Police rated good at tackling serious and organised crime

The HMICFRS (His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services) report published today (November 10) says the force is good at tackling the issue of serious and organised crime, and rated the constabulary alongside five other forces, which make up North West Regional Organised Crime Unit (NWROCU).

HMICFRS looked at Lancashire Constabulary as part of its police effectiveness, efficiency, and legitimacy (PEEL) inspections. They inspected how well police forces tackle serious and organised crime (SOC).

In 2022, they changed how they inspect this aspect of policing, to incorporate inspections of the ten regions, as well as the nine regional organised crime units (ROCUs) across England and Wales, and the 43 police forces.

In particular the inspectorate highlighted that the force understands and manages the threat from serious and organised crime and sets priorities to tackle it.

The report stated that Lancashire Police has good governance structures to manage their performance on SOC and hold regular well-attended meetings to discuss their approach.

It also noted that the force promotes a culture that tackling serious and organised crime is everyone’s responsibility as part of the force-wide Operation Warrior brand and it works well with partners to share information about threats as part of Operation Genga.

The report focussed on Lancashire Police’s innovative practice in tackling exploitation linked to modern slavery and human trafficking through Operation Genga and the Pan Lancashire Anti-Slavery Partnership.

The inspection team also found that Lancashire Police seek to reduce the threat to those vulnerable to SOC through schemes like Project Adder in Blackpool.

Lancashire Constabulary’s head of serious crime and intelligence, Det Supt Graham Hill, said: “I’m really pleased that the inspectorate has recognised the good work we do in tackling serious and organised crime in Lancashire which I’m sure is a result of the dedication and tireless work taking place across both our specialist teams and the force as a whole as part of Operatio Warrior.

“We work closely with our partners around the threat of organised crime, as part of our Operation Genga work, to ensure our communities are safe from dangerous offenders such as drugs and firearms dealers, fraudsters, cyber criminals and many more.

“We will build on this good report and continue to work both with the NCA, the NWROCU and other forces across the region and the UK to take the fight to criminals and ensure there are no safe spaces in Lancashire for serious and organised criminals.

“I would like to thank all our officers and staff for their continuing commitment and dedication in the fight against serious and organised crime.”

Police and Crime Commissioner Andrew Snowden said: "I welcome this report and I'm delighted to see it acknowledge the proactive and innovative approach we take to targeting organised crime gangs here in Lancashire.

"As the report highlights, disrupting and dismantling serious and organised crime is a top priority in my Fighting Crime Plan for Lancashire and Operation Warrior, the constabulary's dedicated, force wide operation has been put in place to deliver against this, with some fantastic results tackling organised crime in the county, with significant increases in arrests, drug and cash seizures, alongside community intelligence to Crimestoppers.

"I'm also pleased to see recognition for the Constabulary's modern slavery and human trafficking co-ordinator post, funded by my office. This role is key to facilitating partnership working across Lancashire through the Pan-Lancashire Anti-Slavery Partnership.

"I continue to support the constabulary to ensure they have the resources needed to keep up this momentum and continue to take the fight to criminals."

One of the only improvements HMICFRS suggested was in terms of the processes used for managing offenders, highlighting that some forces have a more effective process than others.

The report stated: "The forces in the North West region have different processes to manage offenders, and some are more effective than others.

"For example, some forces have dedicated personnel who oversee the management of ancillary orders, such as serious crime prevention orders. Other forces don’t.

"This makes it difficult for the NWROCU to co-ordinate the management of serious and organised crime offenders.

"Due to inconsistent force arrangements, the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit finds it difficult to assign the management of serious crime prevention orders to forces at the end of regional investigations.

"Interviewees in one force expressed the view that the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit should take more responsibility for managing offenders who operate across force borders."

Lancashire is one of six forces that make up the northwest region along with Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Cumbria, Cheshire and North Wales and their ROCU, the North-West Regional Organised Crime Unit (NWROCU).

Cheshire Constabulary was rated as adequate, Cumbria Constabulary as requires improvement, Greater Manchester Police was rated good, Merseyside Police rated outstanding, and North Wales Police were rated inadequate.

The North West Regional Organised Crime Unit as a whole was rated outstanding.