'Serious concerns' about police force leadership

Humberside Police has been awarded three outstanding grades by inspectors

A watchdog has raised "serious concerns" about "instability in the senior leadership" at Humberside Police.

His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services also told the force that the way it investigates crime "requires improvement".

Despite the criticism, inspectors concluded the force was "outstanding" in three out of eight areas, and "good" in four others.

Jonathan Evison, the police and crime commissioner, said he had "absolute faith and confidence" in the force's leadership team, but acknowledged there would be "further changes to come".

The inspectorate's newly published report comes at a time when Humberside Police is without a permanent chief constable, following the departure of Paul Anderson in June this year.

'Positive culture'

The report said the force was outstanding at preventing crime, protecting vulnerable people and developing a positive workplace.

It was also judged to be good at responding to the public and managing offenders.

Inspectors congratulated the force’s officers, staff and volunteers for their "hard work" and "success".

"Good leadership" among officers and staff had led to a "consistently positive culture".

However, the report's author, Michelle Skeer, said "some aspects" needed to improve in order to "provide a consistently good service".

This included making improvements "to the quality and supervision" of investigations to "make sure victims get the justice they deserve".

The report is the first since 2022, when the force had one of the highest grades in UK.

It was previously rated as inadequate in 2015 and was in "special measures" until 2018.

'Close scrutiny'

The latest inspection comes after Mr Anderson was formally served a "notice of misconduct" by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

Mr Anderson retired from his role in June and, a day later, an investigation was launched into allegations against him.

Judi Heaton, a former assistant chief constable at Police Scotland, was brought in to take charge of the force on an interim basis.

She said: "I stand for a high standard of culture and behaviour. I was brought in to ensure the force had continued leadership, performance and stability.

"This report looks different [to the last time] but we are the only force that has three outstanding grades.

"You don't get to this without good leadership or a lot of hard work from everyone that works here, whether that's someone feeding staff in the canteen, a frontline officer or a manager."

In a letter written to Mr Evison and seen by the BBC, the inspectorate said it had concerns about the "instability" of senior leadership within the force, due to the "cumulative impact" of departures, "other absences within senior roles" and the IOPC investigation.

Andy Cooke, the chief inspector of constabulary, wrote that he had "considered delaying" publication of the report "so that we could reassess the impact of the current situation on the force's performance".

His letter stated the performance of the force, "particularly its leadership and culture", would be kept "under close scrutiny" over the next few months.

Mr Evison told the BBC the latest report was "excellent".

"Three outstanding ratings is more than any other force in the country. I am very pleased with this report," he said.

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