I welcome this HMICFRS Annual Assessment of Policing in England and Wales 2021. I would in particular like to echo the comments around the hard work of our police officers and staff.
I have asked the Chief Constable’s views on the report. His response is as follows:
Surrey Chief Constable Response
I welcome the publication of Sir Tom Winsor’s final Annual Assessment of Policing in England and Wales and am most grateful for his insight and contribution to policing during his leadership as Chief Inspector of Constabulary.
His report describes the many challenges facing policing and I am pleased to note he particularly acknowledges of the professionalism and dedication of the officers and staff who work tirelessly to serve the public.
I agree with Sir Tom’s assessment of some of the critical advances in policing achieved within the past 10 years and those that remain the challenge.
During this period Surrey Police has significantly developed and improved in terms of: safeguarding the vulnerable, ethical, compliant crime recording (graded as Good in most recent HMI Crime Data Integrity inspection) and has a far better understanding of the capacity and capability of the workforce. The Force is in the final stages of a comprehensive review of demand to better understand and track both current and future demand with enhanced data capture and development of more advanced reporting tools.
The Force will consider in detail Sir Tom’s report in conjunction with the Surrey HMI PEEL Inspection assessment due for publication in May to further improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the force.
Having now been in post of as PCC for nearly a year, I have seen how hard the policing works to improve and meet the challenges. But as identified by Sir Tom Winsor, I believe there is still much to do. I have published my Police and Crime Plan for the next few years and identified many of the same areas for improvement, in particular improving detection rates, reducing Violence Against Women and girls and building a relationship between public and police based on realistic expectations. I agree wholeheartedly that the Criminal Justice System needs reform and in particular delays on rape cases need to be tackled.
I look forward to receiving the results of the recent PEEL inspection for Surrey Police.
Lisa Townsend
Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey
April 2022