Devon and Cornwall Police in special measures

The force has been placed into special measures by the police inspectorate following an inspection

Devon and Cornwall Police has been moved into an enhanced level of monitoring by the police inspectorate.

The watchdog found three areas in which improvements must be made; response to emergency calls, recording of crime and management of registered sex and violent offenders.

The force said it "accepted" the findings.

It added it had already begun improvement action following the inspection in January.

His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) monitors the performance of all police forces in England and Wales.

It said more detail about the force's performance would be included in its next inspection report, due to be published early next year.

Crime recording 'deteriorated'

The police inspectorate's monitoring process consists of two stages: scan and engage.

All police forces are in the scan phase by default, but may be escalated to engage.

The watchdog said one of the reasons it had decided to move Devon and Cornwall Police into the engage phase was because the its crime recording had deteriorated since the last inspection.

It said the force didn't always record crimes against vulnerable victims, particularly violent or behavioural crimes, and anti-social behaviour.

HMICFRS also said the force did not answer, or respond to, emergency or non-emergency calls within adequate timeframes, and too many calls were abandoned.

Identification of repeat and vulnerable callers was missed, and callers were not always given the appropriate advice on preservation of evidence or crime prevention, the inspectorate found.

The police inspectorate also found the force was unable to adequately manage registered sexual and violent offenders, which it said meant an increasing risk of further offending may not be identified.

Conservative police and crime commissioner for Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly Alison Hernandez said there were a "few surprises" in the report.

She said: "HMICFRS inspections are among the tools I have that help me hold the chief constable to account for delivering an effective and efficient police force.

"We must not lose sight of the fact that brave and dedicate police officers, staff and volunteers work tirelessly to maintain a force area that is consistently one of the safest in England and Wales."

'Improvements we must make'

Jim Colwell, Temporary Chief Constable of Devon and Cornwall Police, said: "We fully accept the findings of the HMICFRS inspection.

"I understand that these findings may cause concern in our communities and we are committed to delivering improvements.

"We have already commenced action in all three of these areas following the inspectorate's initial inspection in January".

"Whilst there are improvements we must make; I am extremely proud that Devon and Cornwall remain the second safest counties in the country and this is testament to the hard work of all our officers, staff and volunteers."

Jim Colwell, temporary Chief Constable, said he "accepted" the findings of the inspection

"Protecting victims of crime remains our priority as we strive to meet our mission for world-class policing and to provide the best possible service for our communities."

His Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary Wendy Williams said: "We move police forces into our enhanced level of monitoring, known as engage, when a force is not responding to our concerns, or if it is not managing, mitigating or eradicating these concerns.

"The engage process provides additional scrutiny and support.

"Devon and Cornwall Police has been asked to urgently produce an improvement plan and will meet regularly with our inspectors."

The force joins six others that are currently in special measures, including the Metropolitan Police.