Wiltshire Police taken out of special measures

The police watchdog said it was pleased by the progress made by the force

A police force heavily criticised for a series of failures has made a significant improvement and has now been taken out of special measures by inspectors.

Wiltshire Police was downgraded by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) in June 2022, after being found to be failing in most areas, including how it protects the vulnerable.

However, in a letter published earlier, His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary Andy Cooke said while "there is still more to do", he was "pleased with the progress" made by the force and it had now returned to routine monitoring.

He said: “I am reassured by the plans Wiltshire Police has in place to continue making improvements."

The inspection in 2022, found the force was "failing to understand and promptly identify the vulnerability of victims at the first point of contact"

The inspection in 2022, found the force was "failing to understand and promptly identify the vulnerability of victims at the first point of contact", "did not protect vulnerable people from harm to an acceptable standard" and "did not have adequate strategic plans in place".

It also found 101 and 999 calls weren’t being answered quickly enough, crime wasn’t being responded to in appropriate timescales, and the force’s management was ineffective.

'Significantly better'

"We will continue to inspect the force to make sure the people of Wiltshire are getting the service they deserve from their police force," he added.

However, an inspection since had found the force is "significantly better at identifying repeat callers" and "gives advice on preserving evidence and preventing crime more regularly and effectively".

It also said it had improved the safeguarding of victims by improving and increasing the number of domestic abuse risk assessments and increasing the domestic abuse arrest rate and the number of protective orders issued.

HMICFRS said while there is still "work to do" in answering 101 and 999 calls promptly and attending to incidents within agreed timescales, the force has "made significant progress against the issues" previously identified.

When it came down to leadership and force management, HMICFRS said the force had revised its governance and performance structures after holding "extensive face-to-face consultations with staff".

It said: "It now has sufficient oversight of priorities and understands the challenges it faces.

"It also now has comprehensive force and departmental plans," it added.

'Still needs to improve'

HMICFRS said while the "force still needs to improve its access to and understanding of important data" to "better understand the demand it faces," it was pleased with the improvement in Wiltshire Police's leadership.

The force will now return to the standard monitoring process, known as "scan".