Moving towards to a new future: Force statement in response to HMICFRS’s PEEL inspection report

Speaking today, Chief Constable Martin Jelley said: “Warwickshire is a safe place to live, work and visit and Warwickshire Police work closely with our partners and communities to maintain this.  The force has always welcomed independent inspection to ensure that it is always seeking to improve in the interests of providing the very best public service.

“The latest HMICFRS inspection report (published today) highlights that we are a force committed to protecting people from harm. A good number of our grades, including in the areas of preventing crime, protecting vulnerable people and tackling serious and organised crime, have increased since last year thanks to the tireless efforts of our dedicated officers, staff and volunteers.

“This has been achieved against a backdrop of significant uncertainty and unprecedented change following the unilateral decision of the Chief Constable and Police and Crime Commissioner of West Mercia to terminate our strategic alliance arrangements in October 2018. Since this time the force has carried out extensive work to consider how best to move forward.  When the inspection took place, in March, we were only part way through our detailed planning work and our gradings reflect this. However significant progress has been made since this time and we are confident that our new arrangements for the future will address the points raised by the inspectorate.

“The force is now focused on implementing strong and positive arrangements which balance local governance and accountability with collaborative partnerships to deliver the best possible protection to people in our county.  The plans we are now implementing will ensure we build on the strengths Warwickshire Police has enjoyed across its 162-year history.

“Being a small force comes with great opportunities to work with a wide range of partners while maintaining all the benefits of localism. We firmly believe we will get the balance right, allowing us to have the direction and control of policing resources in order to address the priorities our communities tell us are most important while securing the financial benefits associated with collaboration.

“I’d like to take this opportunity to reinforce my thanks and appreciation to all our officers, staff, volunteers and partners who work so hard, day in and day out, to keep our communities of Warwickshire safe and protect people from harm.

“We will clearly ensure that all of the areas highlighted by HMICFRS are given due attention to improve these in the coming months but look forward to the new era Warwickshire Police is now entering.”