PCC congratulates Constabulary on latest HMIC report

The latest report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) on police performance has shown the Constabulary to be ‘good’ in all areas – including keeping people safe and reducing crime, whilst praising its standard of leadership.

The report published today, Thursday 25 February states that the chief officer team has made a positive difference despite undergoing significant periods of change over the past 12 months. As part of HMIC’s annual all forces inspections into police effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy (PEEL) in 2015, HMIC assessed how well forces are led at all levels. Suffolk has received an across-the-board ‘good’ grading and the leadership is making strides in taking the Constabulary into the future.
In the report the HMIC highlight that Suffolk’s top officers ‘provided a clear and developing sense of the constabulary’s future plans and priorities and promote a culture of cohesion, honesty and openness’.

It also recognises that the organisation is undergoing significant change and is assessing current workforce skills.

Police and Crime Commissioner Tim Passmore said: “This is a thoroughly fair assessment of the Constabulary’s effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy and I congratulate Gareth and his team on this very positive report.

“I am very pleased that the Inspectorate highlighted the Constabulary’s strong focus on preventing crime and keeping people safe with a commitment to visible policing, this is very reassuring.

“The report acknowledges that there have been many changes in the chief officer team over the past year and despite this have reported that the Constabulary continues to promote a culture of cohesion, honesty and openness; this bodes very well for the future.”

Chief Constable Gareth Wilson said: “I am extremely pleased that inspectors have recognised the absolute commitment that our senior leaders have towards providing clear and positive direction for our workforce.

“I am leading a new chief officer team at a time in which we are delivering a substantial amount of change across the organisation. Listening to our staff and developing our leaders is crucial in helping us shape the future of the Constabulary. We have a fantastic workforce who are proud to a deliver high quality policing every day, and part of this work stems from the team ethos within the organisation, enabled by effective leadership.”We know we still have work to do to fully understand the status of our leadership, and work is underway to achieve this. We are in the process of creating new ways to recognise and develop talent within our teams and to provide our managers with the skills they need to lead effectively.
“Our overall positive grading throughout the PEEL inspections is a reflection of the hard work across the organisation to provide the best possible service to our communities. As we work to implement our new policing model later this year, our adherence to the highest possible standards will continue to be a priority.”

The report also states that leaders and employees across the constabulary have a good understanding of what is expected of them via consistent messages from the chief officer team, that senior officers are visible and approachable with an ‘ambitious and realistic’ future direction and a commitment to innovation and identifying new ways of working.

It acknowledges that the Constabulary is investing in the development of its workforce, is developing an effective leadership skills programme and that it works closely with partners.

Copies of the report can be found here.