Performance and Measurement

Summary

West Midlands Police is the second largest force in the country (in terms of police officer numbers), covering 348 square miles and serving a population of almost 2.6 million. The largely urban area covers three major cities – Birmingham, Coventry and Wolverhampton. Leisure, retail and conference amenities, together with Premiership and Championship football teams, attract millions of visitors annually. Additionally, the area’s motorway network is one of the busiest in Europe. The force is structured around 21 operational command units with a high degree of coterminosity to aid partnership working.

The force strategic assessment considers critical risks to the force from terrorist activity, major crime and serious and organised criminality. The force recognises the growing demands and threats posed in these areas and has invested additional resources and realigned existing assets to strengthen its intelligence capability. West Midlands hosts one of three counter-terrorist ‘hubs’ outside London.

The force is building on the strengths reported in the 2006 baseline assessment, with established processes in place to address risks that may affect force performance and organisational reputation. It has an impressive performance regime, which drives quantitative performance against targets and captures qualitative analysis through survey activity. It is again graded Excellent for Performance Management to reflect its beacon status.

The force has been delivering Neighbourhood Policing since September 2006, ahead of the national target. Some 333 neighbourhoods have been identified, served by 223 neighbourhood teams comprising police officers, PCSOs and special constables. Noteworthy good practice includes strong partnership engagement to deal with issues that matter to local communities. The development of joint strategic assessments and local delivery groups ensures a strong link between strategy and front-line service delivery. This progress and innovation is reflected in the grade of Excellent for implementation of Neighbourhood Policing.

The 2007 inspection found that the investigation of child abuse and domestic violence is of an acceptable standard overall, and there is an effective response to missing persons reports. However, improvement is needed in the management of sex and violent offenders (public protection). Specifically, the force needs to develop a tighter corporate framework that clearly identifies force-wide standards, including around staffing levels, supervision and training.

Last year the force was graded Fair overall for Protecting Vulnerable People, with concern expressed about officer resilience in the face of very heavy workloads and, in some places, inadequate supervision and quality assurance. The force has reviewed its current structures and processes and has identified good practice from elsewhere and is strengthening its arrangements. It faces a challenge in securing consistency; while there are pockets of good practice, service quality in other areas falls short of the standard that the force strives to provide.

Volume crime investigation has improved, with increased rates for offences brought to justice and sanction detections. Local priorities are identified through a combination of consultation with communities and partners, surveys, the strategic assessment and a drive for continuous improvement. Reducing business crime was a local indicator in 2006/07, and positive feedback from the business community has led the police authority to continue with it this year. For 2007/08, other indicators in response to public surveys include reductions in criminal damage and road traffic accidents involving young drivers/riders.