Improvements needed to Thames Valley Police investigation practices, says report

Thames Valley has the lowest levels of antisocial behaviour in the country – but police still have ‘more to do’ to address investigative standards.

The HMICFRS (His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services) inspection looks at police effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy (PEEL) for 2023-2025.

Inspector Roy Wilsher said that since last inspection, the force ‘has made a significant effort to review and improve its investigative standards, but it has more to do.’

One highlighted issue was risky practice in relation to visits to registered sex offenders.

In addition, staff turnover is high, putting pressure on the force – and there are delays contacting social services to safeguard children.

Prevention

Thames Valley Police is 'adequate' at prevention and deterrence.

In the 2021 PEEL inspection report, inspectors commented on the fact that TVP recorded the lowest numbers of antisocial behaviour incidents of any force in England and Wales, at 11.9 incidents per 1,000 population.

During this inspection, inspectors found that levels of reported antisocial behaviour have decreased further. In the year ending March 2022, TVP recorded only 8.9 incidents per 1,000 population.

But The force has not taken steps to identify and understand the reasons for this.

It should ‘make sure that it understands why it has the lowest reported levels of antisocial behaviour in England and Wales.’

“It is important that the force learns the reasons for this disparity. This will allow it to understand and address antisocial behaviour in the force area or share good practice,” the inspection report said.

Youth offending and managing offenders

The force is carrying out an initiative called Operation Deter in Milton Keynes and Slough with the youth offending team – described by the inspectorate as ‘promising practice.’

At the time of inspection, TVP said that 57 children had been arrested under Operation Deter but only one of those children had been arrested again for a similar offence.

“The early findings from this initiative are extremely promising and suggest it helps prevent reoffending,” noted inspectors.

But TVP ‘requires improvement’ at managing offenders and suspects.

The force should improve its oversight and understanding of risk in relation to wanted people, inspectors said.

Inspectors found that non-warranted staff carry out visits to registered sex offenders on their own.

These solo visits ‘are contrary to authorised professional practice’ because of the risk that the attending staff could be vulnerable to grooming.

As well as risk to officer safety, there is a risk that ‘the quality of visit will be reduced’, inspectors wrote.

They also found that supervisory decision-making and risk assessments about solo visits were not recorded in enough detail.

Inspectors found delays in completing risk assessments for some registered sex offenders. In other cases, there were ‘inappropriate delays’ in completing visits to others.

They further found that there are sometimes delays in consulting with social services to instigate safeguarding of children.

Staff told inspectors that is because of a concern that early action taken by children’s social services may alert suspects, leading to the loss of evidence.

"Offenders may then remain at liberty and pose a future risk," inspectors noted.

TVP said it has introduced a pilot where it notifies children’s social services as soon as a suspect and an associated address are identified.

It makes further disclosures to children’s social services as the investigation and risk assessment develop.

The force says that once these pilots have been completed and evaluated, it will introduce this across the force area.

Workforce

The force needs to better understand why officers – in particular new recruits – wish to leave the force.

“Greater numbers of police officers are leaving Thames Valley Police than expected,” the inspection report reads.

In the year ending March 2023, more than 250 constables left the force.

In addition, the force said that a further 53 student officers left between April and mid-July 2023.

TVP has one of the highest levels in England and Wales of police officers who resign or transfer. This turnover is placing 'significant strain' on the force.

This is because of the loss of experienced officers, but also because of the impact on other areas, such as training and vetting. It leads to delays in replacing staff elsewhere in the organisation.

It is estimated that the full cost of each officer who resigns after one year’s service is around £80,000.

This means that TVP is also having to absorb ‘a large financial impact’ in replacing officers they have invested in.

The resignation of student officers ‘is a particular problem.’ Inspectors found many student officers had multiple tutors, ‘some of whom were themselves inexperienced.’

Once the tutoring relationship had ended, some student officers felt ‘abandoned’. They told inspectors that they did not feel ready for the role without ongoing support.

Between February 14 and 24 March 24, inspectors found that 72 per cent of new recruits did not have either a buddy or a mentor.

Seventy per cent of student officer resignations occur in their first year of service. Many resignations are viewed as ‘avoidable.’

In some cases, the force feels that the additional burden of study for the academic routes into policing has been too much.

To address this, many new recruits now starting in the force are on the independent police learning and development programme pathway, which doesn’t require academic learning.

In three of the nine areas of policing, Thames Valley scored good and adequate, with another four coming under ‘requires improvement’.

It had one 'inadequate' rating, which was regarding protection of the vulnerable.

“[This report] acknowledges improvements in many areas made since our last inspection, such as a significant decrease in homicide, recognised by the Home Office as a positive example of tackling the deaths of young men on our streets.

“In the last six months, we have responded to more than half a million contacts from the public and attended 81,143 incidents, which represents an incredible demand on our 8,400 officers, staff and volunteers.

“We have an incredibly committed workforce who protect our communities 24-7. They are often working in highly complex and demanding circumstances, and I would like to thank them for all they do.”