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Merseyside Police has won an accolade and achieved the highest available rating under a new national system designed to monitor police performance across England and Wales.
As reported by Birkenhead News, His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) has placed the force at Level One under its new Policing Performance System (PPS), which replaces the previous Scan and Engage monitoring process.
Each police force in England has been assigned a level. Levels range from One to Four and are based on their current performance as a force, the level of support it needs and how well the force engages with improvement activity. Level One is the default position for forces that are making progress and ongoing improvements, with no action or intervention from the outside needed. Greater Manchester and Cheshire Police also achieved Level One.
Chief Constable Rob Carden welcomed the rating but said it would not lead to complacency. He said: "We are grateful to HMICFRS for recognising the excellent work done by police officers and staff here in Merseyside every single day."
Mr Carden went on to say that the rating indicates Merseyside Police is committed to continuous improvement.
The announcement follows a recent PEEL inspection report which gave the force an Outstanding grading for Prevention and Good gradings for Leadership and Force Management, Developing a diverse and inclusive workforce, Workforce and Public Treatment.
Chief Constable Carden highlighted changes introduced earlier this year, including a new force strategy built around four objectives – Community First, Contempt for Criminality, Compassion for Victims and Care for Colleagues.
In March, Merseyside Police moved to a geographical Basic Command Unit model, with local area-based command teams designed to deliver more responsive policing. The restructure put an additional 80 officers into response policing, 60 additional officers into neighbourhood policing and retained 200 community support officers.
He concluded, "I hope all of this work demonstrates that, while achieving outstanding results and the highest level in national assessments is welcome, my real focus – and the focus of officers and staff at Merseyside Police – will always be on doing everything we can to safeguard victims, bring offenders to justice and ultimately keep the people of Merseyside safe".
