Improvements at North Yorkshire Police say inspectors
They're now ranked as 'good' in five areas
North Yorkshire Police has made improvements in how it keeps people safe, reduces crime and provides victims with an effective service, the police inspectorate has said.
His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) graded North Yorkshire Police’s performance across nine areas of policing and found the constabulary was good in five areas and adequate in four areas.
HMICFRS said the force has improved its approach to protecting vulnerable people. It has an established domestic abuse scrutiny panel, which works to improve public confidence in the force’s approach to domestic abuse and rape, and it makes good use of the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme.
Inspectors also said that the force has invested significantly in its control room, and observed improvements in call handling and how quickly it arrives at emergency and priority incidents.
However, the inspectorate said the force needs to do more to ensure it consistently achieves appropriate outcomes for victims. HMICFRS also said that the force needs to better understand its demand, so it can manage it more effectively.
His Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary Michelle Skeer said:
“I have been impressed with North Yorkshire Police’s response to the findings of our last inspection in 2022. The force has worked quickly to improve the policing service it provides to the communities of North Yorkshire. Because of this, it has made progress in all the areas of improvement identified in our last inspection.
“There are still areas in which North Yorkshire Police must do better. However, I am optimistic that the force’s leadership and management will continue to build on the improvements that we have seen during this inspection.”
Acting Chief Constable for North Yorkshire Police, Elliot Foskett said:
“It’s been a transformative year for policing in North Yorkshire.
“We fully embraced the feedback from the Inspectorate at the end of the 2022 inspection and set to work, as a force, to address the multiple areas which were identified as needing to be improved.
"We put in place our improvement plan, which was challenging and tough for everyone in the force. We told you that the leadership team had a grip on the issues and that we would manage the plan tightly.
"We moved at a pace and have delivered on all fronts. We have worked hard over the past 12 months to bring the force to a level where the Inspectorate told us that the change has been phenomenal.
"At all times we have had our focus on delivering an exemplary service for the communities that we serve.
“We are one of the safest counties in England and this Inspection report shows that we are also now one of the best forces in England."