Warwickshire Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Seccombe has welcomed the findings of an independent audit which show that Warwickshire Police is rated as ‘good’ at how it records crime.
The Crime Data Integrity report from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) released this week (Tuesday 8 October) rates Warwickshire Police force as being ahead of other similar forces, providing an improved services to victims of crime since its last inspection in 2014.
The inspectors found that the force has developed a positive culture among both officers and staff in relation to its crime recording, concluding that more than 93% of all crimes are recorded, with high levels of crime recording accuracy overall. HMICFRS also praised the force’s recording rate for sexual crimes, at over 96% during the same period.
The report further praised Warwickshire Police for:
- the development and establishment of a crime data integrity plan;
- robust governance and performance management schemes;
- comprehensive crime recording training for designated decision makers; and
- the successful implementation of all but one of HMICFRS’s 2014 recommendations.
HMICFRS did find that there are still some issues to be resolved. These include the force doing more to ensure that it records all relevant crime within 24 hours of the report. It also needs to refine its systems and training within its Harm Assessment Unit and Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub to ensure reports of crime received by these units are always recorded.
Warwickshire Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Seccombe said: “This report makes for pleasing reading overall and confirms that Warwickshire has made big strides in the right direction since it was last inspected in 2014. It is great to hear Her Majesty’s Inspector state that the communities of Warwickshire can now be more confident than ever that crimes are being recorded in the proper manner.
“Together with the investments I have made in support services for victims of crime, people in Warwickshire can be reassured that they are now receiving a much more wrap-around service from Warwickshire Police than ever before, which ensures that victims are put first.
“There is still room for improvement, however, and the report makes a number of helpful recommendations on how the force can continue to strengthen its approach, and I know there is already work underway to address these. However, with the strong force-wide culture of a commitment to crime recording that the inspection has highlighted, I am very confident that the current good progress can be maintained and bettered.”
To view the HMICFRS Crime Data Integrity Inspection Report, please click here.
