Policing needs ‘profound and far-reaching’ changes, says Chief Inspector of Constabulary

Britain’s top police watchdog has warned policing must make “profound and far-reaching” changes or public safety will be put at risk.

Events such as the Salisbury poisoning, the Gatwick airport drone incident and environmental protests in London highlight some of the complex issues police forces face, the Chief Inspector of Constabulary has said in his annual assessment of policing in England and Wales.

Sir Thomas Winsor found there are “indications that some forces are straining under significant pressure as they try to meet growing complex and high-risk demand with weakened resources”.

In his yearly State Of Policing report, he called on politicians, police and crime commissioners and the heads of local police forces to make “bold, long-term decisions” and questioned the 43-force structure.

Sir Thomas suggested it is acting as a barrier to solving crimes like fraud or “county lines” drug dealing and there is a need for the police to function as part of a single law enforcement system.

His other recommended reforms include:

• New mandatory standards to prevent inefficiency and ineffectiveness
• Multi-year financial settlements for the most efficient police forces, to provide certainty, stability and predictability
• Longer-term investment in technology such as body-worn video cameras, facial recognition and artificial intelligence.

Sir Thomas also found the “wider criminal justice system is dysfunctional and defective” – letting down victims and the vulnerable, and leaving many offenders caught in a cycle of crime.

He called for rehabilitation to be taken more seriously, with those released from prison guaranteed proper support in dealing with their finances, claiming benefits, finding work and housing.

He added the public will have to debate and decide how much they are prepared to pay to help the police keep up with demands.

Sir Thomas welcomed Conservative leadership candidate Boris Johnson’s pledge to put 20,000 more police officers on the streets over three years, calling it a “significant financial investment”.

But he stressed the issue is not as simple as needing extra officers, adding some of the £1.1bn that Mr Johnson has earmarked to boost police numbers should be spent on technology so those new officers are as efficient as possible.

“We need the performance of 20,000 officers, that doesn’t mean we need 20,000 people,” Sir Thomas said.

In his report, Sir Thomas warned without the adoption of reforms that “the windspeed of police reform will fall to a flutter, leaving the police service increasingly unable to meet the demands it faces”.

He added: “The inevitable legacy of such an approach would be unacceptable compromises in both the quality of service the police can offer the public and the level of public safety and security the police can uphold.

“But if the reforms I have set out in my assessment are carried out competently, comprehensively and with resolve, they will secure major improvements in police effectiveness and efficiency.

“The widening gap between the public’s needs and the police’s capacity and capability will begin to narrow.”

Elsewhere in the report, Sir Thomas backed calls for the government to introduce criminal liability for senior managers in tech companies who allow harmful materials on their websites.

“Most children are now more at risk in their own bedrooms than they are on the streets,” Sir Thomas said, as he addressed the issue of online abuse and radicalisation.

“This type of offending is not just about child sexual abuse and fraud, but radicalisation, harassment and stalking too.”

He also backed the Sammy’s Law campaign for victims of grooming gangs to be pardoned for crimes they were forced to commit by their abusers.

(c) Sky News 2019: Policing needs ‘profound and far-reaching’ changes, says Chief Inspector of Constabulary