Response to HMICFRS PEEL report 2023 – 2025

North Wales Police is one of the best in the country when it comes to crime recording, it has clear priorities and treats people with respect according to the HMIC Peel report released today.

The report also acknowledged that the force is working hard to improve its culture.

Chief Constable Amanda Blakeman said: “It is reassuring that our crime recording was graded Outstanding, an achievement held by only a few other forces. Our communities can be confident that we are dealing with crime and working to prevent it.

“One of my first actions as Chief Constable was to commission a cultural audit. This resulted in a significant amount of work across the organisation, the fact that our work in this area was recognised in the report is encouraging.”

In terms of Leadership the report acknowledged that governance has improved since the last inspection, along with good financial management.

The report records strengths in several areas and recognises some innovative examples of good practice, but there are also areas for improvement.

One of these was that the force needs to make sure it answers emergency calls quickly enough.

Chief Constable Blakeman said: “We recognise that each of these calls has a person behind it and that the speed with which we answer their calls needs to be improved. This is a challenge many forces face and we are committed to improving our service to the public.

“Our innovative work in the control room to employ Policing Degree students during holidays was highlighted and felt to be making a difference to the communities of North Wales whilst also assisting with their university studies.

“We are also in the process of investing significant resources into improving our IT infrastructure which is part of our mid-term financial planning.

“We will also continue to invest in developing our workforce, which was recognised as Good by the HMICFRS. These two areas will provide a solid platform to approach the challenges we face for the future.”

Another area for improvement was protecting vulnerable people.

Chief Constable Blakeman said: “Safeguarding vulnerable people is a priority for us and I am pleased that the report recognises the fact that we have invested in a full-time role dedicated to improving our response to stalking and that a number of other measures have been put in place to improve our response in this area.

“The number of Domestic Violence Protection Orders we have applied for have also increased, compared to previous years.

“We recognise that there is more to do and we will continue to invest in this area of work. We have already made significant changes and are working to develop new reporting tools, both of which were also acknowledged in the report as putting us “in an ideal position to take action to improve this area”.

The report acknowledged that on the vast majority of occasions we attend incidents and investigate crimes in a timely manner.

Chief Constable Blakeman said: “The report along with other sources of scrutiny allows us to confirm that we are investing our time and resources into the right areas to make improvements.

“There are also areas where we can seek to make improvements with activity already ongoing in many aspects identified prior to the Inspection.”