‘There’ll be no complacency’: Police chief’s vow after Humberside rated best in country
COMMITTED TO IMPROVING: Lee Freeman, Chief Constable of Humberside Police. Pictures by Tom Arran Commercial Photography
By Rick Lyon
Humberside Police Chief Constable Lee Freeman insists there will be no complacency and the force will strive to improve further, after it was rated the best in England and Wales.
Independent watchdog His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) has graded Humberside as “outstanding” in six out of nine categories in a report released today.
Humberside, which was rated “inadequate” seven years ago and placed in special measures, now has the highest number of “outstanding” grades of any of the 43 police forces in England and Wales.
However, Mr Freeman, speaking to The Hull Story shortly after the PEEL (Police Effectiveness, Efficiency and Legitimacy) report was published, said: “There will be no complacency.
“I’m not driving to work patting myself on the back, because I know there’s more work to do. My staff know that as well.
‘THANKS TO ALL MY STAFF’: Lee Freeman discussing the HMICFRS report with The Hull Story
“These results are remarkable and represent a real transformation from where the force was. The service we’re delivering now bears no resemblance to the one we were giving five years ago.
“I hope this report gives people confidence that, at this moment in time, they’re best being policed by Humberside Police. But I accept there are still some members of our communities who are not fully seeing that yet.
“Our approach is one of continuous improvement. In 2019 we were graded ‘good’ across the board for the first time in the force’s history, so this hasn’t happened overnight.
“The way we’ll keep improving is to focus on the experiences of victims of crime. If the service we deliver is more consistent, that’s how we’ll continue to improve.
“We’ll also continue to invest in IT, providing our officers with the best and most available kit that will help keep them out of stations.”
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Asked if he will continue to be the person to lead the force as it strives to improve further, having taken it from being one of the worst when he became Chief Constable in 2017 to the best, Grimsby-born Mr Freeman said: “I’ve got no ambition to be Chief Constable in another force area.
“This is my home and it’s very personal to me. Jobs will undoubtedly come up, but I don’t want to be Chief anywhere else.
“This isn’t about me though, it’s about the staff and the organisation.”
Humberside has been classed by HMICFRS as “outstanding” in the areas of:
Preventing crime
Treatment of the public
Protecting vulnerable people
Managing offenders
Developing a positive workplace
Good use of resources
KEEPING PEOPLE SAFE: Humberside Police has invested in its workforce to deliver an improved service
It has been rated as “good” at investigating crime and responding to the public and “adequate” at recording data about crime.
Mr Freeman said: “I want to record my thanks to all my staff for their support and hard work over the last five years, as it’s them, along with the 800 new officers who’ve joined us since I took over, who’ve delivered improvements and innovations at every level and across every part of Humberside Police.
“I also want to acknowledge the key role our partners play in keeping people safe. With the force going back to its roots with locally-based policing teams across the East Riding of Yorkshire, Hull, North and North East Lincolnshire, our relationships with all four local authorities have never been stronger.
“When I became Chief Constable, I said I wanted my officers and staff to feel proud to work at Humberside Police. This second consecutive positive and improving inspection means our staff know their hard work, bravery and commitment has not gone unnoticed.
“But we must also remember we’re not finished yet. This report is a checkpoint, not a destination.
“Of course, the real test of whether we’re delivering an outstanding service is what our communities say about us. So, we must be determined to ensure the force continues to improve, particularly in the area of investigating crime.
“I want us to be ‘outstanding’ for investigating crime. There’s currently no force in the country that’s ‘outstanding’ for investigating crime, which tells you that one of the main challenges for policing is around resources versus demand – but I won’t use that as an excuse for not improving next time.”
Today’s report, which is based on an inspection of Humberside Police over 200 days between January and June this year, highlights the significant work done by the force to improve the service for vulnerable people.
“It’s particularly pleasing to see HMICFRS has awarded us ‘outstanding’ for the work we’ve done to improve the way we deal with those people who are vulnerable,” Mr Freeman said.
“Protecting vulnerable people is a real priority for us and so many of the calls we get now involve people who are vulnerable – such as the very young or elderly, those who have mental health challenges, or those who simply find themselves in a position where they cannot protect themselves from harm.
‘OUTSTANDING’: Humberside Police has been praised by HMICFRS for its improved public response
“We’ve transformed our services in this area and restructured our teams to make them more effective than ever before.
“As a result, HMICFRS has recognised significant improvements in our service across all of these areas, including how we tackle domestic abuse and other crimes such as child sexual or criminal exploitation, how we respond to human trafficking and online crime, as well as how we deal with the everyday calls we receive, such as missing persons.
“HMICFRS inspectors have also recognised the work we’ve done to improve how we investigate crime. Re-forming our CID teams across the force and ensuring the investigative training we provide our staff is of a high standard has undoubtedly made a difference.”
Humberside Police has also made significant improvements to its call handling, including by moving its control room to a £27m state-of-the-art facility at Melton West business park – another area praised by inspectors.
“I’m also particularly pleased to see our force control room being praised in this report,” Mr Freeman said.
GAME-CHANGER: The new Humberside Police call centre
“It’s now answering more calls, more quickly, than ever before. Humberside Police is the first force in the country to offer a call back service for our non-emergency 101 service, so people don’t have to wait on the line during busy periods.
“The investment made in our new control room has been money well spent. Not only do we have a control room that’s the envy of our emergency services colleagues, but it’s also delivering an exceptional service for those who use it.”
HMICFRS has statutory responsibility for inspecting all of the 43 police forces in England and Wales, as well fire and rescue services.
The next formal inspection of Humberside Police is expected to commence in April 2024.
To view the latest PEEL report, click here.
To report a crime, call the non-emergency number, 101. In the case of an emergency, ring 999.