Inspection report rates Leicestershire Police as 'outstanding'

They received top rating for the way they recorded crime data in the report issued by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS).

Four areas of their work drew a ‘good’ score – treatment of the public, managing offenders, developing a positive workplace and use of resources.

The way officers investigate crime and how they respond to the public were given adequate ratings in the report.

It did highlight some areas which Leicestershire Police need to improve on, however, including a failure to complete all investigations thoroughly and a need to provide crime-prevention or evidence-preservation advice at first point of contact for all incidents reported.

The report noted the force has a focus on problem-solving and early intervention. It stated that the inspectors found good examples of the force working in a public health approach, in partnership, to divert people away from offending and to safeguard vulnerable people.

It said: “Leicestershire Police demonstrated ‘effective community engagement methods by increasingly diverse staff; that help to build trust so that the public will share intelligence or become volunteers to help to reduce crime.

"Its trailblazing approach to safeguarding the most vulnerable, in particular; by its approach to increasing information sharing to safeguard more children; and introducing work to reduce the threat posed by the most dangerous people.”

Temporary Chief Constable, Rob Nixon, paid tribute to the work in helping achieving the high grading by former Chief Constable, Simon Cole, who tragically found dead at his home in March shortly after his retirement.

"I am proud of what we have achieved and am delighted that we reached an outstanding level in three areas,” said TCC Nixon.

"This report is good news for our local communities because it shows we do a very good job and that they can have confidence in policing.

"The last two years have been particularly challenging and throughout all of this it is good to see that the Inspectors have acknowledged how well the force has performed.

"This success is the result of a team effort and can be attributed to the hard work of our officers and staff across the entire force.”