Gwent Police needs to improve the service it provides to the public in answering and attending calls and identifying vulnerable callers, the police inspectorate has said.
His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) graded Gwent Police’s performance across eight areas of policing and found the force was ‘good’ in two areas, ‘adequate’ in three areas, ‘requires improvement’ in two areas, and ‘inadequate’ in one area.
HMICFRS said the force was inadequate at quickly answering emergency calls and attending incidents. It added that too often the force failed to give appropriate crime prevention or safety advice to callers waiting for officers to arrive.
However, HMICFRS praised the force for some promising early intervention initiatives with young people, and its investment in novel approaches to help people feel safer in public places.
His Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary Wendy Williams said: “I am satisfied with some aspects of the performance of Gwent Police in keeping people safe and reducing crime, but there are areas where the force needs to improve.
“In particular, call handlers don’t answer emergency calls quickly enough. And on many occasions, they don’t carry out thorough risk assessments when crime and incidents are reported to the control room.
“Too often, the force doesn’t meet its own time frames for attending incidents and doesn’t give appropriate crime prevention or safety advice to callers who are waiting for officers to arrive. This means that evidence gathering opportunities may be lost and investigations compromised.
“Victims aren’t always informed of delays and so their expectations aren’t always met. I am concerned that this may cause victims to lose confidence and disengage from the process.
“We will continue to monitor the force’s progress as it addresses our concerns.”
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