Surrey Police told to improve on tackling organised crime
The Police inspectorate has been investigating how forces in the South East tackle serious and organised crime.
Last updated 30th Aug 2024
A new report says that Surrey Police requires improvement at tackling serious and organised crime.
Inspectors have also rated Hampshire Police Constabulary as "inadequate".
However, according to the report the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit, which is a collaboration between forces in the South East that addresses organised crime, has been found to be good at tackling serious and organised crime.
The report stated that the Hampshire Police needs to make sure it "fully understands the threats from serious and organised crime affecting its communities, and share information about serious and organised crime across the workforce."
It also went on to say that during their inspection, they identified several concerns relating to the collection and analysis of intelligence and how intelligence is shared. They have also called on the Constabulary to make sure that it has enough intelligence personnel to "understand SOC threats" and "process intelligence reports".
The report also said that the force should develop up-to-date serious and organised crime local profiles, which is where local threats from serious and organised crime are outlined, and "found that Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary had serious and organised crime (SOC) local profiles. But, except for one, the constabulary hadn’t updated them since 2019. The area commander from the policing area that had refreshed its profile told us that the refresh had improved the local policing teams’ understanding of SOC threats.
The inspectors also said that Surrey Police "requires improvement" at tackling serious and organised crime, with the report suggesting that the force should "make sure it has enough intelligence analysts to understand the threats from serious and organised crime." and that " Surrey Police should make sure it has enough resources to tackle serious and organised crime.
However, according to the inspectorate the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit is good at tackling Serious and Organised Crime, with SEROCU using "a range of intelligence" to understand the SOC threats.
Detective Chief Superintendent Till Sanderson, Head of Specialist Crime Command Operations, Surrey Police and Sussex Police, said:
“Our officers and staff work tirelessly to identify, disrupt and prevent serious and organised crime, focusing on protecting victims and providing the best possible service to our communities. We are pleased to see their efforts specifically recognised within the report, including the excellent work they carry out with partners to manage offenders.
“It also highlighted the Force’s ongoing commitment to protect the most vulnerable through multiple schemes, including a focus on deterring and protecting young people from becoming involved in serious and organised crime, and safeguarding those who may be vulnerable to exploitation by organised criminals.
“There are however some areas of our service that we continue to invest in and improve, and are recognised in this report. Since the inspection we have made significant progress and I am confident that we will continue to do so.
“Through investing in training and technology we continue to develop the skills and effectiveness of our staff who work in this specialist field of policing. Frequent reviews of that work and their results ensure our teams deliver high quality plans which prevent and disrupt these crimes and hold these criminals to account.
“Whilst we face many of the same challenges familiar to police forces across the country, we are committed to continually improving and being there for everyone who needs us.”