AN independent report has rated Merseyside Police as ‘good’.

The Crime Data Integrity Inspection for 2017 was published on Tuesday, April 10 and covered three forces; Devon and Cornwall, Greater Manchester and Merseyside.

Merseyside Police has made significant improvements since the last report from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) which rated the force as ‘inadequate’ in 2016.

Local police commissioner Jane Kennedy told the Globe: “I welcome the outcome of the inspection, which shows a significant improvement in comparison to the previous inspection two years ago when the force was undergoing a huge re-organisation.

“It would be equally welcome to see HMICFRS acknowledge that constant changes to the way in which crime is recorded is confusing for the public and makes it harder to track progress in tackling crime.

“I am particularly pleased that HMICFRS has recognised the outstanding culture and leadership that I see week in, week out, in Merseyside Police.”

In the HMICFRS report the force was rated in three categories:

  • How effective is the force at recording reported crime? Requires improvement
  • How efficiently do the systems and processes in the force support accurate crime recording? Good
  • How well does the force demonstrate the leadership and culture necessary to meet the national standards for crime recording? Outstanding

Deputy chief constable Carl Foulkes said: “We aim to provide the public of Merseyside with a police service that puts communities at the heart of everything it does.

“It is pleasing that Merseyside Police has been recognised as a good force, especially in light of our restructure in 2017 and the impact this may well have had on our performance.

“You can see from the report that in the overwhelming majority of cases we get it right when it comes to putting our communities first and providing vital safeguarding for vulnerable members of the public.”

HM Inspector of Constabulary Matt Parr said: "I commend Merseyside Police for the significant progress it has made in such a short time.

"It has responded well to our 2016 inspection, provided good training to its workforce and substantially improved its recording of violent and serious sexual crimes.

"It is clear that all staff have worked hard to improve the service the force provides, taking immediate steps to address the problems we identified in our last inspection.

"However, some types of crime – particularly complicated crime, such as rape, domestic abuse and modern slavery – are still under-recorded, which needs to be addressed urgently.

"I am confident that Merseyside Police will continue to build on the excellent work it has done and make progress in the areas we have identified for improvement."