Merseyside Police 'needs to improve' safeguarding of vulnerable people
That's according to His Majesty's Inspectorate
Merseyside Police needs to improve the safeguarding of vulnerable people and how it manages offenders.
That's according to His Majesty's Inspectorate, after an inspection into how good Merseyside Police is in nine areas of policing.
The force was rated as 'good' in three categories, 'adequate' in three and 'requiring improvement' in two.
The inspection also found that Merseyside Police doesn't answer emergency and non-emergency calls in a timely way, and it doesn’t always respond to calls for service as quickly as it should.
"While the force has tried to address some of these problems, for example, by reopening some rural stations to attend incidents more quickly, it needs to do more to meet the public’s needs.
"The force has made some improvements to its attendance to calls for service, but it still isn’t routinely attending incidents quickly enough.
"If the force doesn’t attend incidents in time, it can cause victims to lose confidence. In more serious cases, this can cause victims to be potentially put directly at risk."
The force has also been urged to do more to make sure it's fully representative of the communities it serves - as just 3.7% of its officers identified as being from an ethnic minority background. 8.3% of the Merseyside population is from an ethnic minority background.
HMICFRS praised the force for listening to and responding well to the local community, with effective two-way communication enabling local priorities to be set and addressed.
But Merseyside Police has been told to share information with partner agencies at the earliest opportunity to protect vulnerable people from harm.
Another call for improvement is around making sure there are enough trained staff and resources - including with Merseyside Police's domestic violence disclosure scheme (DVDS).
His Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary, Michelle Skeer, said:
"I am pleased with some aspects of the performance of Merseyside Police in reducing crime and providing victims with an effective service. The force has faced significant operational challenges since our last inspection, all of which required effective leadership and the ability to flex resources, as well as quick responses to changing situations and level of risk, which it achieved well.
"However, Merseyside Police needs to improve the service it provides in some important areas, including how it safeguards vulnerable people, and it must do more to meet the public’s needs.
"I hope the recent changes to the way the force operates result in improvements that help it better meet the public’s needs. I will be monitoring its progress closely."
In a statement, Merseyside Police said this report is being taken seriously and work has already been done, or is already underway, to improve.
Chief Constable Serena Kennedy said:
"The force had already recognised a number of the issues referred to and following an extensive review (Community First Operational Review Programme) of our resourcing in relation to responding to and investigating crime at strategic and tactical levels, we have implemented a new operating model, which will help to drive down backlogs and reduce excessive workloads.
"I am pleased the report acknowledges the pressures and the unique challenges that the force faced, during the period that it was subject to the inspection, the impact of which cannot be underestimated.
"During the inspection Merseyside Police was in the unprecedented position of investigating the tragic firearms murders of Sam Rimmer, Olivia Pratt-Korbel, Ashley Dale, Jackie Rutter and Elle Edwards. The rigour and complexity of these investigations put enormous strain on the force and as a result we made the decision to request mutual aid from forces across the UK.
"Put that alongside the operational policing required for the Labour Party Conference, Eurovision (with a planning window of just six months instead of 12-18 months), The Grand National Festival and added complications of protest, and significant call demand. Since 1 April this year we have seen our 999 calls increase significantly to 164,278 calls from 149, 355 calls the previous year (an increase of 10 per cent).
"Despite those pressures we have already seen the offenders for the murders of Olivia and Elle given substantial sentences (Thomas Cashman was given a life sentence with a 42-year tariff for the murder of Olivia and Connor Chapman was sentenced to life with a 48-year tariff). Six people are currently on trial for the murder of Ashley Dale. The investigations into the murders of Sam Rimmer and Jackie Rutter are ongoing and we are committed to finding those responsible and putting them before the courts.
"Those attending the Eurovision song contest were able to do so in safety due to the operational plan and policing we had in place and both events went without incident; and the Grand National was able to run, thanks to proactive policing of protestors who were intent on stopping the race – in total 118 people were arrested on the day and the work of our officers at that event has been recognised by other forces.
"The feedback from both national and international visitors to these events was outstanding and I was incredibly proud of Merseyside Police, our partners and our communities in the work we did together to showcase the very best of our region."
Chief Constable Kennedy continued:
"We continuously review and develop our processes and practices to ensure we provide value to our communities and today’s report reflects our determination to consistently evolve and grow as an organisation. It recognises that we do this by having good, mature strategic planning processes in place, supported by rigorous governance arrangements
"In its overall assessment HMICFRS recognises the force is focussed on reducing crime and that problem solving is a priority for the force, with significant investment being put in to early intervention. It also acknowledges the force works well with partner organisations across the region to develop long-term, sustainable plans to establish the root cause of repeat problems and to drive changes to help communities and prevent crime.
"This financial year (1 April – 2 October 2023) we have seen significant reductions in homicides and firearms discharges compared to the same period in 2022. Homicides have reduced by 83 per cent (down from 12 to two) and firearms discharges have reduced by 71 per cent (down from 28 to 8).
"These reductions are in part down to the sustained and targeted work of officers across the force to reduce serious violence, knife crime and violence in the night-time economy. We’ve also introduced our Clear, Hold, Build (Op Evolve), which involves strong partnership working, and is geared to disrupting and clearing organised crime groups out of our communities and helping those same communities to reclaim and rebuild those areas for the overwhelming majority of law-abiding community members.
