Watchdog deems Gloucestershire police inadequate at core duties

Gloucestershire Constabulary has been judged “inadequate” at investigating crime, the core function of any police service, in the latest inspection report from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS). The findings, published in the force’s most recent Police Effectiveness, Efficiency and Legitimacy (PEEL) report, raise questions about whether the constabulary can keep people safe. They also place responsibility squarely on the force’s leadership, which was separately rated “inadequate”.

Performance has “deteriorated” since the last PEEL assessment, inspectors found. Beyond the failings on investigation and leadership, crime prevention, safeguarding children and adults, and responding to the public were all rated as “requiring improvement”. Inspectors concluded that the number of offenders brought to justice was too low, that no progress had been made in the force’s ability to protect vulnerable people, and that the constabulary lacked the “right capacity or capability” to manage fraud.

HMICFRS inspector Kathryn Stone said she had “particular concerns about how the constabulary is managed and how well it investigates crime”. The report sets out a clear mandate for the next six months: improve leadership, ensure officers have the right skills to investigate crimes, and make sure investigations are consistently carried out in a “thorough” and “timely” way for victims.

Accountability for that improvement now rests with the force’s two most senior figures. Temporary Chief Constable Maggie Blyth said she accepts the report’s findings but argued that the constabulary needs practical and financial help from the government, support she said had been “repeatedly asked for”. She described it as “frustrating and disheartening to not be able to support them in the way we want to”, while praising a “fantastic workforce”. “I am proud of the improvements we have made in Gloucestershire in the past couple of years, particularly given the restraints we are working with and of the continued commitment of our people to serve the public,” she said. “But ultimately we can only do so much without more support or the modernising of policing’s structures through reform.”

By contrast, Police and Crime Commissioner Chris Nelson, the elected official responsible for overseeing the force, said the report was not pleasant to read but “absolutely none of it is a surprise”. He acknowledged the constabulary has been “struggling for some time” but said the report “is not good enough”. “To be rated inadequate in investigating crime, a fundamental service of a police force, is, to say the least, disappointing and reflects a weakness seen in many police forces nationally,” he said, adding that faster improvement is “non-negotiable”.

Meanwhile, the Home Office, which holds the funding levers, responded that it is “delivering the biggest reforms to policing in over 200 years” to allow forces to better protect communities. A spokesperson said police force funding this year stands at a historic high of £18.5 billion, with Gloucestershire Constabulary receiving a cash increase of 4.7 per cent.

The report was not without positives. Inspectors found improvements in the use of stop and search powers, judging the force “adequate” at using its powers “fairly, appropriately and with justification”. The constabulary was also found to work well with other bodies to improve its response to children and adults at risk of harm, including victims of domestic abuse.

A staff survey conducted for the report, however, found that almost 20% of staff wanted to leave the force “as soon as possible”. That figure underscores the scale of the challenge facing those charged with turning the ratings around, and it leaves open the question of whether six months is enough time to do it.