Inspectors demand Northamptonshire Police call staff are better trained
INSPECTORS have demanded that call operators at Northamptonshire Police receive more training and for criminal investigations to be better led.
A report, published this morning, looked into how crimes are recorded at Wootton Hall by checking the accuracy of a sample of 120 incident logs. Ten had not been recorded properly.
The force was criticised for failing to identify repeat and vulnerable callers on “every occasion”, while investigators found the supervision of criminal investigations “was not always good”.
However, the report found the force “almost always” records crime properly.
A spokesman for Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC), which published today’s report, said: “HMIC looked at 120 incident records created by Northamptonshire Police as a result of calls for assistance from the public.
“This is a small sample compared with the 1,545 calls that the force typically receives each day, but it provides an indicator of how accurately crime is being recorded. Ten records had been closed without a crime being properly recorded. This sampling provides an initial indication that Northamptonshire Police largely records crimes accurately as required by the NCRS.
“The crime and incident recording training provided to staff in the force communications centre could be improved, as this is where the majority of initial calls for police assistance are received.”
Inspectors, however, said the issue “had been recognised” and “steps are being taken to address it”.
The report comes as police in Northamptonshire are being investigated by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) for the force’s reaction to a 999 call believed to have been received from house of the Ding family as they were being murdered. The prime suspect for the murders, Anxiang Du, has still not been found.
The IPCC investigation is believed to centre around the police response to an “abandoned” 999 call which is understood to have been made by the Ding’s eldest daughter, Xing, shortly before she was killed.
Det Supt Ivan Balhatchet, head of crime investigation, said: “The report highlights a number of areas where the force demonstrates high standards and most importantly how we almost always record crime accurately and in accordance with national guidelines. A number of key successes are identified including strong leadership and a commitment to quality incident and crime recording.”
He added: “However, there is always room for improvement. We have recently introduced quality development officers whose job it is to sample calls and provide necessary feedback. They also conduct skills audits of control room staff to ensure everyone has the appropriate skills to deal with calls effectively. In addition, our command and control system allows the controller to immediately identify repeat callers. Staff are trained to also identify vulnerability and deal with the caller suitably.
“We are confident the measures we have in place, the clear crime recording guidance we have and the victim orientated approach to crime investigation, highlighted by HMIC, will support us in continuously improving our service.”
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Comments
There are 4 comments to this article
Page 1 of 1
kronik
Wednesday, January 25, 2012 at 03:10 PMGood on you Lady Muck we should never forget the total incompetence and lies told by our police over that event. Should the police sex lube thief also slip our minds? It is reassuring to know that Northamptonshire police are OK at recording crimes - just a great pity they do not get out more and start SOLVING them.
willi eckaslyke
Wednesday, January 25, 2012 at 12:41 PMNon-job of the week (so far): Quality Development Officer...Meaningless phrase of the week (so far): 'skills audit'
ForGodsSakeStopBeingSoMiserable
Wednesday, January 25, 2012 at 12:41 PMThat comment reflects very badly on you Lady Muck. That was two officers out of hundreds and was some months ago. To rake it back up again now and imply that all police officers behave in this manner to make a cheap joke is very poor show. You should be ashamed.
lady muck
Wednesday, January 25, 2012 at 11:49 AM'What do you mean...you wanmt a policeman in the middle of the night ? They're miles away checking out houses witha view to moving'.
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