One of UK’s biggest police forces in special measures over handling of sex offenders

West Midlands Police force has been put under special measures after the official inspectorate judged it was failing.

It is accused of carrying out poor investigations into crimes particularly those of sex offenders, leading to poor results for victims.

The handling of suspected online child abusers by the force is criticised as well as failures to protect vulnerable people.

The force has been put in the ‘Engage’ category by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC), colloquially known as special measures.

But West Midlands Police believes it is improving following the appointment of a new chief constable, Craig Guildford, in December 2022.

Wendy Williams, from HMIC, said: ‘We move police forces into our enhanced level of monitoring, known as Engage, when a force is not responding to our concerns, or if it is not managing, mitigating or eradicating these concerns.

‘The Engage process provides additional scrutiny and support from the inspectorate and other external organisations in the policing sector to help the police force improve and provide a better service for the public.

‘West Midlands police has been asked to urgently produce an improvement plan and will meet regularly with our inspectors. We will work closely with the force to monitor its progress against these important and necessary changes.’

But Mr Guildford has aired his public disagreement over the inspection and said: ‘Although I remain respectful of [the inspectorate] I completely disagree with their decision-making to move West Midlands police into ‘Engage’ now despite providing them with recent evidence that should inform a much more comprehensive and fair assessment of the force.

‘When I joined WMP … I recognised there needed to be a significant improvement in the force’s performance, the number of offenders brought to justice and the service we provide to local communities.

‘It was for this reason that I implemented a rapid overhaul of the operating model and in April 2023 we created seven new local policing areas … Since implementing this new model, changing Force Contact and opening two more custody suites, our arrest rate has increased by a third, as has the number of offenders brought to justice. This continues to improve each month.

‘We have gone from being one of the worst call-handling forces to one of the best in 11 months. We answer 70,000 999 calls each month in an average of 5 seconds; and have improved the proportion of emergency incidents attended within our specified targets by 25%.’

HMIC said ‘it was assured West Midlands police is taking steps to address these concerns, but significant and sustained improvements are required and the inspectorate will be closely monitoring the force’s progress’.

It joins four other forces in special measures, including the country’s biggest, the Metropolitan police.

The other forces judged to be failing and of concern are Devon and Cornwall, Wiltshire and Staffordshire.

Greater Manchester Police was also placed in the ‘Engage’ category for two years but has since turned itself around.

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