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Every police force in England and Wales has been assigned a performance level by the policing inspectorate for the first time, as part of a drive to support improvements across policing and increase public confidence and accountability.

Forces will now be able to access support and intervention earlier, helping to make communities safer.

Performance levels have been decided by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) and will be published online.

These range from Level One – the default level – to Level Four (Special Measures) for the most significant performance issues.

The Policing Performance System aims to strengthen how force performance is assessed and provide earlier support when improvements are needed. For the first time, the system brings together assessments made by HMICFRS, a new Police Performance Framework developed by the Home Office, and bespoke support provided to forces by the College of Policing.

Announced in the Police Reform White Paper, the new system will also see forces made accountable to the Home Secretary for performance. Ministers and the inspectorate will also have new powers to intervene directly in failing forces.

If there are performance concerns, such as poor police response times or victims not receiving the service they deserve, the Home Secretary, through the College of Policing, will send in experts from across policing to help them improve. Forces have also been set targets on neighbourhood policing levels, 999 response times and incident response times through the new police performance framework.

His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary Michelle Skeer OBE QPM yesterday said:

“This strengthened system-wide approach will support all police forces in England and Wales.

“By using a range of data, evidence and insight to identify concerns earlier, the Policing Performance System will provide the correct level of support at the right time. This will assist forces in addressing any performance issues before they get worse and help make our communities safer.”

Crime and Policing Minister Sarah Jones yesterday said: 

“For too long, failings in policing have been identified too late, allowing poor performance to go unchecked.

“Our new system will catch problems earlier, ensuring forces are challenged, supported and held accountable for improving.

“We are strengthening our powers to ensure we drive up standards, to catch more criminals and cut crime.”

Chief Constable Sir Andy Marsh, College of Policing CEO, yesterday said: 

“This is a groundbreaking new approach for policing so that the public can see a consistency of performance regardless of where they live.

“Where required, a turnaround team from the College will go into forces and work with them to identify the causes for performance issues and create plans to deliver sustained improvement.

“Our approach will be collaborative, and we will work with forces in a partnership to deliver improved performance.”

Dedicated turnaround teams from the College of Policing will work directly alongside forces in higher levels to provide tailored support and co-design practical, evidence-informed improvement plans. All forces will also have access to additional guidance and resources through a Performance Support Toolkit.

His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary is responsible for determining which level each police force is assigned to. The level a force is assigned reflects its current performance and the support needed:

• Level One – default position for all forces. No action or intervention is required from the performance system at this time.
• Level Two – enhanced support will be available to prevent any deterioration in performance. This would apply where a force has some low-level, non-systemic issues, issues which are getting better but require oversight, or multiple minor issues.
• Level Three – targeted support and intervention will be provided and chief constables will develop improvement plans. This would apply where a force has a single, critical and lasting issue, widespread or systemic performance concerns, or if it fails to demonstrate meaningful improvements.
• Level Four (Special Measures) – forces will be subject to special measures where force performance failings are very serious and there is insufficient evidence or confidence that the steps being taken to address them are having the required effect.

Through proposed new powers, His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary will be able to issue directions to police forces, subject to specific circumstances and safeguards being met. The Home Secretary will also be able to directly intervene with forces that persistently fail to improve or refuse to engage with support.

Notes

• For further information, please contact the HMICFRS Press Office on 0300 071 6781 or HMICPressOffice@hmicfrs.gov.uk.
• The Policing Performance System has replaced the previous HMICFRS ‘Scan’ and ‘Engage’ monitoring process.
• A wide range of data and evidence is considered when assigning levels, including HMICFRS inspection findings, analysis of performance data from the Police Performance Framework (which is developed and maintained by the Home Office) and wider contextual information from partner agencies such as the Independent Office for Police Conduct and the College of Policing.
• Levels are assigned at the Policing Performance Monitoring Group (PPMG) which will meet three times a year, with the option for an emergency meeting if required.
• The Policing Performance Monitoring Group is chaired by His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary and also includes the Home Office, the College of Policing CEO, and representatives from the National Police Chiefs’ Council, Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, and the Independent Office for Police Conduct.
• The Policing Performance System is linked to routine PEEL assessments and graded judgments, as well as other relevant HMICFRS inspections. However, they are not the same and do not replace each other. HMICFRS inspections, including PEEL, will continue as normal and inspection findings, alongside Police Performance Framework data and a range of other relevant evidence and insight, are used to determine the level a force is assigned.