West Midlands Police chief explains how force has improved after special measures are lifted
West Midlands' top cop believes the Black Country taxpayer is finally getting the police service they deserve.
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999 calls are being answered quicker, police officers are responding to emergencies faster, and what Chief Constable Craig Guildford is particularly pleased with, is more arrests are being made.
Last November HM Inspector of Constabularies Wendy Williams put the force under ‘enhanced monitoring’, more commonly known as ‘special measures’.
The Inspectorate were concerned about four different areas dealt with by West Midlands Police: how it dealt with victims of crime; its management of sex offenders; how its efforts to control the risk posed by suspected online child abusers; and how it protected vulnerable people.
The Chief Constable believes the very public endorsement from the inspectorate is down to good, old-fashioned hard work.
He said: "It really reflects a load of hard work by the officers and the staff in this force. I wouldn't say it's a relief. It's testament to a load of hard work. I believe when you put a lot of hard work in with some direction then you tend to get good results. So I am pleased on their behalf."