Concerns about Sussex Police performance: This is what a hard-hitting inspector's report said - and the improvements the force is making

The report, published on Thursday April 13, said Sussex Police needs to improve how it keeps the public safe and reduces crime. It graded Sussex Police’s performance across nine areas of policing and found the force was ‘good’ in two areas, ‘adequate’ in four areas, ‘requires improvement’ in one area, and ‘inadequate’ in two areas.

HMICFRS said the force did not always record reports of violent crime - particularly behavioural crimes (harassment, stalking, controlling and coercive behaviour), rape, domestic abuse and antisocial behaviour.

However, the inspectorate said that the force works well with communities and has progressed involvement with some hard-to-reach communities. It also praised Sussex Police’s work prevention and enforcement, including a focus on reducing serious youth violence and on habitual knife carriers.

His Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary Roy Wilsher said: “Sussex Police urgently needs to improve how it responds to the public, and how it records crime.

“Its recording of reports of violent crime is inadequate, and the force is also missing opportunities to safeguard vulnerable people. It needs to improve the way it assesses initial calls to the force so that vulnerable people and repeat callers are routinely identified.

“As a result of my concerns I have already been in contact with the chief constable and the police and crime commissioner.

“I am pleased with the way the force has responded so far and I will continue to check the force’s progress in addressing areas for improvement in the coming months.”

Chief Constable Jo Shiner welcomed the report and the opportunity to continue to work with HMICFRS to further improve services for the people of Sussex.“We acknowledge the recommendations made in the report and take these very seriously. We have worked closely with the inspectorate over the past nine months to accelerate action plans against these, having identified response and investigations as areas requiring intense focus through our own internal review process.

“I remain absolutely committed to delivering the best possible service we can for the people of Sussex and I’m confident that changes already made have already significantly improved our position since last year.

“We are pleased the inspection team recognised our effectiveness at preventing crime and anti-social behaviour and our focus on targeting the most dangerous criminals, highlighting several areas of innovative practice, including our proactive approach to reducing knife crime.

“This important work contributes to Sussex remaining one of the safest places to live in the country despite both a growth in demand and, significantly, remaining one of the lowest funded police forces in the country.

“In the current context, it is also pleasing to see the force was found to be good at treating people fairly and with respect and to have an open and inclusive culture, where people feel supported to challenge unacceptable behaviour.

“This is critical to delivering an effective and ethical police service and I thank the everyday commitment of my colleagues - officers, staff and volunteers - as well as the incredible support of our local communities, who work with us to keep people safe.

“Inspectors referenced the ‘significant mental health demand’ now placed upon the police which has, out of necessity, become the service of first and last resort for people in crisis.

“I will continue to explore all avenues to enhance our services to ensure that police officers are kept free to police, respond to the public and investigate crime. This is what the public expects and deserves.”

Sussex is the sixth biggest county in England, spanning 1,461 square miles and with a resident population of 1.65m with millions of additional visitors, holidaymakers, students and seasonal workers.

The force currently has 3,191 police officers, 2,334 police staff and 252 PSCOS – a net increase of 387 police officers since 2019.In 2022, 999 calls to the police increased by 14% compared to the previous year, equating to an extra 36,810 emergency calls, and reported crimes by 8.9% to 131,583.

The force has established improvement plans in place, including restructuring resources and investing in new technology in the contact centre to improve response times and ensure high volume, non-emergency crime is allocated more swiftly, putting dedicated resource into neighbourhood crime investigations and a full review of how crime recording is managed.

Comment: ‘A force for good’ https://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/news/crime/comment-sussex-police-must-improve-but-they-truly-are-a-force-for-good-and-we-should-be-proud-of-them-4102084