I'll deal with any cultural issues - police chief

Judi Heaton, interim chief constable of Humberside Police, says she stands for "a very high standard of behaviour and culture”

The interim chief constable of Humberside Police has insisted she will "deal with" any cultural issues affecting the force.

Judi Heaton pledged to "stand for a very high standard of behaviour and culture” after a watchdog raised "serious concerns" about instability in the senior ranks.

However, she maintained she was "delighted" overall with a new report into the performance of the force.

His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary has graded the force "outstanding" in three out of eight areas.

Humberside Police is still graded "outstanding" in several areas by inspectors

In addition to the report, Andy Cooke, the chief inspector of constabulary, sent a letter to Humberside Police and Crime Ccommissioner Jonathan Evison, in which he raised “serious concerns” about “instability in the senior leadership".

Ms Heaton took over after it was announced Paul Anderson would be retiring just 10 months after being appointed chief constable in August 2023.

The day after the announcement, the Independent Office for Police Conduct confirmed it had launched an investigation into allegations of misconduct against Mr Anderson.

In an interview with the BBC, Ms Heaton was asked if she had any concerns around the culture of the force, and replied: “If there are any cultural issues that I need to deal with, I will do just that. I stand for a very high standard of behaviour and culture.”

In response to Mr Cooke's letter, Mr Evison claimed he had "no cause for concern" about "further changes to come" in the senior leadership, adding he had "reflected on the feedback regarding stability".

An advert for Mr Anderson's successor was posted in July but was withdrawn the following month after the force failed to attract a single applicant for the £171,000 a year role.

'Apples and pears'

In the previous inspection in 2022, the force was ranked best in the UK after receiving six top marks.

However, Ms Heaton compared the two reports to "apples and pears" and said the assessment criteria had changed.

She said: "It is much more data driven, they've looked at different things. When you look across the country we're still one of the best performing forces in this latest round.

"I know it looks like we've gone backwards but actually we haven't. We've maintained - and we've moved forwards."

In the latest inspection, Humberside Police was judged to "require improvement" when it comes to investigating crime, although the force said it had "been making a lot of effort" to improve.

In 2015, it was rated as "inadequate" and remained in special measures until 2018.

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