Some room for improvement in Northumbria Police force

Recently, Northumbria Police was inspected to assess how good the force is in certain areas of policing.

- DAVID HUNTLEY

Overall, the force was deemed 'adequate' - and was deemed 'good' at preventing crime. The inspection was carried out by His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) and the PEEL (police effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy) report was published last week. The inspection highlighted many positives within the force and in its policing, but some areas were raised for improvement. looks at the key findings from the report

Victims

THE report found that the force needs to reduce the time it takes to answer emergency calls The force has improved in this area since the last inspection but is still below the 90% standard expected of forces nationally.

The force also has a low abandonment rate of non-emergency calls and has reduced the number of non-emergency calls where the caller hangs up before a handler answers it. The force doesn’t always identify repeat victims but does usually check for vulnerable victims. Call handlers use a structured process that considers threat, harm, risk and vulnerability.

However, they don’t always identify repeat victims, which means that they aren’t always fully aware of a victim's circumstances when considering what response the force should give.

In some cases, the force doesn’t respond promptly to calls for service and doesn’t always respond within set time frames. It doesn’t always inform victims about delays, which means that victims’ expectations aren’t always met.

The force doesn’t always carry out effective or “thorough” investigations either. In most cases, the force carries out investigations promptly and completes relevant and proportionate lines of enquiry. It doesn’t always supervise investigations well but regularly updates victims.

Treating victims fairly