The reports relating to Bedfordshire can be found below, together with the relevant responses.

Expectations for police custody: for consultation

Published on: 23 December 2021

HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services and HM Inspectorate of Prisons are reviewing and updating their Expectations for police custody.

We are consulting across the sector to obtain the views of our stakeholders on the refreshed Expectations and to inform any further amendments or changes that might be needed.

The Expectations were last updated in 2018.

This version of the Expectations addresses changes to the PACE Codes of Guidance – in particular PACE Code C for the detention, treatment and questioning of persons detained – and any changes made by College of Policing Authorised Professional Practice (APP) on Detention and Custody.

The proposed Expectations also reflect concerns raised by those with an interest in police custody, or where recommendations have been made to improve standards. We remain focused in our Expectations on achieving better outcomes for detainees.

The main changes reflect:

• Dame Angiolini’s independent review of deaths and serious incidents in police custody – in particular, recommendations about the care of detainees under the influence of alcohol, drugs and/or substances;
• concerns raised by the Independent Custody Visitors Association (ICVA) about the needs of menstruating women and girls in police custody (which led to changes to the PACE code C); and
• revisions to reflect changes in professional health care requirements and practices.

We have also taken the opportunity to clarify wording, remove duplication, and re-order some of the sections and indicators.

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Police response to violence against women and girls – Final inspection report

Published on: 17 September 2021

Background

In March 2021, the Home Secretary commissioned Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) to inspect the effectiveness of police engagement with women and girls.

This report sets out findings from our inspection of how effectively the police respond to violence against women and girls (VAWG (PDF document)) offences. These are violent and high-harm crimes that disproportionally affect women and girls, such as domestic abuse, sexual violence, stalking and female genital mutilation.

Recommendations of our July 2021 interim report

In July 2021, we published an interim report on our initial findings and recommendations. This was to inform work on the Government’s revised tackling VAWG strategy.

The interim report was based mainly on our review of evidence from our previous inspections and from our consultations with experts

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A duty to protect: Police use of protective measures in cases involving violence against women and girls

Published on: 24 August 2021

On 19 March 2019, the Centre for Women’s Justice made a super-complaint to HMICFRS. 

This super-complaint is about the police’s alleged failure to use protective measures to safeguard women and girls.  It sets out concerns about four tools the police can use/are involved in: 

• Pre-charge bail 
• Non-Molestation Orders 
• Domestic Violence Protection Notices and Orders 
• Restraining Orders 

The CWJ is concerned the police aren’t using these tools enough and in the right way. 

What is a super-complaint? 

A super-complaint is a complaint that “a feature, or combination of features, of policing in England and Wales by one or more than one police force is, or appears to be, harming the interests of the public” (section 29A, Police Reform Act 2002). 

The system aims to examine problems of local, regional or national significance that may not be addressed by existing complaints systems. The process for making and considering a super-complaint is outlined in the Police Super-complaints Regulations 2018. 

Super-complaints provide a voice for designated bodies to raise concerns on behalf of the public. They can include patterns or trends in policing that are, or appear to be, harming the interests of the public. 

College of Policing and the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) are responsible for assessing, investigating and reporting on police super-complaints. We have collaborated on the investigation and on drawing conclusions. 

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Inspection into how effectively the police engage with women and girls

Published on: 7 July 2021

On 26 March 2021, the Home Secretary commissioned HMICFRS to inspect how the police work with female victims, offenders and witnesses. The report was published in two sections. We published our interim report in July 2021. We published our final report in September 2021.

Interim report: Inspection into how effectively the police engage with women and girls

The interim report sets out findings and recommendations from one part of this inspection, which focuses on how effectively the police respond to violence against women and girls (VAWG) offences. These are violent and high-harm crimes that disproportionally affect women and girls, such as domestic abuse, sexual violence, stalking, and female genital mutilation (FGM).

We published these interim findings before our main inspection report, so our evidence could inform the Government’s violence against women and girls strategy, which was published in July 2021.

