PEEL Assessment 2023-25: North Yorkshire Police

The force needs to improve how it records crime when antisocial behaviour personal is reported The force is failing to record all crimes when victims report antisocial behaviour personal. We examined 50 incidents and found that, of the 16 crimes that should have been recorded, only 9 were. Victims of antisocial behaviour are often subject to abuse and torment for substantial periods, and this crime is often committed by neighbours. Failing to record crimes and effectively tackle antisocial behaviour can mean victims live in fear in their own homes while being subjected to long-term abuse and torment by people living next door or in the local community. North Yorkshire Police

The force needs to improve how it records equality data The force’s data for victims of crime shows that age and gender are well recorded. However, ethnicity is much less well recorded, and other protected characteristics are hardly ever recorded. The force should be collecting this information to understand the extent to which each protected group is affected by crime, how this differs from those without the protected characteristics, and whether a different approach is needed for these victims. North Yorkshire Police

The force doesn’t consistently achieve appropriate outcomes for victims The force isn’t always achieving acceptable outcomes for victims of crime. The number of crimes that the force solves following investigations is low. The force needs to understand the causes of this, and work to achieve better outcomes for victims. In the year ending 30 June 2023, North Yorkshire Police recorded 40,415 victim-based crimes. Of these recorded offences, 8.9 percent were assigned an ‘offences brought to justice’ outcome. This is within the normal range compared to other forces in England and Wales. Between the year ending 30 June 2022 and the year ending 30 June 2023, the proportion of victim-based crimes assigned outcome 15: evidential difficulties (suspect identified; victim supports police action) by North Yorkshire Police has decreased from 10.4 percent to 9.0 percent. This value is lower than expected compared to other forces across England and Wales. North Yorkshire Police

The force needs to make sure it assesses the needs of all victims so they can be properly supported Under the revised Code of Practice for Victims of Crime, all victims of criminal offences are entitled to a needs assessment. This identifies at an early stage any special measures that may be required to support them throughout the investigation and subsequent court case. In the 51 relevant cases reviewed, we found 26 without a clearly recorded victim’s needs assessment. In June 2023, a new victim template was implemented on the force crime recording system. The force told us that this has increased the completion of these assessments from 49 percent in June 2023 to 76 percent in August 2023. However, this is a new approach, and the force should maintain its focus on this area. North Yorkshire Police

The force needs to improve the effectiveness of its professional development reviews, which should be consistent across the workforce and valued by all Professional development reviews (PDRs) should be an effective tool for officers and staff to record their objectives and achievements. PDRs are essential to helping supervisors understand the development needs of their officers and staff. For the year ending 31 March 2023, the force’s PDR completion rates were 81 percent for police staff, 87 percent for police officers and 92 percent for police community support officers (PCSOs). We found that officers and staff were positive about their monthly meetings with supervisors, but the majority we spoke to didn’t value the annual PDR process. Our PEEL workforce survey ran from 26 June 2023 to 21 July 2023. It found that, of those who had a PDR in the last 12 months, 54.4 percent (353 of 649 respondents) agreed that they value the process of these reviews. Just under half (47.1 percent; 306 of 649 respondents) of those who had a PDR in the last 12 months agreed that they were an effective tool in their development. But the force has more work to do to make sure the process feels meaningful for its workforce. It should make sure staff feel invested in the PDR process and that it is seen to add value to personal and professional development. Innovative practice North Yorkshire Police

The force should improve its understanding of why officers and staff are planning to leave Our PEEL workforce survey (which ran from 26 June 2023 to 21 July 2023) was open to all members of the workforce. Only 41.2 percent of new recruits said they see their career continuing in North Yorkshire Police past the next three years. Around a third (33.9 percent; 303 of 893 respondents) said they want to stay working for the force past the next three years. The force told us that no student officers have resigned since 31 January 2022. While this is the case, the published police federation survey identified that 19 percent of the force’s officers wanted to leave as soon as they could or within two years, a substantial increase from 8 percent in 2021.The force has reviewed what happens when people announce their intention to resign from the force, and has introduced its ‘say to stay’ scheme. When someone says that they are thinking of leaving, a manager from a different area contacts them to address their reasons for leaving and encourage them to stay. For officers and staff who continue with their plan to leave, there is now an exit questionnaire to better understand their reason for leaving. Previously, the officer or member of staff was asked whether they would like an exit interview. Now, there is a presumption in favour of staff having an interview before they leave, and they are asked to nominate their interviewer. The force hopes that these recent changes will help it to retain skilled officers and staff. North Yorkshire Police

The force is reviewing the fitness test requirements of specialist posts The force is working with the College of Policing to understand the fitness requirements for specialist roles such as firearms and public order policing. It is leading a review and pilot to establish the entry and ongoing fitness requirements of specialist officers. If necessary, the force will then work with other sectors to design fitness tests to demonstrate the operational requirements. It is looking to explore whether the existing fitness standard is too high, preventing the recruitment of skilled, diverse officers to specialist roles. North Yorkshire Police

The force needs to better understand its demand, so it can manage it more effectively The force has invested in IT to introduce new digital processes to reduce some of the demands placed on the workforce. It has made some positive steps, such as providing laptops so operational staff can work on the move, and using digital solutions like Microsoft Power BI to automate data presentation. But the force isn’t maximising the potential of the technology it has available to enhance productivity, hindering its overall progress. For example, we found that inefficient internal processes were still creating hidden demand for the workforce. It is important that the force invests in its ability to explore and implement process improvements, such as using automation and robotics to replace repetitive manual tasks. But the force currently lacks the capacity it needs to fully develop these technologies. This investment would make the force more efficient and increase productivity and workforce capacity. This would help the force to be much more effective in meeting the challenges posed by rising demands. The force also needs to develop a better understanding of unlogged external demand. This includes contact from the public which isn’t recorded as an incident or crime. While the force has started to consider these demands, it currently lacks a good understanding about their causes. This understanding is crucial to address them, which will help it to reduce future demand. North Yorkshire Police