Police forces told to improve over organised crime

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary had insufficient staff, inspectors found

A police force is inadequate at tackling serious and organised crime, a report has said.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary does not have enough staff working on intelligence or surveillance, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) found.

The force said it made improvements since the inspection in 2023.

Elsewhere in the south, Thames Valley Police was judged as "requires improvement" by the inspectorate.

Inspectors said the Hampshire and Isle of Wight force had a backlog of unprocessed intelligence reports.

The report said: "We found that over the last 10 years the constabulary had steadily reduced its intelligence function due to budget cuts.

"This has reduced the number of analysts and intelligence officers in post.

"The constabulary should make sure that its workforce understands that Serious Organised Crime (SOC) is a priority and that information about SOC threats is widely shared."

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Police and Crime Commissioner Donna Jones said improvements had already been made

The force said it had already delivered an improvement plan.

Deputy Chief Constable Sam de Reya said: "We have created a specialised Intelligence and Serious and Organised Crime Command and, with the support of our Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), secured a £1 million investment to create an enhanced intelligence capability."

PCC Donna Jones said the investment, made in September 2023, had "significantly improved the Constabulary’s ability to share and process vital information".

The Hampshire and Isle of Wight force was inspected as part of the south east England policing region.

Within the region, the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit, which has specialist teams dealing with cyber crime, fraud and other serious offences, was rated "good".

Thames Valley and Surrey Police were rated as "requiring improvement" while Sussex Police was judged to be "adequate".

Thames Valley Police's (TVP) weaknesses included insufficient use of local profiles, detailing crime threats in specific areas, the report said.

Inspectors also criticised the number of analysts, financial investigators and frontline resources in the force.

Thames Valley PCC Matthew Barber said the force would be "looking through, very carefully, the areas where there are recommendations" and some changes had begun to be implemented.

Det Ch Supt Craig Kirby, head of crime and intelligence at TVP, said the force was "actively progressing the learning points identified" in the report.