Staffordshire Police may soon exit special measures - PFCC

Ben Adams said Staffordshire Police had brought in high-performing officers from other forces to help improve standards

Staffordshire Police will exit special measures within months, the county's fire and crime commissioner believes.

Ben Adams’ comments come as the force said it had made progress on one of two measures that inspectors had identified as a cause for concern.

The force said it had made improvements in how it deals with the public, but still needed to step up the quality of its investigations.

It has been in special measures since June 2022.

Mr Adams said the force had brought in high-performing officers from other forces to help it undertake a review of how it handles cases.

He said there were already signs improvements in the length of time taken to prepare case files as well as an increase in the amount of intelligence-led investigations being undertaken.

“I’m pretty confident we’re on the same journey, one of positive progress,” he said.

Mr Adams added he was pleased with how the force’s leadership has been tackling the challenges it faces.

He said: “I’ve recruited an excellent chief constable - Chris Noble has been in place for two years now.

“He’s talked to the staff, hearing what they thought were the issues and understanding their frustrations that they weren’t doing the job they were aiming to do when they get up every morning.”

'High standards'

Mr Adams said his tenure as commissioner had seen the county force invest in new technology and increase the number of staff at its contact centre.

“The standards that are being set by the senior leadership are very high," he said.

“They expect Staffordshire Police to look after residents and businesses, and to be fair officers want to do that.

“It’s a whole different feel around Staffordshire Police. Morale is much better.”

Mr Noble acknowledged that there was "still much to do".

"[We need to] both to improve our performance in how we respond to the public and in areas where we have enduring challenges like many other forces across the region and country," he said.

”However, I am delighted with this success, it’s a positive step along our journey to get back to being an outstanding local police service.”

The force is due to be inspected again in January and February in two areas which have previously been graded as inadequate - investigating crime and management of offenders and suspects.

However, the results of these inspections are not expected to be published until after the police, fire and crime commissioner elections in May.