. This report sets out the findings for North Yorkshire Police.

13 October 2016 – North Yorkshire, Rape Monitoring Group digest – 2015/16

On behalf of the national Rape Monitoring Group (RMG), HMIC publishes local area digests to provide a data set to enable more thorough analysis of how rape is dealt with in a particular area of England and Wales. This digest sets out the data for North Yorkshire Police.

31 August 2016 – Public views of policing in England and Wales

Data, PEEL methodology  —  In 2015, HMIC commissioned Ipsos MORI to undertake a survey of public perceptions of policing in England and Wales. This report sets out the results of this survey.

23 March 2016 – Missing children: who cares? – The police response to missing and absent children

Each year thousands of children go missing from their homes and responding to missing incidents places a high demand on police time, but the consequences of not investigating cases can be extremely serious, leaving some children at risk of exploitation and/or significant harm.

As part of HMIC’s annual assessment of police effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy in 2015, HMIC assessed forces’ preparedness to tackle child sexual exploitation, because children who go missing are at greater risk of becoming a victim of this kind of offending.

This report sets out the results of this inspection, with additional evidence from other child protection inspections HMIC carried out from 2014 to 2016.

23 March 2016 – North Yorkshire – Joint inspection of police custody

The inspection was part of a national programme of joint inspections of police custody and the second inspection of North Yorkshire police custody cells. The first inspection was in February 2010 and since then the custody estate had been reduced by two custody suites (Selby and Skipton). Inspectors visited the custody suites at Harrogate, York, Northallerton and Scarborough.

February 2016 – PEEL: Police efficiency 2015 An inspection of North Yorkshire Police

PEEL is the programme in which HMIC draws together evidence from its annual all-force inspections. The evidence is used to assess the effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy of the police. HMIC has introduced these assessments so that the public will be able to judge the performance of their force and policing as a whole.

February 2016 – PEEL: Police Legitimacy 2015, An inspection of North Yorkshire Police

PEEL is the programme in which HMIC draws together evidence from its annual all-force inspections. The evidence is used to assess the effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy of the police. HMIC has introduced these assessments so that the public will be able to judge the performance of their force and policing as a whole.

September 2015 – Targeting the risk

In May 2013, the Association of Chief Police Officers’ Firearms and Explosive Licensing Working Group invited HMIC to inspect firearms licensing. In July 2013, the Home Secretary gave approval for HMIC to examine how well police forces had responded to concerns raised about firearms licensing in previous reports on the subject. This report sets out the findings from the inspection.

July 2015 – In harm’s way: the role of the police in keeping children safe

In early 2014, HMIC began a national programme of child protection inspections. Since then, it has also undertaken a number of other inspections concerning vulnerable children. This report summarises the findings contained in the reports of all these inspections and considers the implications for future action.

July 2015 – Online and on the edge: real risks in a virtual world

Dealing with child sexual exploitation in a virtual world requires a different style of policing from the conventional methods of the past. This report sets out findings from an inspection of the police service’s efforts to tackle online child sexual exploitation, and concludes that forces need to better understand the nature and potential scale of this type of offending to ensure that more is done to protect children from harm, and bring perpetrators to justice.

July 2015 – Building the picture: an inspection of police information management

In March 2013, HMIC published “Mistakes were made” HMIC’s review into allegations and intelligence material concerning Jimmy Savile between 1964 and 2012. The report concluded that mistakes had been made in the handling of information and allegations into sexual abuse, and committed to a further review of information management practices.

HMIC therefore conducted a review of the business processes which police forces in England and Wales use to collect, record, process, evaluate and share information. This report sets out our findings.

May 2015 – Joint review of disability hate crime – follow up

This joint follow-up review considered how the police, Crown Prosecution Service and probation service providers (National Probation Service/Community Rehabilitation Companies) have responded to the seven recommendations contained in the Criminal Justice Joint Inspection March 2013 review of disability hate crime.

May 2015 – Joint inspection of the provision of charging decisions

The decision whether or not to charge someone with a criminal offence is a fundamental stage in the criminal justice process. This joint inspection, between Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Inspectorate and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, has closely scrutinised how well the police and the CPS ensure that quality charging decisions are made.

March 2015 – The welfare of vulnerable people in police custody

In January 2014, the Home Secretary commissioned HMIC to conduct a thematic inspection on the welfare of vulnerable people in police custody “including, but not limited to, those with mental health problems, those from black and minority ethnic backgrounds and children”. In particular we were asked by the Home Secretary to consider groups for whom there has been “a pronounced concern” about their treatment in police custody (especially people of African-Caribbean descent).