HMI Zoë Billingham made three recommendations in this report:

1. There should be an immediate and unequivocal commitment that the response to VAWG offences is an absolute priority for government, policing, the criminal justice system, and public sector partnerships. This needs to be supported at a minimum by a relentless focus on these crimes; mandated and clear responsibilities; and sufficient funding so that all partner agencies can work effectively as part of a whole-system approach to reduce and prevent the harms these offences are causing.
2. The relentless pursuit and disruption of adult perpetrators should be a national priority for the police, and their capability and capacity to do this should be enhanced.
3. Structures and funding should be put in place to make sure victims receive tailored and consistent support.

Police response to violence against women and girls: final inspection report

This final report sets out findings and recommendations on how effectively the police respond to VAWG offences. It draws on the findings of new inspection activity, and on our work to gather the views of female victims and survivors themselves.

HMI Zoë Billingham made two further recommendations in this final report:

1. All chief constables should immediately review and ensure that there are consistently high standards in their forces’ responses to violence against women and girls and should be supported in doing so by national standards and data.
2. There should be an immediate review of use of outcomes 15 and 16 in violence against women and girls offences.

PCC response to report

A review of ‘Fraud: Time to choose’

Published on: 5 August 2021

In 2018, the Home Secretary commissioned HMICFRS to carry out a thematic inspection of fraud.

We conducted our inspection between March and July 2018. In April 2019, we published Fraud: Time to choose – An inspection of the police response to fraud. In that report, we made 16 recommendations and identified 5 areas for improvement (AFIs).

We have revisited our previous inspection to see how the police service has responded to the recommendations and AFIs we made in that report. This report presents our findings on the progress that has been made.

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PCC response to report

Policing inspection programme and framework 2021/22

Published on: 21 July 2021

This document is HMICFRS’s inspection programme and framework for policing for 2021/22.

The types of inspections we carry out are:

• PEEL assessments
• National thematic inspections
• Commissions from the Home Secretary and local policing bodies
• Inspection of national agencies and other non-Home Office forces
• Joint inspections
• State of Policing report

We have amended our organisational strategy. This inspection programme and framework complies with our statutory obligations and is designed to facilitate the achievement of our four strategic objectives.

We will:

• focus on those areas that make the most significant difference to the public and those areas that have the greatest influence on improving public safety;
• adopt a collaborative and more targeted ‘smarter systems’ approach to the work of the inspectorate and our work across the inspected sectors and the wider criminal justice system;
• capitalise on our independent insight and learning, maximising the benefits of our unique insights across the whole of our inspected sectors; and
• be more proactive in responding to major changes, using our insight to identify intractable problems and try to find evidence as to how they could be resolved.

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PCC response to report

State of Policing: The Annual Assessment of Policing in England and Wales 2020

Published on: 21 July 2021

This is Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary’s report to the Secretary of State under section 54(4A) of the Police Act 1996. It contains his assessment of the effectiveness and  efficiency of policing in England and Wales based on the inspections we carried out between March 2020 and March 2021.

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PCC response to report

Review of policing domestic abuse during the pandemic – 2021

Published on: 23 June 2021

The United Kingdom entered the first national lockdown on 23 March 2020. Most of us were instructed to stay at home. This meant many victims of domestic abuse couldn’t distance themselves from their abuser, safely contact the police for help or get support from family and friends. Forces started to work differently, recognising that the absence of a call to the police doesn’t imply absence of abuse and harm. Many forces adopted innovative new practices to check on the safety of victims of domestic abuse, finding new ways to ‘reach in’ to them rather than waiting for victims to ‘reach out’.

This review expands on the findings in our recent policing COVID-19 report, highlighting good practice and innovation. We have also made three recommendations aimed at ensuring forces continue to respond to the challenges of policing domestic abuse during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

It is the fifth in a series of thematic domestic abuse publications since our first report in March 2014, Everyone’s business: Improving the police response to domestic abuse. This review looks at how the police responded to the unique challenges the COVID-19 pandemic placed on preventing and responding to domestic abuse.

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PCC response to report

Policing in the pandemic – The police response to the coronavirus pandemic during 2020

Published on: 20 April 2021

In July, we announced our intention to inspect the police response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our inspection took a snapshot of policing and assessed what happened from March to November 2020.

We consulted many interested parties about the aspects of policing that our inspection should cover.

Our inspection focused on:

• preparation for the pandemic;
• overall leadership;
• working with other organisations;
• policing – workforce wellbeing, protecting people who are vulnerable, requests for service, investigating crime, enforcing coronavirus legislation (the Four Es approach – engage, explain, encourage, enforce); and
• arrangements for keeping people in custody.

