West Mercia Police chief welcomes efficiency report
Shropshire's police and crime commissioner has welcomed a report examining how efficient forces across England and Wales are.
Bill Longmore, PCC for West Mercia, said the PEEL report release by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary painted a "justifiably positive picture" of the situation in the area.
West Mercia Police was awarded 'good' ratings across the board, and inspectors praised many elements of how finances and resources were being managed.
Mr Longmore said: "As always, I welcome this report from HMIC. I think it paints a justifiably positive picture of the situation here. I feel it shows the future of policing in West Mercia is in a much healthier, more sustainable position than the majority of forces nationwide.
"The report backs up the fact that the force and its finances are being run responsibly, with a long-term view. We have good levels of reserves, and we are using them to good effect – part of which includes updating technology, which will make the force even more efficient in the future.
"The report also mentions the benefit of the strategic alliance with Warwickshire Police, which continues to provide efficiencies and real benefits not only to the police, but to the public across the two force areas as well.
"West Mercia has been through a lot of changes in a short space of time, and it's to the credit of the police that they've made so much positive progress."
"It also touches on the importance we have placed on things like offender management and crime prevention. For me, these are key to improving police efficiency because preventing crime and successfully rehabilitating offenders is a much more cash-effective strategy in the long term.
"Naturally, the report also discusses future challenges and resilience, and a lot of work is happening to make the force even more efficient.
"The time will inevitably come where we cannot keep using reserves to cushion the blow of government savings. If further big cuts are imposed then it could mean significant changes in local policing, but finding the most effective, efficient, sustainable model for the future is the clear focus.
"Working in partnership with others will continue to be vital, but I'm confident that the West Mercia force is in a good position to meet whatever challenges are on the horizon."
