Police investigations have 'deteriorated' - report

Devon and Cornwall Police was graded in eight areas

The standard of investigations carried out by Devon and Cornwall Police has "deteriorated", according to the police inspectorate.

A report by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) graded the force's performance across eight areas of policing.

It found the force was good in one area, adequate in three areas, requires improvement in two areas and was inadequate in two areas.

Devon and Cornwall Police (DCP) said it had raised "significant concerns" about some of the inspection being based on historical data which it said "does not accurately reflect improvements the force has made".

'More is required'

HMICFRS said the force's standards of investigations have deteriorated with many of them "lacking a detailed plan or effective supervision".

In addition, the inspectorate said officers were not attending incidents resulting from calls as fast as they should.

His Majesty’s Ch Insp of Constabulary, Andy Cooke, said: "I have concerns about the performance of Devon and Cornwall Police in keeping people safe, reducing crime and providing victims with an effective service."

The inspectorate found the force had a good approach to preventing and deterring crime, antisocial behaviour and vulnerable people.

Inspectors also noted improvements in the time taken to answer 999 calls and the reduction in the number of abandoned calls.

Mr Cooke said these improvements were "recognised" but "more is required" for the force to be "consistently providing a good standard of service".

Acting Chief Constable Jim Colwell raised concerns about the data used by inspectors

'Disappointed'

DCP's Acting Chief Constable, Jim Colwell, told the BBC: "I really recognise that our communities across both our counties will look at this report and be concerned.

"The report does carry some really relevant and current observations in terms of the challenges the force faces.

"Our standards at times are not where I want them to be but that does not mean our officers and our volunteers are not working as hard as they can, often under difficult circumstances."

Mr Colwell acknowledged that his colleagues had "big workloads" which sometime led the force's standards to "slip".

He said the recruitment of 200 additional detectives over the last 12 months had helped "bring those workloads down".

Mr Colwell raised concerns about the report, saying some of the data used was more than a year old, adding "some aspects" of it would "only serve to mislead the public about how effective we are at providing a service across Devon and Cornwall".

"I am disappointed it does not acknowledge the improvements we have and continue to make in other areas of our work and the strength of our community policing approach," he said.

"We are committed to delivering community policing with competence, compassion and common sense which is why we remain the second safest force area in the country, and this has been clearly recognised by the inspectorate," he added.

He also welcomed the report's praise of DCPs neighbourhood policing.