Cambridgeshire Police criticised for sex offender management – report

A police force must answer 999 calls faster and improve the management of risks posed by registered sex offenders in the community, inspectors have said.

His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services rated Cambridgeshire Constabulary inadequate in those areas.

A “high-risk” sex offender had not been visited for months, the report found.

Chief Constable Nick Dean said changes had been implemented and “significant improvements” made.

His Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary Roy Wilsher rated the force outstanding in its use of police powers and in its public treatment. It was judged good for preventing crime and developing a positive workplace.

However, he said: “It should answer 999 and 101 calls faster and respond to those incidents more quickly too.

“It needs to do better at responding to calls from the public, management of sexual offenders and violent offenders and investigating indecent images of children through its paedophile online investigation team.”

Inspectors found a “high-risk person who had been in and out of prison” had not been visited for several months.

In addition, the welfare of staff in the management of sexual offenders team “isn’t taken seriously by senior leaders”.

One officer had reviewed 175,000 images from an offender’s phone over two days, expected to spend two more days doing so – yet had “received no welfare support from the constabulary”, the report said.

Mr Wilsher said he was “pleased with some aspects” of the force’s performance, in particular the way officers used stop and search powers and worked with diverse communities.

Under crime prevention, the case of an elderly woman who made more than 2,000 999 calls a year was highlighted.

By working with health partners, the calls were diverted to an NHS care team and a care home place found for her. The force had received one call from the woman since August.

Mr Dean welcomed the inspection as “an opportunity for us to reflect on the service we provide, celebrate what we are doing well and look at what we need to improve”.

A backlog of checks in its online child abuse and sex offenders management teams had been cleared and welfare support increased for those teams.

It was “the only force in the country to receive an outstanding grade for how we use police powers” which was “a testament to the innovative work we have put in place”, he added.