Humberside Police chief: ‘Why it’s time for me to step down’
LEAVING: Humberside Police Chief Constable Lee Freeman talking to The Hull Story
By Rick Lyon
Humberside Police Chief Constable Lee Freeman has said he has mixed emotions after making the “really difficult” decision to step down.
Mr Freeman announced last month he is leaving after being appointed His Majesty’s Inspector with His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS).
His remit will include overseeing the inspections of, and grading, the Met and London Fire Brigade, among others.
Mr Freeman, who is from Grimsby, has been the Chief Constable of Humberside for six years, during which time he has taken it from being in special measures to being officially ranked the best performing force in England and Wales.
He will leave the force at the end of July, before taking up his new role in August, which will mark 30 years since he joined the police.
‘MIXED FEELINGS’: Lee Freeman will leave Humberside Police in July
Mr Freeman told The Hull Story: “It was a really difficult decision, genuinely, because the last six years have been the best part of my career - to not only work in my home force, but to have the opportunity to lead it.
“I know I leave the force in a far better position than I inherited it, and that’s been a collective effort. I don’t know that any time to leave would ever feel completely the right time, but I had no aspiration to be a Chief Constable anywhere else, and my new role enables me to hopefully make more of a difference on a national level.
“I think my experiences here, and having a track record of being part of a force that’s gone from being in special measures to being outstanding, will hopefully help me make a positive difference to other forces and fire and rescue services.
“But it hasn’t quite sunk in. I’ve got mixed feelings, because I’m walking away from something that’s been incredibly personal for the last six years.”
Independent watchdog HMICFRS graded Humberside as “outstanding” in six out of nine categories in a report released last November, meaning it now has the highest number of “outstanding” grades of any of any other force.
TRANSFORMATIONAL: Humberside Police recruited more officers during Lee Freeman’s six years as Chief Constable
It also means Humberside is officially the most improved force in the country over the six years Mr Freeman has been in charge, and he insists it has only been made possible with a lot of hard work.
“Getting the force out of special measures, which I inherited in 2017, was a highlight,” he said. “In the 2018 inspection, which was released in early 2019, we’d gone from being in special measures to being graded ‘good’ across the board.
“That was every bit as much of a transformation, if not more, than going from ‘good’ to the six ‘outstanding’ ratings.
“We’re definitely the most improved force in the country over the last six years, but it’s not been overnight, and it’s been really hard work. It’s required a lot of time and commitment to follow through on what we said we’d do, which was to listen to the staff, listen to the communities, work with partners, and have bags of humility, without thinking we had all the answers.”
A key element of the improvement over Mr Freeman’s period in charge has also been the commitment to recruit more officers to serve communities across the force area.
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“The growth of officer numbers has been transformational,” he said. “I inherited a force with just over 1,500 police officers, and we barely had enough to respond to 999 calls effectively across the area.
“We’ve now got 2,300 officers, which is an enormous change. It’s allowed us to reopen every 24/7 base in the whole of East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire that, over the past 10 to 15 years, for reasons including austerity, had been forced to close.
“That’s been a game-changer.
“To also go from having the worst morale in the country in the National Police Federation Morale Survey in 2015/16, to having the highest by some distance in the last four years, again speaks volumes.
“That’s not about me, that’s about the Sergeants, Inspectors and frontline supervisors really listening and supporting their people.”
GOING OUT ON A HIGH: Lee Freeman has taken Humberside Police from special measures to being the best in the country
Mr Freeman believes there is still work to do for Humberside to improve further, but is confident his successor, whoever that it is, will have a strong basis from which to do so.
“Until every single victim of crime is an advocate for Humberside Police, and will say the service they received was excellent, there’s more work to do,” he said.
“I know not everyone is seeing and feeling it, but I’m confident the force will continue to improve. If it doesn’t, I’ve not done a very good job, in all honesty, because the improvements we’ve made should be embedded.
“But I’m very confident the force will continue in the right direction.”
How would he like to be remembered as Chief Constable of Humberside Police?
“Approachable, down to earth, someone who understood the area, listened to the staff and the public, and wasn’t afraid to say it as it was,” said Mr Freeman.
“Also, someone who cared.”