Bedfordshire Police told to urgently improve how it investigates crime following inspection
Inspectors say the force is not investigating crime adequately enough
A new report has raised concerns about how Bedfordshire Police investigates crime, responds to emergencies, and supports victims.
Bedfordshire Police has been told it must urgently improve how it investigates crime, after inspectors found its performance had deteriorated since its last inspection.
His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) assessed the force across nine areas of policing, rating it inadequate in one, requiring improvement in four and adequate in the remaining four.
Inspectors warned that victims weren't always receiving the service they should expect, while opportunities to bring offenders to justice were being missed.
Speaking to Greatest Hits Radio, His Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary Roy Wilsher said investigating crime was one of the fundamental responsibilities of policing.
"At the moment, Bedfordshire Police aren't doing it adequately enough," he said.
He also raised concerns about emergency response times, revealing the force was only meeting its own target of attending incidents within 15 minutes in around half of cases.
Mr Wilsher stressed the importance of officers attending incidents promptly, particularly during the early stages of an investigation.
"The golden hour of response is a common thing across policing, and so Bedfordshire need to do that better."
Despite these concerns, inspectors also praised the force's leadership, use of technology and safeguarding arrangements.
Police respond to findings
Chief Constable Trevor Rodenhurst said the force accepted the findings and already had improvement plans in place.
"We recognise the need to progress further and have improvement plans in place focused on strengthening the supervision and quality of our investigations and improving how we support and keep victims informed," he said.
The force says it has increased its number of trained detectives from 245 to 338, while crime-solving rates and emergency response times have improved.
Calls for more funding
Bedfordshire's Police and Crime Commissioner John Tizard acknowledged that further improvements were needed.
Speaking to Greatest Hits Radio, he said: "At the moment it's not good enough and we have to do more."
However, he highlighted the financial pressures facing the force, estimating Bedfordshire was around 500 officers short.
He argued successive governments had failed to fund Bedfordshire properly, with the force facing levels of serious crime more commonly associated with larger urban areas.
Mr Tizard said additional officers would allow police to respond more quickly and investigate more offences.
HMICFRS says it will return in the coming months to assess the force's progress.