The Commissioner scrutinises Devon & Cornwall Police but that is not the same as ‘inspecting’ the police. The police are inspected by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS).
HMICFRS is independent of government, the police and fire and rescue authorities and they publish their reports on their website.
HMICFRS is an inspectorate, not a regulator, which means that it can make recommendations to the police, but can not force them to make decisions or take a particular action.
PEEL (police effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy) is HMICFRS’ regular assessment of police forces in England and Wales. HMICFRS uses inspection findings, analysis and professional judgment to assess how good forces are in several areas of policing. Most of these areas are then graded as outstanding, good, adequate, requires improvement or inadequate.
You can read the results of HMICFRS’ latest PEEL inspection of Devon and Cornwall Police on their website.
HMICFRS also carries out a range of other inspections including thematic inspections, joint inspections with other inspectorates (such as HMI Prisons and Ofsted) and inspections commissioned by the Home Secretary. Most of these inspections will examine issues relevant to all police forces and will include recommendations and/or actions for all Chief Constables to consider. You can view all inspection reports relevant to Devon and Cornwall Police on the HMICFRS website.
PCC responses to HMICFRS reports
The Police and Crime Commissioner responds to all inspection reports which are relevant to Devon and Cornwall Police and publishes their responses on this website. You can see the Commissioner’s responses to the reports HMICFRS have issued in the current term of office below, along with any comment the Chief Constable has provided on the report.
Police and Crime Commissioners have to publish their response to each HMICFRS report relating to their police force area within 56 days of its publication.