Humberside Police rated 'inadequate' by inspectors

Humberside Police is the only force in England and Wales to be rated inadequate

Humberside Police has been rated "inadequate" at keeping people safe and reducing crime.

Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) said the force had a "limited understanding" of demand for its services and raised "serious concerns" over the way it is organised.

Humberside was the only force to be rated inadequate in a review of police efficiency across England and Wales.

Chief Constable Justine Curran said the force had "moved on" since the report.

HM Inspector of Constabulary Mike Cunningham said: "Humberside Police has a limited understanding of the current and future demand for its services and, as it is unable to fully match resources to demand in some important areas, this affects its ability to provide a good service to the public.

"[It] is working to provide a quality and timely service to the public, something which has been compromised this year by problems with the introduction of a new operating model but its current workforce model is not sustainable."

However, he said the force had met its savings requirement of £34m since 2010/11 and balanced its budget.

'Initial problems'

In April, Humberside Police introduced a "one force" model that did away with separate divisions and led to officers being deployed anywhere instead of working in traditional geographical areas.

It also made changes to shift patterns to try to match the number of officers on duty to the number of emergency calls.

But HMIC said the new timetable had not achieved its aim and "in some areas of the force over half the available staff work at different times to the set shift pattern".

The report said the force would need to cut its budget by 23% - £44m - by 2018/19 and was expected to cut a fifth of its 3,178-strong total workforce in the same period. The national average is a 6% percent cut in staff.

Mrs Curran, who was appointed chief constable in April 2013, said she was "really, really disappointed" at the rating but said the inspection was "just a snapshot" and since the HMIC visit in June the force had been working to with Humberside's Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Grove and HMIC to "close any gaps".

She said the restructuring had been undertaken to ensure the force had "people where and when they are most needed" and had encountered some "initial problems" but that "positive results are starting to emerge".

Mr Grove said "a significant amount of work" had taken place since June.