Force told to make improvements in key areas

HMICFRS assessed the force on how good it is in nine areas of policing

A report into Derbyshire Police's performance said the force "requires improvement" in half of its graded areas of policing.

The report by His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire Rescue Services (HMICFRS), said the force was not "providing a good service in some key areas".

HMICFRS assessed the force on how good it is in nine areas of policing.

On the judgement, Chief Constable Rachel Swann said: "I would like to see us be an outstanding force."

The report said graded judgements were assigned in eight of nine areas of policing.

Inspectors found the force required improvement in four areas including investigating crime, responding to the public, protecting vulnerable people and leadership and force management.

The force was rated "adequate" at managing offenders, developing a positive workplace, and police powers and public treatment.

It was graded as "good" at preventing crime.

HMICFRS said it did not make a graded judgement on how effective a service Derbyshire Police gave to victims of crime.

'Risk they will fail'

While forces do not receive an overall grade based on the individual judgements, the inspectorate has told Derbyshire Police how its policing can improve.

The main areas of concern were making sure its investigations are effective and properly supervised, improving outcomes for the victims of crime and to make sure victims are receiving the "level of service they are entitled to".

The force was also told it needs to improve the time it takes to answer emergency calls and to reduce the number of non-emergency calls where the caller hangs up because they are not answered.

HMICFRS said: "The constabulary is doing a good job of communicating with its workforce about most of the changes it is making, but some important changes aren't being communicated well enough.

"If the workforce doesn't understand changes or the reasons for them, there is a risk that they will fail."

Since the last inspection of the force in July 2022, HMICFRS said it was "pleased" with how the force responded to that previous report, saying it "addressed many of the areas of improvement".

The force's chief constable has since recruited a new chief officer team.

The change of leadership in the team has been made to focus on making improvements and "changing the culture of the constabulary", the report said.

HMICFRS added it recognised that the scale of the change needed meant some improvements would need more time to be achieved.

"While the constabulary has shown it can make improvements, it needs to continue to do so," the inspectors said.

Derbyshire Police Chief Constable Rachel Swann said she welcomed the report from HMICFRS

"As chief constable, I am in a unique position that I'm responsible for the running of the force, so ultimately I am the person responsible [in] making sure the force continues to improve," said Ms Swann.

"The force has made some changes which has put some good foundations in place and it isn't just about hard work, it's a continued focus and a continued need to improve what we do.

"I would like to see us be an outstanding force. I want to see those grades continue to move up. I'm confident from reading the report that foundations are in place and we continue to improve."

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