Appendix 1 - Inspection and Audit

Police Performance – 2007/08

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).

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Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) Inspections

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 have developed a model of Specially Trained Officers (STOs) who will be 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 who will be supported, evaluated and monitored by designated divisional coordinators as well as the force Rape Steering Group.

Corporate Governance Review of Police Authority

West Mercia Police Authority undertook a voluntary inspection of its Corporate Governance arrangements, which was conducted by PriceWaterhouseCoopers in 2006 and has been repeated in 2008. The Authority has received a rating of four Excellents and two Goods (previously two Excellents and four Goods).

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Annual Audit Letter 2007/08

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.

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.

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