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PCC response to report

Custody services in a COVID-19 environment

Published on: 20 April 2021

In March 2020, we suspended all inspection work so that police forces, and fire and rescue services could focus on responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Our inspection took a snapshot of policing during the pandemic and looked at what happened from March to November 2020.

Our inspection assessed how policing:

• understood and prepared for the potential and actual impact of the pandemic;
• responded initially, and continues to respond, to the pandemic; and
• is evaluating its response to the pandemic, establishing what is and is not working and using this to shape how the police service operates.

Our report Policing in the pandemic: The police response to the COVID-19 pandemic was published in April 2021.

This report supplements the wider inspection with more detailed findings on how custody services operated in a COVID-19 environment. It aims to:

• increase the police service’s national and local understanding of how custody services operate in a COVID-19 environment;
• show how services have been/are affected and how police forces are responding; and
• establish what improvements forces and the wider Criminal Justice System can make.

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PCC response to report

Policing inspection programme and framework 2020/21

Published on: 25 March 2021

This document provides details of HMICFRS’s inspection programme and framework for policing for 2020/21.

The original consultation on our plans for policing inspection activity in 2020/21 was published on 6 March 2020 – just before lockdown restrictions were imposed as a result of COVID-19. One week later, we suspended appreciable inspection activity, and offered to return seconded officers and staff to their home forces, to better allow policing to focus on its response to the pandemic.

We revised our original plans for inspection in 2020/21 to ensure that they:

• reflected these unprecedented circumstances; and
• promoted improvements in keeping people safe and reducing crime and disorder, without imposing unnecessary demands on forces.

Our plans were kept under review throughout 2020/21 to ensure they remained right and relevant.

Types of inspection in 2020/21

• PEEL assessments;
• national thematic inspections;
• commissions from the Home Secretary and local policing bodies;
• inspections of national agencies and non-Home Office forces; and
• joint inspections.

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Getting the balance right? An inspection of how effectively the police deal with protests

Published on: 11 March 2021

In recent years, increasing amounts of police time and resources have been spent dealing with protests. In April and October 2019, Extinction Rebellion brought some of London’s busiest areas to a standstill for several days. The policing operation for the two extended protests cost £37m, more than twice the annual budget of London’s violent crime taskforce.

Protests are an important part of our vibrant and tolerant democracy. Under human rights law, we all have the right to gather and express our views. But these rights are not absolute rights. That fact raises important questions for the police and wider society to consider about how much disruption is tolerable, and how to deal with protesters who break the law. A fair balance should be struck between individual rights and the general interests of the community.

We inspected ten police forces with recent experience of policing protests and consulted a wide range of other bodies, including protest groups and – through a survey of over 2000 people – the general public.

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PCC response to report

Disproportionate use of police powers – A spotlight on stop and search and the use of force

Published on: 26 February 2021

Over 35 years on from the introduction of stop and search legislation, we have found that no force fully understands the impact of the use of these powers.

When the police use their powers disproportionately – in differing proportions on different ethnic groups – it causes suspicion among some communities that they are being unfairly targeted.

This can undermine police legitimacy, which is a fundamental aspect of the British model of policing by consent.

For some, particularly Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people, it can reinforce the perception that there is a culture of discrimination within the police. And, now that we have some long-awaited data on the police use of force, similar concerns are arising about this area of practice.

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PCC response to report

PEEL spotlight report: The Hard Yards – Police to police collaboration

Many police forces across England and Wales collaborate with neighbouring forces to share resources and core functions. These collaborations were brought in to help forces create efficiencies and provide a better service for the public. However, nationally forces are spending over a quarter of a billion pounds on collaborations every year without achieving the desired results.

As part of the annual 2018/19 PEEL assessments, HMICFRS inspected the 43 forces in England and Wales. During the reporting process, we identified themes around force to force collaboration, and drew them together in this report. These findings were supplemented by six specific case studies, covering 27 forces.

Our findings highlight some good practice and areas for improvement. The findings fall into four themes:

• purpose;
• benefits and cost analysis;
• leadership and governance; and
• skills and capabilities

We have also made two national recommendations.

