Full report on Devon and Cornwall Police failings: 999 calls and crime

His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) carried out a review of the force, grading Devon and Cornwall Police’s performance across nine areas of policing – and finding “urgent improvements” were needed as a result.

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The inspectorate has gone into detail about its findings, with a lack of officers regularly mentioned in the report as contributing to the issues.

Low recording of crime

One of three main areas of concern was the recording of crime.

The review found: “Devon and Cornwall Police is too often failing to record reports of violent crime, particularly behavioural crimes (harassment, stalking, controlling and coercive behaviour), domestic abuse and anti-social behaviour.”

During the one-year period reviewed it estimated that 18,900 crimes were not recorded – some 16% (with a confidence interval of +/- 3%) of all reported crime, excluding fraud.

Inspectors found performance is worse for recording violence against the person, estimating only 80.3% of these (+/- 4.5%) were recorded, compared to 93.4% (+/- 3%) in the 2017 inspection.

More than half of the unrecorded crimes reviewed were domestic abuse related cases.

In addition, 50 incidents of anti-social behaviour were reviewed, with inspectors finding that 23 of these should have been recorded as crimes – but only three actually were.

“Failure to record a crime can result in a victim not being properly safeguarded, no investigation taking place or people living in fear in their own homes while being victimised by neighbours and the local community,” said the inspectors.

The review also found the force doesn’t always record crimes against children, adding: “Some of the crimes missed were crimes of a serious nature, such as sexual assault and inciting children to engage in sexual activity.”

Graphic showing the ratings in each area of the review (Image: HMICFRS)

Due to the force carrying out “limited crime recording audits” senior leaders weren’t aware of the areas that needed improvement, or the extent of improvement required, and hadn’t put measures in place to do this, said the inspectors.

The report recommended that Devon and Cornwall Police should take steps “immediately” to identify gaps in identifying and recording all reports by victims of crimes and within three months provide specific training and ensure regularly auditing takes place.

However, the report did find that the force was recording sexual offences other than rape appropriately.

Slow to answer 999 and 101

Another area rated ‘inadequate’ was the time taken to answer 999 emergency calls and calls to the 101 non-emergency number.

Between November 1, 2021 and August 31, 2022, the force answered 66.7% of 999 calls within ten seconds – below the 90% target.

Performance was found to be worse in summer, when the figure dropped to 59.3% calls answered within ten seconds in August 2022.

The review found that people calling 101 could be left waiting more than an hour to be answered, causing many to abandon their call.

The national standard for abandoned calls to a force switchboard is 5%, but in Devon and Cornwall the rate was 46% for higher priority 101 calls and 75% for lower priority calls, in the year ending April 2022.

Both officers and the public were left “frustrated” when attending non-emergency calls was significantly delayed.

An interim triage service introduced recently was found to be helping, with the inspectorate adding: “A call back service is being introduced but has been subject to delays. When implemented it should give the force more detail on callers’ needs and offer calls at a preferred time.

“The force has received additional funding, some of which will be used to boost the staff available to deal with non-emergency calls. This should reduce pressures on emergency call handlers and lead to overall improvements.”

Managing offenders ‘a concern’

During the inspection several areas were identified that “caused concern” over how the force manages offenders and suspects, in particular sex offenders. This area was also rated ‘inadequate’.

As of July 29, 2022 there were 202 cases where risk assessments hadn’t yet been completed, 328 active risk management systems reviews that were overdue, 446 overdue visits – including 184 not being visited within the past 12 months – and breaches of orders were not always being recorded as crimes.

Chief Constable Will Kerr has responded to the findings (Image: D&C Police)

The report found: “Offender managers had too many cases per officer to allow them to do their work in a thorough or timely way.”

It went on to add that the force had “acted quickly” and had “made considerable progress in a short space of time” – reducing overdue visits to 260 by October 7, 2022.

There was also praise for how the force prioritises and monitors wanted suspects, with improvement shown between 2019 and 2022.

Other issues

Inspectors found that investigating crime “requires improvement”, adding: “Both investigators and supervisors knew the value of structured investigations. But supervisors acknowledged they are struggling to raise standards and improve the timeliness of their team's work due to high caseloads per officer.”

The force also “requires improvement” at operating efficiently, with inspectors saying it needs to improve the way it manages current demands on its services.

The report said having large numbers of unresolved incidents waiting in control rooms was “a risk for the force,” and there were also backlogs in areas such as firearms licensing and digital forensic examination.

What it’s doing better

The review found the force prioritises the prevention of crime, anti-social behaviour and vulnerability, with Devon and Cornwall one of the safest places to live in England and Wales – recording 136 incidents per 1,000 people in the year ending March 31, 2022, which was the third lowest in England and Wales.

There was praise for the “effective and visible” neighbourhood policing teams, including beat managers, community support officers, community safety accredited wardens and diverse community teams.

Its ‘prevention and deterrence’ was rated “good” – as was ‘ building and developing its workforce’, by using “innovative methods” such as the Surfwell programme to support mental health through surf sessions. Staff spoken to said they felt “well supported.”

The force takes an “inclusive, appropriately tailored approach to working with the public”, although officers were not recording their grounds for using stop and search powers well enough.

Overall it found the force was ‘adequate’ at treating people fairly and with respect.

The force has a “clear focus” on protecting vulnerable people, which was rated ‘adequate’, although there was a “lack of consistency and co-ordination” in risk assessments.

The force prioritises the prevention of violence against women and girls, and is piloting a new national approach to the investigation of rape and complex offences.