Devon and Cornwall Police says it is committed to becoming more ‘effective’ and is already making progress following a critical report from Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary.

Today’s HMIC report looks at how ‘effective’ the force is in terms of keeping people safe and reducing crime.

The report says Devon and Cornwall Police ‘requires improvement’ in this area, but the force says it is making significant progress to ensure safeguarding in our communities.

Deputy Chief Constable James Vaughan said: “Today’s HMIC report is positive in many ways and says Devon and Cornwall Police is good at tackling organised and serious crime, has good intelligence gathering and keeps communities informed and engaged with policing issues.

“It also says we are good at protecting the vulnerable from harm and managing and supporting victims well.

“The report suggests there is work to be done in terms of crime recording processes and preventing crime and tackling anti-social behaviour, but I am confident steps are being taken to ensure we do everything possible to maintain confidence in our communities in keeping them safe from harm.”

Today’s report is the latest strand in the HMIC PEEL reports looking at policing efficiency, effectiveness and leadership across Devon and Cornwall and every other police force in England and Wales.

While the ‘requires improvement’ rating shows a need to improve and evolve policing processes and procedures, Dep CC Vaughan says it should not reduce the public’s confidence in policing.

He added: “We know the public of Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly is confident in their local police force, in fact latest figures show we have very high levels of confidence.

“There is learning and development which needs to come from this report, but the public should be confident that police officers and staff are doing everything possible to ensure their community is safeguarded and protected from harm.

“Our force mission is to prevent harm, reduce crime and protect the vulnerable while safeguarding communities and providing a resilient policing service – I am confident we are doing this.

“The last year has seen significant investment into better mobile technology for officers, and with the commitment from the Police and Crime Commissioner to ensure engagement with communities is closer than ever, we are making progress to ensure neighbourhood policing develops and improves.”

Dep CC Vaughan said: “There is an enormous breadth to policing in 2017 – it is not simply a case of locking up an offender.

“We want to reduce reoffending from criminals and prevent people becoming involved in crime – the early intervention pilot to tackle those involved in crime at the earliest possible point, introduced by the Force and Police and Crime Commissioner, shows progress in this area.

“We are also ensuring victims coming into contact with the police locally, even if they do not see a conviction linked to their crime, are being given some kind of safeguarding or further referral in more than a third of cases. This is not just about processes and data – more important is protecting those at risk of harm.

“Working with the Police and Crime Commissioner, partners and our local communities, we will continue to make progress and build on learning from this report, while ensuring victims remain at the heart of everything that we do.”