Flaws exposed in police approach to organised crime

Guidance on how to improve has been issued to all four police forces operating across the West Midlands

West Mercia Police has been rated inadequate for its approach to serious and organised crime (SOC) following an inspection of how forces in the West Midlands handle the issue.

Weaknesses were also uncovered at Staffordshire and Warwickshire, with each force graded as requiring improvement. West Midlands Police was rated adequate.

Issues at West Mercia, which serves Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Shropshire, include intelligence failings and having too little data to best protect communities.

The force - which called the judgment "disappointing" - has been given a deadline by "concerned" inspectors to make progress in multiple aspects of its work.

The findings were made by His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS).

Inspectors also assessed the wider West Midlands Regional Organised Crime Unit (ROCU) - a partnership between the four forces in an arrangement designed to forge an intelligence link with the National Crime Agency. Its performance was rated adequate.

While regions do not receive an overall grade based on the individual judgments, the inspectorate has nevertheless told the West Midlands how its SOC policing can improve.

Inspectors said the ROCU and the forces needed better collaborative working, better planning, and tighter record keeping. A key flaw of the region cited by inspectors was that there was no formal process for senior investigators and their localised counterparts to discuss their mutual efforts.

Some instruction, however, was stiffer, with West Mercia bearing the brunt.

HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary Andy Cooke said inspectors would be working closely with the ROCU to monitor progress

West Mercia - inadequate

The grading follows a "cause of concern" notice over West Mercia's approach to SOC issued in 2017. The move saw it placed in the highest bracket of performance monitoring from which it was removed two years later.

But inspectors now report they are “concerned” to find the force is "not effectively tackling” SOC.

During the latest inspection, the force was found to have limited available data relating to the level and nature of such crime.

It was also said to be routinely failing to use intelligence effectively, due in part to analytical teams being understaffed amid high demand.

More than a third of analysts during inspection were absent due to sickness or secondment, with some staff expressing frustration they could not carry out thorough research.

“Some analysts told us of instances where they weren’t being involved at the start of investigations, meaning some evidential opportunities may have been lost," inspectors noted.

Additionally, some personnel in proactive teams “told us that they have stopped asking for analytical support as they know they won’t get it”.

Other shortcomings included a failure to emphasise the priority attached to SOC to the workforce.

Inspectors also “found little evidence that lead responsible officers (LROs) were managing the quality of plans” and “it wasn’t always clear to us who created the plans, who was responsible for them or if they had been reviewed”.

Furthermore, inspectors uncovered evidence the force was too focused on pursuing offenders with not enough consideration given to protection and prevention.

The force has been set a deadline of 1 January to make multiple strides.

These include improving how it works with partners to not just tackle SOC but access information to better understand threats. It has also been told to provide enough analytical capacity to make sense of that data, and ensure consistent training for lead officers to improve how they manage SOC.

Temporary Chief Constable Alex Murray from the force said: “In the last 12 months we’ve seen crime reduce including a 10% decrease in robbery, more crimes detected, significant investigations concluding with lengthy prison sentences for offenders and ultimately less victims of crime in the areas we serve.

“We are dedicated to disrupting and dismantling organised crime groups."

West Mercia Police is dedicated to dismantling organised crime groups, the force's temporary chief constable has said

Warwickshire - requires improvement

According to inspectors, the force tends to focus on known SOC threats and does not explore community vulnerabilities. It is also said to not have enough resources or expertise to use covert tactics.

Planning is inconsistent in quality and content.

Inspectors, however, concede some issues might be linked to a restructuring of the force that began a year ago, adding the force has partnership arrangements to protect vulnerable victims and prevent people from becoming involved in SOC.

Recommendations include boosting intelligence in some geographical areas, upgrading planning, and learning from concluded operations as to how the force can get better.

"While it is disappointing to be found as ‘requiring improvement’, the findings are broadly what we were expecting as we had already identified the areas for improvement and were actively putting measures in place to address these," said Ch Supt Daf Goddard from the force.

Staffordshire - requires improvement

Inspectors found Staffordshire Police needed to make sure it had enough frontline and specialist resources to tackle SOC, with the force having experienced both stretched staff and trouble downloading data.

The quality of planning was said to be inconsistent, with some plans not subject to management oversight and some not having a clear author.

Another problem area was that partners reported the force did not fully work with them to tackle SOC. Among inspectors' recommendations was that Staffordshire must improve how it worked as part of a collective.

On a positive note, inspectors found the force worked to prevent people from becoming involved in SOC.

Assistant chief constable Becky Riggs admitted the inspection had identified "clear gaps" around the force's ability to tackle SOC but said they had plans in place to address some of these issues.

"We are working on this. Some remedial work has been done since the inspection and plans for the longer term work are ongoing," she said.

"We are committed to reducing the harm caused by serious and organised crime and protecting those vulnerable to this threat."

Staffordshire Police, where Chris Noble is chief constable, has been graded as requiring improvement

West Midlands Police - adequate

West Midlands Police, inspectors said, adopted a force-wide overview of SOC which meant it did not drill down into localised spots or take on board non-police data from partner agencies to form that concentrated intelligence.

It also needed more financial investigators to tackle criminal wealth, with further areas of concern including flaws and inconsistencies in planning, with some staff distrusting the planning system.

There were, though, areas of innovative practice, inspectors said. The force had a social media hub, funded by the Home Office, through which "expertly-trained" officers identified offenders.

Other positives were the force having a top-25 SOC threat list through which it prioritised actions. It was also said to be tackling county lines effectively.

The force has been contacted for comment.

West Midlands ROCU - adequate

The ROCU has “effective structures to gather and assess intelligence", inspectors report.

Managers, though, accept intelligence collection needs to improve for some crime types, with inspectors finding that while child sexual abuse and organised illegal immigration is a regional priority, most operations led by the ROCU focus on drugs and firearms.

Improvements are needed in planning for operations and keeping records of disruption activity.

HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary, Andy Cooke, said: "We will be working closely with the ROCU and monitoring its progress against our new recommendations.”