Cambridgeshire Police needs to improve how it manages risks posed by sex offenders, report reveals

Cambridgeshire Police needs to improve how the force responds to residents, a new report has revealed.

His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) rated the force as ‘inadequate’ for how it manages offenders, and how responds to the public in the latest official report.

The purpose of the inspection is to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of the force, supporting internal reviews and continuous learning and improvement to ensure the residents of Cambridgeshire are receiving a good standard of policing. It is important to note that a direct comparison with any previous grades, or to a certain extent other forces, cannot be made.

The force was given praise in other areas, being rated as outstanding in ‘police powers and public treatment.’ They are the only force in the country to receive the top marks in this category.

The force also received ‘good’ gradings for preventing and deterring crime, antisocial behaviour and vulnerability, and building, supporting and protecting the workforce, and adequate for investigating crime and protecting vulnerable people.

‘Force should answer 999 and 101 calls faster and respond to those incidents more quickly’

His Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary Roy Wilsher said: “I am pleased with some aspects of the performance of Cambridgeshire Constabulary, including how it uses its police powers and works with partners to prevent crime.

“However, in some areas we inspected, the constabulary needs to improve. It should answer 999 and 101 calls faster and respond to those incidents more quickly too. It must also improve its management of risks posed by registered sex offenders in the community.

“While I congratulate the police officers and police staff of Cambridgeshire Constabulary for their efforts to keep the public safe, I will monitor progress in the areas where I feel the constabulary needs to improve.”

‘We have implemented changes… and are seeing improvements’

Chief Constable Nick Dean said: Chief Constable Dean said: “We welcome today’s report from HMICFRS as it’s an opportunity for us to reflect on the service we provide, celebrate what we are doing well, and look at what we need to improve to provide an even better service for the people of Cambridgeshire.

“I highlight once again that the backdrop to the Constabulary’s work and this inspection is that we remain one of the poorest funded forces in the country which is a factor that cannot be lost on anyone.

“So to be the only force in the country to receive an ‘outstanding’ grade for how we use police powers, especially given how much scrutiny this area of our business has quite rightly come under from the government and the public, is testament to the innovative work we have put in place to ensure fairness and transparency at every opportunity.

"We are aware there are areas in which we need to improve and since the inspection last year we have implemented changes in processes and increased our resources in those areas and we are already seeing significant improvements.

“For example, in our demand hub we have, at peak times, deployed police officers to support call handlers in order to increase call answering capacity, until we are able to get new police staff through the recruitment and training process.

“This means that despite the number of calls into our 999 lines having increased by 27% compared to pre-covid figures, in February (2024), we were answering 91.8% calls in in 10 seconds, meaning we now sit 13th in the country for call pick up times. This is an improvement from when we were inspected in November last year. The report praised call taking staff for their politeness and knowledge, despite the challenging job that they do.

“The report also recognises the Constabulary has implemented a number innovative leadership programmes supporting specialist areas, as well as the investment in frontline supervision, including under-represented groups.

“We have also increased resources, welfare support and leadership into our online child abuse team and the team that manages registered sex offenders. These are both areas of business that have grown significantly in the past few years, and two areas that carry significant risk, so it was imperative that we acted before today’s report came out. The risk within these areas has now significantly reduced.

“This action has already demonstrated positive results including clearing a backlog of checks that needed to be made and visits that needed to be carried out. We now need to ensure these changes are maintained, to ensure the trust, confidence and safety of our community.”

Praise for police projects

HMIC highlighted several areas of good practice in a variety of areas of the Force’s business, including the use of technology to market and recruit people who have been subject to a stop search by officers, to join the community scrutiny panel. The inspectors highlighted the use of a QR code on a card that explains why they have been stopped and searched allows people to sign up to the panel, encouraging young people and a more diverse group of people to scrutinise and challenge the activity, that could help to improve policy and practice, as well as strengthen community relationships.

They also praised the work done to ensure victims and witnesses are supported through the criminal justice process by a specialist team who provide a bespoke service to all victims and witnesses going to court. The victim and witness hub manages victims and witnesses on a wide range of crimes and not only offer support on the criminal justice process, but also signposting and practical support, such as food bank vouchers. The impact of providing tailored and intensive support to victims and witnesses is a reduction in criminal justice attrition rates as less victims and witnesses drop out or retract from the court process.

To read the report visit https://hmicfrs.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/publications/