March 2015 – Stop and search powers 2: are the police using them effectively and fairly?

This report sets out the findings of an inspection into the progress made by forces since HMIC’s 2013 report, Stop and Search Powers: Are the police using them effectively and fairly? It also addresses the Home Secretary’s new commission for HMIC to examine the way the police use powers to stop motor vehicles and strip search people.

January 2015 – ‘Integrity matters’

The report, Integrity Matters, sets out HMIC’s findings on the capability of police forces in England and Wales to tackle misconduct, has been published.

HMIC found no evidence to suggest that corruption is endemic within the police service in its inspections: the overwhelming majority of officers and staff are honest and professional.  However the report found issues of concern around consistency and some forces lacked the capability to proactively seek out and prevent corruption.

Julia Mulligan, Police and Crime Commissioner for North Yorkshire and Chair of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners’ Transparency and Integrity Standing Group, said:
“Trust and confidence in North Yorkshire Police is higher than the national average, but there is always more than can be done.  The Chief Constable and I are helping to ensure ethical behaviour is in the DNA of officers and staff, with the new policing Code of Ethics front and centre.  Proposals to reform the police complaints system, adding independence and flexibility, will strike a chord with members of the public who have struggled against the current complaints process.  I am confident that together these changes will drive up trust in policing both at a local and national level.”

November 2014 – Crime Data Integrity

North Yorkshire Police’s crime rate is lower than the rate for England and Wales. The police work well with partners to prevent crime and reduce reoffending. Neighbourhood policing and anti-social behaviour are central priorities for the force. There is a strong focus on engagement with communities and the neighbourhood policing teams have a good understanding of community concerns and issues.
HMIC found that there is a strong focus on victims and vulnerability.
Victim satisfaction with policing service is higher in North Yorkshire than the figure for England and Wales.

November 2014 – Peel Assessment

PEEL stands for the police effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy programme. PEEL is the programme in which HMIC draws together evidence from its annual all-force inspections. The evidence is used to assess the effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy of the police. HMIC has introduced these assessments so that the public will be able to judge the performance of their force and policing as a whole.

September 2014 – Core Business: an inspection into crime prevention, police attendance and the use of police time.

This report examines all 43 police forces in England and Wales. It looks at three principal aspects of day-to-day policing: the prevention of crime; how crime is investigated and offenders are brought to justice; and freeing up and using police time more efficiently (which includes the use of modern technology). The report merges three complementary inspections into a single assessment.

National report

Press release

Letters to forces

HMIC wrote to each chief constable detailing findings for their force.

August 2014 – Crime Data Integrity, ‘Crime Recording: A matter of fact’

HMIC committed to inspecting crime data integrity during 2013/14.  This inspection included an assessment of the accuracy of crime recording through the various routes that crimes can be reported to the police (such as through calls to control rooms, referrals to specialist investigation departments from other public bodies or directly to officers). Initial findings were described in the interim report, Crime Recording: A matter of fact, published on 1 May 2014.  The up to date report for North Yorkshire, and the Commissioner’s response, can be seen below.

 

June 2014 – Valuing the Police (4), Policing in Austerity – Meeting the Challenge’

In the October 2010 spending review, the Government announced that central funding to the police service in England and Wales would be reduced in real terms by 20% in the four years between March 2011 and March 2015.

HMIC’s Valuing the Police Programme has tracked how forces have planned to make savings to meet this budget reduction, and published findings in July 2011 and June 2012. This report explains, analyses and makes recommendations in relation to what we found as we entered the third year of the spending review period.

April 2014 –  Strategic Policing Requirement

This inspection examined how well police forces have established the arrangements that the Strategic Policing Requirement requires them to have in place to counter a number of specified threats to national security and public safety. It is based on data and documentary evidence provided by all 43 police forces in England and Wales in July 2013. It includes supporting fieldwork, conducted in 18 forces, and in nine Regional Organised Crime Units (ROCUs).

March 2014 – Rape Monitoring Group: Digests, data and methodology

On behalf of the Rape Monitoring Group (RMG), HMIC has published 43 force reports showing police data on how many rapes were recorded by the police in each force, and the outcomes.

For both adults and children, the force digests:

  • show the number of recorded rapes per 100,000 people in the area;
  • show forces’ sanction detection rates for rape;
  • show the rate at which rape was classed as ‘no crime rate’ by the force;
  • allow data from each police force to be seen alongside the data for other individual forces in England and Wales; and
  • show trends in recorded rape over time.

