New accountability board will ensure Devon & Cornwall Police is effectively scrutinised and making improvements

A new way of holding Devon & Cornwall Police to account and ensuring it is delivering an effective and efficient police service is being achieved through the formation of a new accountability board.

Devon, Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Police and Crime Commissioner Alison Hernandez has begun to host a monthly Commissioner’s Accountability Board to discuss a range of topics relating to key police performance indicators. 

Following each meeting, she then makes a judgement of assurance to indicate whether improvement plans are required or not, including details of how she has reached her decision.  

The Commissioner has committed to sharing her levels of judgement with the public and external stakeholders to increase transparency in policing and the criminal justice system. 

On last month’s agenda, three specific areas of performance were scrutinised. The first was complaint handling and service delivery which was given a current performance rating of ‘not assured’ meaning improvements are required.

Commissioner Hernandez concluded neither are yet at an appropriate or acceptable standard, but said she is confident that the police’s improvement plan will deliver effective improvements. Reassurance was provided that the police’s complaint backlog is starting to reduce. 

The second topic was how Devon & Cornwall Police is continuing to rectify concerns identified following a review last year by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) – which has statutory responsibility for the inspection of the police forces of England and Wales. 

It remains in the ‘engage’ process with the inspectorate over contact, crime data recording and investigations, with further improvement work required.  

Commissioner Hernandez was satisfied that comprehensive plans to address all three areas are delivering improvements which provide ‘confidence’ that the issues can be rectified, but as further work is required her overall judgement was ‘part assured’. 

The final topic of the Accountability Board was the force’s response to the Commissioner’s Police and Crime Plan 2025-29 which sets out her key priorities – antisocial behaviour, serious violence, theft and drugs and alcohol. Her judgement was ‘assured’ that the work already taken by police has been ‘comprehensive and appropriate’. 

At the meeting, Chief Constable James Vaughan also gave an update on the police budget and financial performance, recent homicides and serious crimes, as well as areas of concern and success. 

Commissioner Hernandez said: “The role of Police and Crime Commissioner was created to help make the police more accountable to the people they serve, and the holding of our local police to account on behalf of the people of Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly is my core responsibility. 

“I do this in a number of ways and, recently, I have convened a new Accountability Board at which as Chair, I select a number of areas of policing activity and related performance, and scrutinise them in detail, requiring the Chief Constable and his team to explain both current performance and any plans they have in place to make improvements where required. 

“Following this, I then make a judgment on how assured I am, again both in terms of current police performance and the quality of any improvement plans. I then publish a statement describing my levels of assurance for the public to see, along with the agenda and attendance at each board to ensure as wide a visibility as is possible. 

“I remain committed to ensuring that Devon & Cornwall Police delivers a service to our communities as effectively and efficiently as is possible, and my office and I will continue to not only scrutinise and challenge robustly, but also to celebrate and champion whenever appropriate, on behalf of the people of Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.” 

Mr Vaughan added: “I welcome the launch of the Commissioner’s Accountability Board as it gives me the opportunity to give an update on areas of our performance where we are making significant improvements or where further work is taking place to ensure our communities receive the service they deserve.  

“The board will allow the public to see where we are performing well and offer them reassurance that the Commissioner is quite rightly scrutinising those areas where improvements are required.”