Surrey Police inspections
His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) independently assesses the effectiveness and efficiency of police forces and fire & rescue services.
As Police & Crime Commissioner, I provide a response to all HMICFRS inspections relating to Surrey Police, and these can be viewed on our Data Hub, along with the original report and any recommendations.
View all recent HMICFRS inspection reports and responses.
Key challenges ahead
As outlined earlier, it is vital that our significant investment in police officer numbers is not undermined by high levels of attrition amongst new recruits, or the vital police staff that work closely with our officers in fulfilment of their duties.
One of the greatest challenges facing Surrey in 2023 will be retaining good staff and officers whilst ensuring that our Vetting and Professional Standards teams can effectively root out those that do not uphold the high standards we expect. Any new nationally imposed vetting requirements have the potential to greatly impact on our already stretched Vetting team, but it is vital that Surrey Police maintains the trust of the public. In recognition of this, my office has significantly increased oversight of the Professional Standards Department (PSD), allowing us greater access to key data to support detailed discussions with the Chief Constable.
Like many public bodies, the lack of historic investment in technology has the potential to stifle our ambitions, particularly as we move to more agile working practices and a greater use of data to inform operational policing. Ongoing rationalisation of our IT systems, the phasing out of antiquated software and improvements to our underlying infrastructure are of vital importance. Our Digital Data and Technology Team are working hard to address these issues, and we have seen a reduction in the number, frequency and duration of critical IT incidents, plus better governance around prioritisation of IT programmes.
League tables published by the Home Office during 2022 demonstrated that Surrey Police is one of the best forces at quickly answering 999 calls, but staff shortages in the Contact Centre and the necessary prioritisation of emergency calls have sadly resulted in a decline in 101 call-answering performance. A Contact and Deployment Gold Group has been established to oversee this issue, and additional agency staff and officers on overtime have been brought in to assist with crime recording and wider administrative tasks. The Force is also exploring changes to processes and technology to provide alternative forms of contact for non-emergency issues and, in late 2022, I launched a public survey asking for residents’ views on how we can better handle non-emergency calls. This data is being shared with the Force to support their work.
Naturally, being able to get hold of the police when you need them is a key concern of residents, and they must have faith that our contact mechanisms are operating effectively. More widely, the Force needs to ensure that it is consistently maintaining compliance with the revised Victims Code of Practice and that victims are properly supported during their journey through the criminal justice system.
The above will all form key areas of focus for my office during 2023/24.
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