Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the leading indicators used to assess detriment in police service performance are.

Under section 54 of the Police Act 1996, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) has a statutory responsibility to inspect the efficiency and effectiveness of police forces in England and Wales. The inspectorate discharges this duty through annual all force inspections, which focus on: police efficiency (how well forces provide value for money); effectiveness (how well they cut crime); and legitimacy (how well they provide a service that is fair). This is known as the PEEL inspection programme. The inspectorate also conducts rolling inspection programmes (e.g. on crime data integrity and on child protection), thematic inspections (e.g. on counter-terrorism and on modern slavery), and engages in Joint Inspection (working with other inspectorates).

HMIC’s annual inspection programme is agreed by the Home Secretary before it is laid before Parliament. Further details of inspection methodology and findings are publically available on HMIC’s website: https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmic/