WEST Mercia Police is cutting crime but a complaints backlog means fewer staff to identify and investigate corruption says an independent inspectorate.

HM Inspectorate of Constabulary today published the results of 'PEEL' assessments (police effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy) and a Police Integrity and Corruption (PIC) report for force's across England and Wales.

Positives

* Overall picture: HMIC said the force had been successful in cutting crime, protecting the vulnerable, tackling anti-social behaviour, dealing with emergencies (effectiveness), providing value for money (efficiency) and in providing a service that is fair and treats people properly legitimately (legitimacy).

* Effectiveness: West Mercia Police is, in general, good at reducing crime and preventing offending, good at investigating crime and good at tackling anti-social behaviour. West Mercia was praised by HMIC for the way they tackle domestic abuse.

* Efficiency: HMIC commended West Mercia Police for making excellent progress in achieving what has been a challenging savings target and praised the force's 'innovative and ambitious alliance with Warwickshire Police' which had allowed 'efficiency savings while maintaining and improving policing for the people of West Mercia'. The force costs 45p per person per day, cheaper than the 55p national figure. HMIC rated them 'outstanding' in terms of ensuring the force's financial future through the alliance.

* Legitimacy: The force is acting to achieve fairness and legitimacy in some of the practices that were examined this year, HMIC found. There was said to be a 'culture of challenge' within the force. Most staff feel comfortable when reporting misconduct.

* Crime: Crime is falling with 40 victim-based crimes per 1,000 people in 2014 (compared to more than 50 nationally). West Mercia had 50 such crimes in 2011.

Negatives

* Complaints: The force's professional standards department (PSD) has a significant backlog of complaints against the police force from members of the public. Staff from the anti-corruption unit (ACU) are being used to reduce the backlog, limiting the anti-corruption capability of the force. In total there were 547 against officers and staff in the 12 months to March 2014 (14.7 per 100 people in the workforce, still below the national figure of 15.7).

* Misconduct: There were 91 cases of misconduct against officers and staff in the 12 months to March 2014 (2.4 per 100 workforce, lower than the national figure of 2.6).

* Corruption: The force does not effectively identify staff groups or individuals who may be vulnerable to corruption. Intelligence gathering in this regard is not pro-active. An analyst has now been appointed meaning this should improve.

* Social media: The force has introduced a social media policy but not all officers and staff are aware of this and their responsibilities. No progress has been made to monitor force computer systems or social networking sites.

* Hospitality: The force has not introduced a procurement policy and does not cross-reference purchases with the gifts and hospitalities register.

* Staffing: The force has a smaller percentage of frontline staff than the national figure (75 per cent compared to 78 per cent). There are 2.9 officers per 1,000 people compared to 3.7 nationally suggesting officers are spread more thinly than in other forces.

HM Inspector of Constabulary for the Wales and Western Region, Dru Sharpling said: “West Mercia Police has developed a strong response to crime prevention and reduction, investing resources to support victims of crime. The force, through the innovative and ambitious alliance with Warwickshire Police, has made efficiency savings, while continuing to provide a good service to the people of West Mercia.

It could do more to identify groups or individuals who may be vulnerable to corruption and the approach to crime recording is not as accurate as it should be.”

In response to the HMIC Peel (Police Effectiveness, Efficiency and Legitimacy) and PIC (Police Integrity and Corruption) reports issued today, T/ACC Amanda Blakeman of Warwickshire Police and West Mercia Police, said: “Overall the Peel report is positive for Warwickshire Police and West Mercia Police and the forces get a good rating from HMIC.

“In the alliance of the two forces, HMIC found a strong response to preventing and reducing crime, and that the forces have invested resources to support victims while frontline staff are committed to keeping them safe. Victim satisfaction with our services remains at a very high level for both forces.

“However we are not complacent and we will continue to strengthen and deepen the alliance with our overall aim of protecting people from harm.

“In the PIC (Police Integrity and Corruption) report, there are areas highlighted where we need to improve, mainly in the way we use resources dedicated to this important area.

“Warwickshire Police and West Mercia Police take this area extremely seriously and we are committed to fully investigating and dealing effectively with all cases of misconduct or complaints from the public.

“We have been successful in identifying and addressing the conduct of those officers and staff who fall below the very high standards expected, and details of all of these outcomes are available on the force web sites.

“The HMIC report highlights that our workforce feels confident and supported in reporting misconduct and that there is a good understanding of the new code of ethics.

“We will continue to improve our policies and handling of complaints and misconduct cases and will respond formally to HMIC in due course.”