Top boss at West Midlands Police denies claims his force is failing and hails hard work of officers

It was announced yesterday that the police force had been put into an "enhanced level of monitoring" by His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS).

Among its concerns, the police watchdog said it was not carrying out effective investigations or effectively managing the risk posed by registered sex offenders or those who abuse children online.

But Chief Constable Craig Guildford has now written to His Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary Wendy Williams explaining why he disagrees with the decision.

He said many of the issues identified developed as a result of a previous operating model and the police force had moved to a new model in April, when seven new local policing areas were created.

Each has local responsibility for responding to calls for service and investigating offences.

Chief Constable Guildford, who joined West Midlands Police in December 2022, today hailed the hard work of police staff and officers which he said had helped to bring in significant improvements in a short space of time.

He said: "The findings were based on crimes reported up to and including December 2022.

"There are plans in place for every aspect HMICFRS has cited. These plans have already delivered in the majority of cases.

"We need a more rounded assessment of what is, not what was.

"It's my job to make sure as much information as possible is conveyed to HMICFRS to help in the decision making which is why I have written to Wendy Williams."

He said since implementing this new operating model, the force's arrest rate had increased by a third, call-handling had improved drastically and police were now attending emergencies within 15 minutes on average.

"That's a good outcome for the volume of demand that goes through West Midlands Police," he added.

"The force has seen an improvement in performance within a few months.

"I don't believe that is balanced in the decision making.

"We are going from strength to strength. We are arresting and charging more people. Crime is coming down.

"I want to pay tribute to the hard working officers and staff in the force. They have increased performance and are continuing to do so."

West Midlands Police Federation chair Rich Cooke said he was surprised and shocked that the force had been moved into an enhanced level of monitoring.

He agreed that the new operating model was seeing results.

“We’re shocked by this,” he said.

“We’re supportive of the chief constable and the move to the new, local model that we’ve got.

“The new model has already done a lot of good, we’re not there yet and colleagues are working really hard under a lot of strain, but it’s not in vain or standing still.

"There are a lot of stats that show we’re making progress bringing more offenders to justice and improving the service gradually as a force.

“So, we wonder why this is being done now? We don’t understand it.”

He said that austerity, a failed funding formula, and cuts to officer numbers over the past 14 years have all had a significant impact on policing, adding: "We'll work with the force to address any perceived organisational issues, and this should not reflect on the hard-working, committed, and dedicated officers who are doing their best to offer a good quality policing service to the communities of the West Midlands.”

HMICFRS said that it was assured West Midlands Police is taking steps to address these concerns, but significant and sustained improvements are required and the inspectorate will be closely monitoring the force’s progress.

The focus of the HMICFRS engage phase is to assist the force in finding ways to improve and resolve identified causes of concern, where they have not been successful in doing so independently.

At this stage, forces are asked to carry out a comprehensive analysis and develop an improvement plan to set out how causes of concern will be addressed.

The inspectorate said more detail about West Midlands Police’s performance would be included in its next inspection report, which is due to be published in early 2024.