Surrey Police response to public is inadequate, inspectorate says

Surrey Police needs to improve how it responds to the public, the police inspectorate has said

Surrey Police needs to improve how it responds to the public, the police inspectorate has said.

His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) graded the force's performance in a total of nine areas.

It found it was inadequate at responding to the public, highlighting how quickly it answers emergency and non-emergency calls.

Surrey Police said it took the issues raised by the HMICFRS "very seriously".

The force was found to be good in two areas, adequate in four, requires improvement in two and inadequate in one.

The inspectorate found that the force answered 77% of 999 calls within 10 seconds, below the expected standard of 90%.

'Simply give up'

His Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary Roy Wilsher said the force's performance had "deteriorated" since the last inspection.

"I have concerns about the performance of Surrey Police in keeping people safe, reducing crime and providing victims with an effective service," he said.

"The force doesn't always answer emergency and non-emergency calls in a timely manner, and some callers simply give up.

"This means crime will go unreported and vulnerable people will not be safeguarded."

The police inspectorate found that Surrey Police was inadequate at responding to the public,

Meanwhile, HMICFRS said that the force was effective at preventing and deterring crime and was making improvements in its management of registered sex offenders since the last inspection.

It also praised the force's early safeguarding measures in its investigations into child abuse images.

"There was a change in leadership at the force during our inspection, with the appointment of a new chief constable," Mr Wilsher added.

"He has made changes to the performance management structure and set out his priorities for the force."

Chief Constable Tim De Meyer said: "We must fight crime and protect people, earn the trust and confidence of all our communities.

"This is what the Surrey public rightly expect of the police."

He said while internal changes had been implemented, the report demonstrated that there were areas that still needed to improve.

Surrey's police and crime commissioner, Lisa Townsend, said she was "confident" the force had already made progress to address the areas of concern.

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