Gwent Police not answering 999 calls fast enough

Gwent Police headquarters is based in Cwmbran

A Welsh police force is not answering emergency calls fast enough, inspectors have said.

A new report calls for improvements in how Gwent Police responds to reports of crime from the public.

It says the force is not always carrying out effective or prompt investigations, and repeat and vulnerable victims are not always identified.

Chief constable Pam Kelly said an improvement programme is underway.

The inspection report - one of four published on forces in England and Wales on Thursday - said Gwent Police was not always meeting its own time frames for how quickly it should attend incidents.

It comes as four officers remain suspended while independent investigators look into claims of racism, misogyny and homophobia in the force.

A separate investigation is also looking at how Gwent and South Wales police forces handled missing persons reports on five people, three of which died after a car crash.

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The 2021-22 inspection rated the Gwent force as good in two areas of policing, including preventing crime and managing offenders, and adequate in three, including how it treats the public.

But the way that it responds to the public was graded as inadequate, and inspectors said how Gwent investigates crime and protects vulnerable people "requires improvement".

Gwent, which covers Newport and the counties of Caerphilly, Blaenau Gwent, Monmouthshire and Torfaen, was the only Welsh force to be graded as inadequate for an area of policing in 2021-22.

Gwent Police has been led by Chief Constable Pam Kelly since 2019

The inspection found that Gwent Police did not always carry out investigations promptly or complete all relevant and proportionate lines of inquiry.

"Investigations weren't always well supervised, and not all victims were updated throughout," it said.

Inspectors said the force understood and managed the daily demand of responding to incidents well, but often had too few available staff or vehicles.

They said the force did not always take victims' personal statements, and the force does not currently have enough trained staff to meet the demands of keeping victims of domestic abuse safe.

Between 1 November 2021 and 30 September 2022 Gwent Police answered 77.8% of 999 calls within 10 seconds, below the target of 90% in 10 seconds.

Only 27 of 57 incidents reviewed by inspectors were attended within the force's own published time frames and callers were updated about delays in five of 30 relevant cases looked at.

The force was told to attend most calls within its published time frames, and update victims if there is a delay, within six months.

A chronic area of pressure for the force was a shortage of qualified investigators and supervisors, inspectors said.

'Victims could lose confidence'

His Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary Wendy Williams said: "I am satisfied with some aspects of the performance of Gwent Police in keeping people safe and reducing crime, but there are areas where the force needs to improve.

"Too often, the force doesn't meet its own time frames for attending incidents and doesn't give appropriate crime prevention or safety advice to callers who are waiting for officers to arrive. This means that evidence gathering opportunities may be lost and investigations compromised.

"Victims aren't always informed of delays and so their expectations aren't always met. I am concerned that this may cause victims to lose confidence and disengage from the process."

'New technology'

Chief Constable Pam Kelly said: "I am pleased that HMICFRS has identified that we are good at preventing crime and anti-social behaviour and that we have a good understanding of the issues our communities face.

"In the current climate of scrutiny over officer standards of behaviour we're heartened that inspectors acknowledged active leadership to promote strong ethical standards and acceptable behaviour, including the importance of reporting misconduct within the force.

"We acknowledge that there are matters that we need to improve upon, and coupled with investment in new technology in our purpose built control room, our improvement programme is already underway."

The report is part of the regular inspections of police forces in England and Wales, and inspections of the other three Welsh forces have already been published for 2021-22.

They grade police forces in a variety of areas based on a sliding scale - outstanding, good, adequate, requires improvement and inadequate.

South Wales Police was found to be requiring improvement in how it protects vulnerable people. North Wales Police was told to improve how it investigates crime, while Dyfed-Powys Police was given the same rating on its engagement with the public.

Unlike Gwent, none of the other three forces received an inadequate grading in the areas they were inspected for, and all were said to be good in how they responded to the public.

No Welsh forced received an outstanding grade for any area of policing.