Value for money inspections
Policing in austerity: One year on
In October 2010, the Government announced that the central funding provided to the police service would reduce by 20% in the four years between March 2011 and March 2015.
We carried out an inspection of all 43 police forces in England and Wales in Spring 2011, to see how they were planning to meet this financial challenge. When the results were published in July 2011, we committed to returning one year later to report on progress, and to assess whether there had been any impact on the service provided to the public.
Read ‘Policing in austerity’ – published 02 July 2012
Adapting to Austerity – A review of police force and authority preparedness for the 2011/12 – 14/15 CSR period
In Spring 2011, HMIC carried out an inspection into the preparedness of forces and authorities across England and Wales to make savings over the four years of the comprehensive spending review period.
This review incorporates our inspection findings, and provides an independent commentary on the estimated scale of challenge, and how (at this stage) forces and authorities plan to meet it.
Read ‘Adapting to Austerity’ – published 21 July 2011
Demanding Times – The front line and police visibility
This report defined the police front line, and revealed the percentage of police available to the public.
Correction: June 2011
Please note that the chart on page 29 of this report has been replaced since first publication (30 March 2011) to correct an error in the positioning of North Wales Police.
Valuing the Police – Policing in an age of austerity
HMIC’s report, ‘Valuing the Police’ shows that only 11% of the police are visibly available to the public, despite year-on-year increases to budgets for the last 40 years. HMIC warns that with looming budget cuts, the availability of the police to the public will be even further reduced, unless there is a total redesign of the police.
Read ‘Valuing the Police’ – published 20 July 2010