VICTIMS of crime are being let down in Essex by poor investigations, a policing watchdog has said.

Essex Police has been told its requires improvement in its investigating practices by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) which has published its first police effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy (PEEL) assessment into the state of policing.

But the report also graded the force ‘good’ in five other areas – efficiency, value for money, reducing crime, tackling anti-social behaviour, preventing offending and financial planning for the future. Essex Police has also launched a training programme to encourage more officers to become detectives to improve their investigation grading.

Chief Constable Stephen Kavanagh said: “I am pleased the HMIC report recognises how hard officers and staff have worked in order to reduce and prevent offending and tackle anti-social behaviour. We have also taken significant steps to identify and deal with victims of crime who are particularly vulnerable and we will continue to build on this work in the future.

“To score ‘good’ in five out of six graded categories demonstrates that we have worked extremely hard to provide the public with a service that is both effective and efficient.

“There is always more to be done and in a confident force like ours every person has the ambition to get even better at delivering a service to the people of Essex.

“We recognise the need to improve the quality of our investigations and like many other forces across the country, need to encourage more officers to work and train as detectives in order to help achieve this.

“We have put a training programme in place and now all student constables complete an investigative development module within their probationary period, giving them skills to investigate a wide range of crimes and prepare case files to a high standard. Officers produce a record of achievement which is used towards gaining their diploma in policing and accreditation which forms part of the national Police training standard. The programme provides an opportunity to identify those officers with potential to become detectives in the future and for them to follow a defined career pathway with further mentoring and development available.

Police and Crime Commissioner Nick Alston added: “I’m sure Essex residents will be pleased to hear our force is performing well.

“However inspectors also found Essex Police has some improvements to be made around the investigation of crimes. HMIC found the force to have inconsistencies in skills and training of investigative staff and that some opportunities for resolving crime are missed.

“This is not a surprise and something I have already discussed with the chief constable. On arrival he made improving detections a priority for the force and it has already made strides to improve its investigative capability, particularly around domestic abuse with the reintroduction of specialist dedicated teams. I know the chief constable is firmly committed to building on these improvements.”