Inspection and Audit
Police Performance – 2007/08 (published November 2008)
This annual assessment forms part of the Policing Performance Assessment Framework (PPAF) developed by the Home Office and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC), with support from the Association of Police Authorities and the Association of Chief Police Officers.
It reports data against each of the Statutory Performance Indicators (SPIs) for Policing, and covers information on priorities set locally, inspections carried out by HMIC in 2007-08 and the results of the Audit Commission's Police Use of Resources Evaluation (PURE). Click here to view the full report.
Annual Audit Letter 2007/08 (published January 2009)
This Letter provides an overall summary of the Audit Commission’s assessment of the Authority, based on audit work performed in relation to the accounting period ending 31 March 2008.
Audit of the accounts
An unqualified opinion on the Authority’s accounts was issued on 17 July 2008.
Value for money conclusion
The Authority have proper arrangements in place to secure economy, efficiency and effectiveness in the use of resources.
Police Use of Resources scores
The Authority continued to demonstrate that it manages its services effectively and provides good value for money.
| THEME | Assessment |
| Financial reporting | 3 |
| Financial management | 3 |
| Financial standing | 4 |
| Internal control | 3 |
| Value for money | 4 |
| Overall assessment of the Audit Commission | 4 |
1 = inadequate performance
2 = adequate performance
3 = performing well
4 = performing strongly
West Mercia received an overall score of 4 – well above minimum requirements – with a score of 4 for Value for Money for the third year running. Click here to view the full audit letter.
Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) Inspections
| Inspection Grade | Date Published | |
| Delivery of Citizen Focus | Meets the standard | September 2008 |
| Neighbourhood Policing | Meets the standard | September 2008 |
| Major Crime | Meets the standard | July 2008 |
The inspection of ‘Major Crime’ made one recommendation:
“Urgent steps should be taken to ensure that victims of rape and serious sexual assault have acceptable and timely access to trained officers at the time of initial reporting, and effective co-ordination and supervision of SOLOs (sexual offences liaison officers) should be implemented.”
To address this recommendation we developed a model of Specially Trained Officers (STOs) who are now available 24 hours a day to deal with reports of rape. Each of our five Divisions has identified and trained a minimum of 8 STOs whose work is to be supported, evaluated and monitored by designated divisional coordinators as well as the Force Rape Steering Group.
Corporate Governance Review of Police Authority (published November 2008)
West Mercia Police Authority undertook a voluntary inspection of its Corporate Governance arrangements, which was conducted by PriceWaterhouseCoopers in 2006 and was repeated in 2008. The Authority received a rating of four Excellents and two Goods (previously two Excellents and four Goods):
| Good Governance Principles 2007/2008 | Assessment | Good Governance Principles 2005/2006 | Assessment |
| Focusing on the purpose of the Authority and on outcomes for the community and creating and implementing a vision for the local area. | Excellent | Focusing on the organisation’s purpose and on outcomes for the public. | Excellent |
| Members and officers working together to achieve a common purpose with clearly defined functions and roles. | Excellent | Performing effectively in clearly defined functions and roles | Excellent |
| Promoting values for the Authority and demonstrating the values of good governance through upholding high standards of conduct and behaviour. | Excellent | Promoting values for the whole organisation and demonstrating the values of good governance through behaviour | Good |
| Taking informed and transparent decisions which are subject to effective scrutiny and managing the risk. | Good | Taking informed, transparent decisions and managing risk | Good |
| Developing the capacity and capability of members and officers to be effective | Good | Developing the capacity and capability of the Authority to be effective. | Good |
| Engaging with local people and other stakeholders to ensure robust public accountability | Excellent | Engaging stakeholders and making accountability real | Good |
Click here to view the full report.
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