PEEL report rates North Yorkshire Police good in 6 areas

The force received “good” gradings for leadership and force management, workforce development and diversity, use of police powers, prevention of crime and antisocial behaviour, safeguarding, and fraud management.

PEEL report rates North Yorkshire Police good in 6 areas (Image: North Yorkshire Police)

The independent PEEL assessment by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) has been published today, Wednesday 22 April.

The assessment is carried out in the public interest and looks at how well police forces across England and Wales serve the public.

However, inspectors found some areas needed improvement. North Yorkshire Police was graded “adequate” for responding to the public and investigating crime.

The force was rated “requires improvement” in providing a safe and lawful custody environment – the lowest grading in the report.

In response, the force has developed an action plan to address recommended areas for improvement, including protecting the rights of child detainees, and says it will continue to work with partners to do so in areas including provision of appropriate adults.

HMICFRS said its PEEL inspections are designed to give the public a clear, independent view of how effectively forces operate and where they need to improve.

Scott Bisset, Deputy Chief Constable of North Yorkshire Police, welcomed all the findings and said the ‘good’ ratings reflected the hard work and commitment of all force employees.

“Achieving six very solid good gradings demonstrates the excellent progress we are making in our ambition to be an outstanding force, which provides the best service to victims and communities across the City of York and North Yorkshire.

“The report represents independent findings which show that North Yorkshire Police has continued to improve over the last three years.

“We have demonstrated a focus on prevention, with a 9.5 per cent reduction in crime over the last two years.

“We are arresting more criminals more quickly, are third in the country for charging suspects and detect more crime than two years ago. This work is contributing to the lowest overall crime rate per head of population across England and Wales and North Yorkshire Police also has one of the highest public confidence ratings.

“Our average answer time for 999 calls has reduced from seven seconds to four seconds in the last two years. The average wait time for a member of the public who calls us with a non-emergency call has decreased from four minutes and 41 seconds to three minutes in the last two years – but we still have a firm focus on improving our response to 101 calls.

“As much as we recognise the progress, we still have work to do. North Yorkshire Police is not complacent.

“Specific areas for improvement have been identified in the report and we will continue to work hard, including with our partners, to address the important areas identified. As the report states, we have already taken robust steps to address any recommended areas for improvement and the focus continues.”

The report says the force’s use of force and strip search in custody is lawful, necessary and proportionate, but “should be subject to robust scrutiny”.

The report also noted that the force is addressing recommendations for improvement made about effectively assessing, managing and reviewing risk regularly throughout detention and on release

The force has implemented an action plan on effective governance and quality assurance processes to manage the safety and wellbeing of detainees.