‘I am pleased with the performance of North Yorkshire Police in keeping people safe, reducing crime and giving victims an effective service.’
The words of His Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary Michelle Skeer in a new report that says the force has made significant progress following its criticism in 2022.
Police were then told to make changes in order to keep people safe and reduce crime.
The new report says: “The force has worked quickly to improve the policing service it provides to the communities of North Yorkshire. Because of this, it has made progress in all the areas of improvement identified in our last inspection.”
It is now rated as Good in these areas:
- Preventing crime
- Recording data about crime
- Police powers and public treatment
- Protecting vulnerable people
- Managing offenders.
It is rated as Adequate in these areas:
- Investigating crime
- Responding to the public
- Developing a positive workplace
- Leadership and force management.
On investigating crime, the report said: “The force isn’t always achieving acceptable outcomes for victims of crime.
“The number of crimes that the force solves following investigations is low. The force needs to understand the causes of this, and work to achieve better outcomes for victims.”
The proportion of victim-based crimes where someone is charged was 5.7% in the year ending 30 June 2023.
While “this is within the normal range compared to other forces”, it was a decrease from 18.1 percent in the year ending 31 March 2015.
The report said: “I was pleased to find an improvement in the overall management of criminal investigations.
“The force has invested in its governance and performance processes to improve and maintain the quality of its investigations. However, there is more to do to achieve better outcomes for victims.”
The inspector concluded: “The force’s leadership and management have significantly improved its services to the public.
“There are still areas in which North Yorkshire Police must do better. However, I am optimistic that the force’s leadership and management will continue to build on the improvements that we have seen during this inspection.”
In response Acting Chief Constable, Elliot Foskett said: “It’s been a transformative year for policing in North Yorkshire.
“We have worked hard over the past 12 months to bring the force to a level where the Inspectorate told us that the change has been phenomenal. At all times we have had our focus on delivering an exemplary service for the communities that we serve.”
He added: “Behind all the improvements made across the force over the past year are the officers, staff and volunteers who every day, dedicate themselves to keeping the communities of York and North Yorkshire safe, and feeling safe.
“It is not an easy job, and we know that we still have much more to do to bring our force to a level where the independent Inspectorate can rate us as outstanding.
“For myself as Acting Chief Constable, I know that as a force we will not cease in our efforts to continuously improve.”
You can read the full report here.
