VICTIMS of crime are being let down by Dorset Police according to government inspectors.

They claim a backlog of cases in the Safeguarding Referral Unit means “potentially vulnerable victims were either waiting an unacceptable time for services or missed altogether.”

Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary said the force “Requires Improvement” in the way it investigates offending. But Dorset Police has hit back claiming the assessment is “factually inaccurate” and that inspectors failed to observe the full process used by the Safeguarding Referral Unit to manage such cases.

Dorset is one of 18 out of 43 forces in England and Wales to receive the damning grade.

It was graded as “Good” in five other areas examined by the inspectors in the first ever PEEL (Police Effectiveness, Efficiency and Legitimacy) assessment.

The HMIC found that crime has continued to fall in Dorset at a greater rate than England and Wales, although levels of victim satisfaction are slightly below average for some crime types. 

In terms of effectiveness, Dorset Police is good at reducing crime and preventing offending and is good at tackling anti-social behaviour. 

Dorset Police has achieved large reductions in crime. The Force operates a good threat, risk and harm assessment process linked to effective force and local level tasking arrangements. It was reported that Dorset Police has a strong focus on tackling and dismantling organised crime groups, and that they had effectively redeployed investigative resources to target new threats, in areas such as cyber-crime and child sexual exploitation.

HMIC were also impressed by the evidence-based approach Dorset Police uses to evaluate new ideas and to understand what works in practice.

Dorset Police has made good progress in making savings and continuing to fight crime, in spite of the significant financial challenges of recent years. Dorset Police already spent less on policing than most other areas in England and Wales.

Across England and Wales inspectors said there is a “deficit in skill and experience of officers investigating crimes.”

"Opportunities to secure a successful outcome for victims of crime are being missed as a result of failures to conduct an effective, prompt and professional investigation,'' the HMIC report said.

Failures to do house-to-house inquiries, take photos of injuries in domestic abuse cases and collect CCTV evidence on assaults in public places were among some of the inconsistencies found in the way evidence was gathered, the report said.

Crimes are being investigated by officers who also provide neighbourhood policing services such as patrols, some of whom have not investigated crimes for a number of years, inspectors said.

Inspection plans - used by officers to determine what they need to do gather evidence - were of a poor standard in 18 forces, with some officers copying and pasting previous versions to new investigations.

HMIC has also launched a new website to allow the public to see at a glance how well their force is performing.

Elsewhere, the inspectorate raised concerns about forces' ability to keep up with modern criminal activity, including cyber-crime and child sexual exploitation.

Chief Inspector of Constabulary Tom Winsor said officers were ``policing the crimes of today with the methods of yesterday and insufficiently prepared for the crimes of the future''.

HMIC assessed the "effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy'' of each force.

In relation to effectiveness, 40 forces were rated good or outstanding at preventing and reducing crime and 41 forces are good or outstanding at tackling anti-social behaviour. Just 24 forces were assessed as good at investigating crime.

In relation to efficiency, 40 forces were rated good or outstanding for the value for money provided.

Dorset Police's response

Deputy Chief Constable James Vaughan said: “ Overall, I am pleased the HMIC’s findings reflect the excellent work that I know goes on across the county every day. Their PEEL assessment presents a Force that has continued to cut crime despite the financial challenge, that works hard to prevent crime and stop repeat offending, and that deals well with anti-social behaviour in partnership with other organisations.

“While we welcome many of the recommendations and are already working to improve in areas such as crime recording, the Force has provided information to the HMIC that we think challenges their ‘Requires Improvement’ assessment of our investigative approach.

“We fully respect and value the independence of HMIC inspections, which the public must have faith in. We provided strong factual evidence that challenged this finding on grounds of accuracy. We were given assurances this further information was relevant and had been taken into account – indeed the detail of the report was changed – however, it is disappointing that having changed the detailed findings, they have not reviewed the overall rating in this area.”

Detective Superintendent Andrew Clowser, Director of Public Protection for Dorset Police, explained: “Information regarding children and vulnerable adults is submitted to the Safeguarding Referral Unit where it is assessed on a daily basis. Where there are any concerns regarding the victim’s vulnerability, risk or welfare then this information is shared with Social Services or other key partners immediately.

“If there is any requirement at all for a police investigation or further police enquiries then this is quickly allocated – this may involve a dedicated CID investigation or it may involve the officer who raised the initial concerns completing more enquiries first.

“Our risk assessments are fully compliant with national guidance and issues of vulnerability are fully considered when a decision is made as to how these matters are investigated.”

“Following our feedback to the HMIC, we understood these points of factual accuracy had been understood and accepted. Therefore, while the details in their full report have been amended, it is disappointing that the overall rating for this area has not been reconsidered.”