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PCC response to report

Roads Policing: Not optional – An inspection of roads policing in England and Wales

Before 2013 there were sustained reductions in road deaths in England and Wales. Since then the number of road deaths has levelled off and there are signs of an upturn. Yet, we found that the importance of roads policing has been in decline for some years. There has been less enforcement of drink/drug driving and not wearing seatbelts, with an increase in deaths attributed to these offences.

Roads policing has evolved from ‘traffic officers’ who were mainly focused on enforcement of road traffic legislation, and dealing with road traffic collisions, to a wider concept of policing the roads. This includes the use of roads policing resources to target criminals who use the road network for their criminal purpose.

In this inspection, we examined how effectively the road network of England and Wales is policed. We sought to establish:

• are national and local roads policing strategies effective?;
• does capability and capacity match demand?;
• do the police engage effectively with the public and partners?; and
• how well police officers are trained to deal with roads policing matters?

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A call for help – Police contact management through call handling and control rooms in 2018/19

The control room is one of the engine rooms of a police force. If it doesn’t have the right systems and processes in place, the force won’t have an accurate picture of demand. This will affect its ability to respond to calls and investigate crimes effectively.

In this report, our findings highlight the challenges that the police service faces in handling calls with smaller budgets and fewer people. It finds that as the demand on control rooms increases, careful management is needed to make sure that the police service doesn’t become overwhelmed.

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PCC response to report

State of Policing: The Annual Assessment of Policing in England and Wales 2019

This is Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary’s report to the Secretary of State under section 54(4A) of the Police Act 1996. It contains his assessment of the efficiency and effectiveness of policing in England and Wales based on the inspections we carried out between May 2019 and March 2020.

This year’s assessment starts with initial observations on the quality of the police response to the public health emergency created by COVID-19, and the wider demands the police faced during 2019.

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Bedfordshire Police – Joint inspection of police custody – 21 February 2020

This report describes the findings following an inspection of Bedfordshire Police custody facilities. The inspection was conducted jointly by HM Inspectorate of Prisons and HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services in October 2019, as part of their programme of inspections covering every police custody suite in England and Wales.

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PEEL: Police effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy 2018/19 – Bedfordshire Police

PEEL is HMICFRS’s annual assessment of police forces in England and Wales. Forces are assessed on their effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy.

In 2018/19, we adopted an integrated approach to our existing PEEL inspections. Integrated PEEL Assessment (IPA) combines into a single inspection the effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy areas of PEEL. These areas had previously been inspected separately each year.

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HMICFRS

State of Policing: The Annual Assessment of Policing in England and Wales 2018  – Annual reports  —  4 July 2019

The Police Act 1996 requires Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary to report each year on his assessment of the efficiency and effectiveness of policing in England and Wales. The assessment covers the full breadth of policing work inspected by HMICFRS, and an overview of police forces in England and Wales. As required by that section, it contains his assessment of the efficiency and effectiveness of policing in England and Wales based on the inspections we carried out between April 2018 and May 2019.

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Bedfordshire – National Child Protection Post-Inspection Review – 11.04.2019

Protecting children is one of the most important tasks the police undertake. Only the police can investigate suspected crimes, arrest perpetrators and monitor sex offenders. Police officers have the power to take a child who is in danger into a place of safety, or to seek an order to restrict an offender’s contact with children. The police service also has a significant role working with other agencies to ensure the child’s protection and well-being, longer term.

This inspection reviewed the progress made in Bedfordshire Police since the publication of HMICFRS’s Bedfordshire – National Child Protection Inspection in 2017. It is part of a rolling programme of inspections of all police forces in England and Wales.

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Bedfordshire – National Child Protection Inspection – November 2017

This inspection examined child protection in Bedfordshire Police in July 2017. It is part of a rolling programme of inspections of all police forces in England and Wales

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PEEL: Police effectiveness 2017

As part of our annual inspections of police effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy (PEEL), HMICFRS assessed how effective the force is at keeping people safe and reducing crime. This inspection focused on five areas of policing:

1. How effective is the force at preventing crime, tackling anti-social behaviour and keeping people safe?
2. How effective is the force at investigating crime and reducing re-offending?
3. How effective is the force at protecting those who are vulnerable from harm, and supporting victims?
4. How effective is the force at tackling serious and organised crime?
5. How effective are the force’s specialist capabilities?

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