‘Good’ verdict for Cambridgeshire from HMIC
July 22nd, 2014
A report published today says that Cambridgeshire Constabulary is on track to make the required savings while continuing to provide an effective service to the public.
The Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabularies (HMIC) Valuing the Police report delivers an overall ‘good’ verdict for Cambridgeshire, saying that it is planning sensibly for the future while continuing to reduce crime and retain high levels of victim satisfaction.
Cambridgeshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Sir Graham Bright, said: “I welcome HMIC’s report, which confirms that our approach is delivering good value for money – an effective service at low cost.
“Running the Constabulary like a business so that we can protect the frontline through collaboration and innovation is exactly what I said I wanted to happen. I have continued to be impressed by the Chief Constable and his team who have worked hard to ensure we continue to deliver an effective as well an efficient service.
“It must not be understated how challenging this has been, and remains so. But I am delighted that despite these challenges our progress on making savings while reducing crime and keeping high levels of victim satisfaction has been recognised by HMIC.”
The report goes on to say that Cambridgeshire faces a particular challenge because of the scale of the financial savings that must be made – £19.8m over the four years of the spending review (March 2011 to March 2015) – and that it is already a low cost force. It praises Cambridgeshire’s ‘strong track record’ of achieving planned savings and highlights the work being carried out with regard to collaboration and IT change, the latter of which is aimed at using technology to increase the time officers spend out in their communities.
The report also highlights the ‘strong and constructive’ working relationship between the force’s finance directorate and the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, which it says is ‘underpinned by good governance arrangements and effective scrutiny mechanisms’.
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