West Midlands Police resolves 'many of its issues' which led to special measures

West Midlands Police said on Tuesday that His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) had confirmed that the force had made significant improvements to its performance by closing three areas of previous concern identified in December last year.

HMICFRS had raised concerns in four areas, which were to carry out effective investigations leading to satisfactory results for victims, work effectively to keep vulnerable people safe, effectively manage the risk posed to the public by registered sex offenders and manage the risk posed by online child abuse offenders effectively.

The force was moved into 'Engage' status by HMICFRS following the inspection, which was the equivalent of being put into special measures, then, in May and June this year, the force was again visited to see what progress had been made.

The revisit by inspectors scrutinised the progress the force had made and found that improvements had been made in three of the four areas identified.

Around more effective multi-agency risk assessment conferences, the force was found to have successfully addressed the backlog of high-risk cases for discussion at Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conferences (MARACs) and there were clear processes in place to support this across the West Midlands.

Additionally, the force’s operating model now supports the effective management of registered sex offenders and has allocated more resources to this work, with managers better able to manage performance and risks effectively.

Finally, the force said it had reduced the backlog of cases awaiting assessment within the online child sexual exploitation team (OCSET) and improved the way it managed intelligence and surges in demand to safeguard children.

The only cause of concern that was not closed in the update, published on Tuesday, was in relation to investigations leading to satisfactory results for victims.

The Chief Constable of West Midlands Police, Craig Guildford, thanked everyone who had worked to achieve the results in the areas identified and spoke of the hard work that was continuing to go into addressing the concerns raised by HMICFRS.

He said: "These improvements are testament to the hard work of our officers and staff plus some excellent leadership across the force.

“We are continuing to work hard to address the final cause of concern flagged by HMICFRS around our investigations.

"It is really pleasing to know that inspectors have recognised the progress already made to resolve this and we look forward to this area being formally reviewed in September.

“I am thrilled to also reveal that alongside making these improvements HMICFRS has also been impressed by the improvements the force has made to its custody processes.

"Four long standing areas of concern in this area have also been successfully concluded."

The Police and Crime Commissioner, Simon Foster, said he was pleased with the action taken to ensure sustained improvements have been made at West Midlands Police in the last seven months and would also continue to hold the force to account wherever possible.

He said: “This is a matter I have treated with the utmost seriousness and as a top priority.

“I have been committed to holding West Midlands Police to account and working with the chief constable, HMICFRS and other relevant partners to ensure the action was taken to address the four causes of concern.

“I am pleased that, as a consequence of the action taken, HMICFRS has acknowledged sustained improvements in the force’s performance, regarding three of the four causes of concern.

"I will continue to hold West Midlands Police to account, to ensure sustained improvements in the investigation of crime.

“I am committed to constant and unremitting action, to ensure the people of the West Midlands receive the service from West Midlands Police, that they are entitled to.”