March 2014 – Improving the Police’s response to Domestic Abuse

The aim of the inspection was to focus on:

  1. The effectiveness of the police approach to domestic violence and abuse, focusing on the outcomes for victims.
  2. Whether risks to victims of domestic violence and abuse are adequately managed.
  3. Identifying lessons learnt from how the police approach domestic violence and abuse, and
  4. Making any necessary recommendations in relation to these findings when considered alongside current practice.

July 2013 – Getting cases ready for court – A joint review of the quality of prosecution case files by HMIC and HMCPSI

An efficient criminal justice system is dependent upon the effective exchange of information between all the relevant agencies. Nowhere is this exchange more important than in the context of the relationship between the police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) when preparing a case for court. Effective management of the process of building a prosecution case file can improve the quality of the files, and keep the inevitable paperwork associated with the passage of a case through the criminal justice system to a minimum.

This review builds on the work undertaken since 2011 by the National Audit Office, criminal justice inspectorates, and the joint CPS/Police National Prosecution Team.

July 2013 – Stop & Search Powers: Are the police using them effectively and fairly?

The summer riots of 2011 once again focused attention on the way police use stop and search powers. As a result of this renewed concern, in December 2011 the Home Secretary commissioned HMIC to carry out an inspection into the use of stop and search legislation by police forces in England and Wales.

In our report, we found that police use of stop and search powers is too often ineffective in tackling crime and procedurally incorrect, thereby threatening the legitimacy of the police.

July 2013 – Policing in Austerity: Rising to the Challenge

The aim of the inspection was to focus on three questions:

  1. What is the financial challenge, and how are forces responding to it?
  2. What is the impact of the changes that forces are making, both on the workforce and on the service they provide to the public?
  3. How are forces managing current and future risks?
  • Julia Mulligan’s response  – To follow
  • HMIC report – Policing in Austerity: Rising to the Challenge

June 2013 – Making the Connections: A thematic inspection of police force compliance with the Memorandum of Understanding between the National Ballistics Intelligence Service and Police Forces

The National Ballistics Intelligence Service (NABIS) is the national centre for forensic science, intelligence and knowledge which deals with the illegal use, supply and manufacture of firearms and ammunition. It provides a dedicated forensic service to link crime scenes through the microscopic examination of ballistic items.

In early 2013, HMIC carried out an inspection of police force compliance with the ‘Memorandum of Understanding between the National Ballistics Intelligence Service (NABIS) and the Police Forces and Partner Law Enforcement Agencies of England and Wales’.

The inspection comprised fieldwork in ten forces. This report sets out the main findings and recommendations.

June 2013 – Stop the Drift 2 – A Continuing Focus on 21st Century Criminal Justice (a joint review by HMIC and HMCPSI)

Inspectors of the police and Crown Prosecution Service believe that the time has come for those with responsibility for the criminal justice system to act decisively to streamline the criminal justice process, and end the unnecessary bureaucracy that has been a barrier to progress.

In this joint review, HMIC and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) found that while significant effort has been made in recent years to improve efficiency in both the custody and criminal justice process, there are still a number of issues identified in past reports on this subject which continue to generate delays in processing cases.

June 2013 – A criminal use of police cells?  The use of police custody as a place of safety for people with mental health needs

The police have powers under section 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983 to take individuals who are suffering from mental health issues in a public place to a ‘place of safety’ for their protection, and so they can be medically assessed.

This review examines the extent to which police custody is used as a place of safety under section 136; and identifies the factors which either enable or inhibit the acceptance of those detained under section 136 into a preferred place of safety, such as a hospital or other medical facility.

The joint inspection was carried out by HMIC, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons, the Care Quality Commission and Healthcare Inspectorate Wales.

March 2013 – “Mistakes were made” HMIC’s review into allegations and intelligence material concerning Jimmy Savile between 1964 and 2012

HMIC’s review of allegations made against Jimmy Savile during his lifetime finds mistakes were made by the police; and while policies and practices designed to improve the experience of child victims are now available, we raise serious concerns over why so many victims felt unable to come forward and report what had happened to the authorities.

December 2012 – Revisiting Police Relationships

The aim of the revisit was to examine and assess instances of undue influence, inappropriate contractual arrangements and other abuses of power in police relationships with the media and other parties.  It also included asking the public whether corruption was a problem for the police service as well as looking at police use of social media.