"The creation of the dedicated Firearms Investigation team in January 2020 has given us additional investigative capacity and proactivity to target those involved in firearms crime and to dismantle organised crime groups and when we get offenders to court, we have seen gun crime nominals given strong sentences.
"In the last week alone, we have seen John Lewis from the Woodchurch estate, sentenced to 24 years and Ross Smith of no fixed abode sentence to 14 years. Lewis was found guilty of conspiracy to sell weapons (a Taurus Special. 38 revolver and Skorpion machine pistol and a semi-automatic pistol); his involvement in an injury shooting and his role in the supply of Class A and B drugs. Whilst Smith was found guilty of being in possession of an explosive substance for unlawful purposes, possession of a Skorpion machine gun and possession of ammunition. Our streets are much safer this week as a result of these two being put behind bars.
"The report recognises our senior leaders are committed to developing leadership at all levels, providing support to officers, staff and volunteers who are new to leadership roles in the organisation. This includes helping first line managers to foster an ethical and inclusive working environment through the Leadership and Me programme. First line leaders are viewed positively by staff and demonstrate high standards of behaviour alongside providing a supportive and ethical wellbeing environment.
"The force has been recognised for our ‘Community First approach”, which puts the public at the centre of the service we provide. There is a pride in working for Merseyside Police that reflects well on the organisation. It says that we are good at engaging with communities and seek their views to understand what is important to them. It recognises the invaluable work of the Independent Advisory group and local community advisory groups and acknowledges the work our Local Policing teams do with their communities to set local priorities and act on them.
"The Inspectors also reviewed the work we do in relation to use of Stop Search powers and the training we provide to student officers, and our consistency in delivering information to officers in line with changes in legislation or practice. Most of the officers spoken to by the Inspectors said they feel well trained. They also looked at body worn video recordings of stop search encounters to see how officers interacted with the person being searched and concluded that most interactions were of a good standard.
"Whilst Merseyside Police is the most proactive user of Stop and Search outside of the Metropolitan Police, it was pleasing to see recognition from the HMICFRS around our use and scrutiny of the power. The Inspectorate has recognised that disproportionality for our Black community is much lower than the national rate despite our high usage of the power – nationally you are 4.8 times more likely to be searched if you are Black, whilst here on Merseyside you are 1.1 times more likely to be searched if you are Black, this shows that our use of the power is intelligence led and it is one of the most powerful tools we have in our fight against serious organised crime. That said through all of the work that we are doing in relation to fairness in policing, the commitment to the Police Race action plan and the rollout of anti-racism training we are aiming for there to be no disproportionality.
Chief Constable Kennedy added:
"Merseyside Police is a force dedicated to continual learning and development. We are not naïve to think that everything is perfect, but I can guarantee that where there are areas that need to improve, we will do the work that is required to get it right.
"I am determined that we will continue to provide our communities with a professional, effective and compassionate police service, putting the community first in all we do. I am grateful to the police officers and support staff who work tirelessly to keep the people of Merseyside safe day in, day out."
Merseyside’s Police and Crime Commissioner Emily Spurrell said:
"Merseyside Police is one of the first two forces to be assessed by HMICFRS under this new, more rigorous, inspection model and I will review all their findings in close detail.
"While there are lots of positives contained within this report, my focus will be on concentrating on the 10 areas where inspectors found room for improvement and holding the Chief Constable to account on how she responds to these to ensure Merseyside Police provides the best possible service to our communities.
"This includes ensuring more 999 calls are responded to within the 10 second target and the work to protect vulnerable people, such as continuing to improve the disclosure time to the significant number of Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme requests received in Merseyside.
"These are all areas of business that I have already raised with the Chief Constable and her senior team at my public Scrutiny Meetings, and I have been reassured that significant work is underway to address them. This includes through the recent Community First Operational Review (CFOR) which has implemented a new operational model focused on providing more dedicated resources into each of our boroughs and more investment in the teams that tackle the issues that matter most to local people.
"I will closely monitor the difference these changes make to ensure they are having the impact we expect and that, as an organisation, Merseyside Police is continually making positive progress to tackle the issues identified by inspectors.
"It must be recognised that this assessment was carried out during a period of unprecedented challenge for Merseyside Police following five devastating firearm-enabled murders, a number of incredibly high-profile events, particularly Eurovision, and a significant increase in calls for service, all of which put a huge strain on the organisation.
"The findings must also be seen in the context of 12 years of cuts.
"While demand continues to increase, Merseyside Police is still missing 450 officers. If the Government committed to returning these much-needed officers to the organisation, the Chief Constable would be able to boost some of the teams identified as carrying excessive caseloads and needing greater resourcing.
"It is simply unacceptable that some police forces now exceed their pre-austerity numbers, but a busy urban police force like Merseyside remains so significantly short. I will continue to lobby the Home Secretary to give Merseyside the funding it needs to get officer numbers back to where they should be.
"In the meantime, I expect the Chief Constable to continue to demonstrate Merseyside Police’s progress on these issues to me, and the public, at our public meetings and I will support her with this work wherever possible.
"Despite the major challenges faced by the organisation, I see incredible leadership at every rank, every day, so I was pleased to see inspectors also recognise the Community First approach and that Merseyside Police is an organisation which is focused on providing a supportive, ethical, and learning environment.
"It is this commitment, ‘can do’ attitude and focus on striving to continually improve which will ensure the organisation responds to these areas for improvement to provide an even better service to our communities."