Beds Police gets low rating from national report

Witnesses should contact police on 101. SUS-150618-150159001Witnesses should contact police on 101. SUS-150618-150159001
Witnesses should contact police on 101. SUS-150618-150159001
Bedfordshire Police '˜Requires Improvement' according to a new report by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary for England and Wales (HMIC).

The annual report saw all 43 forces assessed, and Beds was one of 17 to receive the second-lowest available rating.

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25 forces got a ‘Good’ rating, and only one force received the highest grade of ‘Outstanding’.

Bedfordshire was seen as Good for the area “How effective is the force at investigating crime and managing offenders?”

But it was only graded as Requires Improvement for “How effective is the force at preventing crime and anti-social behaviour, and keeping people safe?” and “How effective is the force at tackling serious and organised crime, including its arrangements for fulfilling its national policing responsibilities?”

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And Beds Police got the lowest rating for “How effective is the force at protecting from harm those who are vulnerable, and supporting victims?”

Assistant Chief Constable Mark Collins said: “While it is disappointing to be graded as ‘Requires Improvement’, protecting people and improving our service to victims remains a priority for Bedfordshire Police and we have already made changes to address the concerns raised in the recent HMIC ‘Vulnerability’ report.

“The report does praise a lot of the work being done across the force – in particular around the readiness to deal with national threats and investigating crime. We are confident that our new policing model will address many of the concerns raised in this report – for example tackling low-level anti-social behaviour and improving preventative work at community level.

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“We are always looking at ways to improve the way we work and we are pleased that HMI Zoe Billingham highlighted Bedfordshire Police for the work we are doing to increase our presence and engagement in our communities.”

More follows.

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