Chief Constable hits out as Police watchdog brands force 'inadequate'

Jon Boutcher says the only thing inadequate about his force is the funding Credit: PA

Bedfordshire Police's approach to keeping people safe and reducing crime is inadequate, according to police watchdog report published today.

Inspectors found key areas for concern including the protection of vulnerable people, preventing crime and tackling anti-social behaviour.

But the Chief Constable defended his force saying the only thing inadequate was the amount of funding it received.

In a strongly worded statement M Boutcher said:

"It is pleasing that the report does praise the force, such as our response to domestic abuse, but there is so much missing from the report which would provide a more comprehensive picture of policing in Bedfordshire, particularly in relation to the way we deal with vulnerability.

“In the report the HMIC describes an effective force as one which keeps people safe and reduces crime. However, despite our crime figures being more impressive than the national picture and have invested significantly in keeping people safe following on from last year’s inspection, the report judges the force poorly. It makes little sense and I invite people to read the report and look at the force performance figures.

“I fully accept that there are areas we need to improve on, but to judge the force as inadequate does not give a fair reflection of all the fantastic and innovative work being carried out, particularly following a recent restructure to ensure our priority is protecting the vulnerable."

Bedfordshire was the only force in the country given the rating by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC). It comes as they published the results of an examination the effectiveness of every force in England and Wales.

The watchdog evaluated forces in four areas:

  • How effective is the force at preventing crime, anti-social behaviour?

  • How effective is the force at investigating crime and managing offenders?

  • How effective is the force at protecting vulnerable people and supporting victims?

  • How effective is the force at tackling serious and organised crime?

HMIC then awarded four grades - Outstanding, Good, Requires Improvement and Inadequate.

Only one force was deemed to be Outstanding and that was Durham.

GoodCambridgeshire, Essex, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and the Thames Valley forces were listed in this category.

Requires Improvement Hertfordshire and Northamptonshire were listed here.

InadequateBedfordshire