North Wales Police is one of the best in the country when it comes to crime recording, it has clear priorities and treats people with respect according to the HMIC Peel report released Thursday, 5 December.

The report also acknowledges the force is working hard to improve its culture.

Chief Constable Amanda Blakeman said: “It is reassuring our crime recording was graded Outstanding, an achievement held by only a few other forces. Our communities can be confident that we are dealing with crime and working to prevent it.

“One of my first actions as Chief Constable was to commission a cultural audit. This resulted in a significant amount of work across the organisation, the fact that our work in this area was recognised in the report is encouraging.”

In terms of Leadership the report acknowledged governance has improved since the last inspection, along with good financial management.

The report records strengths in several areas and recognises some innovative examples of good practice, but there are also areas for improvement.

One is answering emergency calls quickly enough.

Chief Constable Blakeman said: “We recognise each of these calls has a person behind it and that the speed with which we answer their calls needs to be improved. This is a challenge many forces face and we are committed to improving our service to the public.”

She added: “We will also continue to invest in developing our workforce, which was recognised as Good by the HMICFRS. These two areas will provide a solid platform to approach the challenges we face for the future.”

Another area for improvement was protecting vulnerable people.

Chief Constable Blakeman said: “Safeguarding vulnerable people is a priority for us and I am pleased that the report recognises the fact that we have invested in a full-time role dedicated to improving our response to stalking and that a number of other measures have been put in place to improve our response in this area.

“The number of Domestic Violence Protection Orders we have applied for have also increased, compared to previous years.

“We recognise that there is more to do and we will continue to invest in this area of work. We have already made significant changes and are working to develop new reporting tools, both of which were also acknowledged in the report as putting us “in an ideal position to take action to improve this area”.

The report acknowledged that on the vast majority of occasions we attend incidents and investigate crimes in a timely manner.

Chief Constable Blakeman said: “The report along with other sources of scrutiny allows us to confirm that we are investing our time and resources into the right areas to make improvements.

“There are also areas where we can seek to make improvements with activity already ongoing in many aspects identified prior to the Inspection.”

In 2023 -2024 North Wales Police dealt with 47,764 recorded crimes and the control room handled 402,791 contacts from the public. This includes 999, 101, webchat and emails.

Andy Dunbobbin, Police and Crime Commisioner for North Wales said: “The HMICFRS PEEL Report highlights a number of areas that require improvement, namely investigating crime, protecting vulnerable people, and leadership and force management. It is important that the observations in the report are taken seriously and are acted on by the force.

“I have no doubt that the Chief Constable is already taking measures to address the issues raised and I look forward to seeing her plans to improve performance in these areas. I know the Chief Constable, like me, takes the issue of violence against women and girls seriously and we are both committed to combatting it wherever it happens. I will be meeting and consulting with the Chief Constable regularly to gauge progress in all highlighted areas on behalf of the public.

“However, it would also be remiss of me, as PCC, to not also recognise the areas where the report praises the Force, such as on crime data integrity and on building, supporting, and protecting the workforce. These are important areas to get right, both for ensuring public confidence in the Force and its data and in making sure we have a positive and happy culture among the officers and staff. In the coming weeks I will be publishing my Police and Crime Plan for North Wales, which will have three key priorities. These priorities reflect the wishes of the people of North Wales and consist of a local neighbourhood policing presence; supporting victims, communities and businesses; a fair and effective criminal justice system. Ensuring that the Force is performing to its full strength across all areas highlighted in the PEEL Report will help ensure these priorities are met and that North Wales remains a safe and secure place for all residents and visitors, now and in the future.”