East Riding Council Publishes Report Into Humberside Police
It's after the force was rated 'inadequate' last October.
East Riding Council - which has been carrying out its own independent review into Humberside Police - has today published its findings into how the force can improve.
A special police review panel reconvened in November to allow councillors to look into the effectiveness of the force after it was rated as the only one to be 'inadequate' in the country by the HMIC.
The local authority has now come up with 16 recommendations - including making changes to their 101 emergency system, better engagement with the public when making changes to services.
Along with ensuring that funding for neighbourhood watch and anti-social behaviour teams are protected in the future to help keep crime low.
Councillor John Dennis helped compile the report and told us:
"In relation to the 101 system, we found that at some point last year the system virtually fell apart and the amount of time for people to get a response to a phone call multiplied by a factor of 5 or 6 and it just wasn't working. What that meant was that people put the phone down and that was possibly a crime that wasn't recorded.
"This review is about making sure that Humberside Police are aware of the point of view of East Riding of Yorkshire Council and it is our duty under the Police and Justice Act to see that our residents are getting the best service out of their council tax. We do have a role to play in the police scrutiny process and we will play our part.
"We are not in this report having a go at any particular officers, it is about the force and the way it works."
Humberside Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Grove has told Viking that changes have already been made since HMIC's damning inspection last October.
And while both he and the Chief Constable, Justine Curran, refused to take part in East Riding Council's review - they are willing to discuss the issues highlighted.
Speaking to Viking recently, Matthew said:
"The HMIC came in just four weeks into the largest restructure Humberside Police has ever taken. It's just unfortunate very, very soon into the implementation they came in and took a snap shot but it was a snap shot and what we have seen since is other HMIC reports that show Humberside Police is actually the best in the country."