Force downgraded over victim safety failings

Public safety is being put at risk due to Devon and Cornwall Police's failure to investigate crime and protect victims, inspectors have said.

His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) said the force had been downgraded from Level Two to Level Three because its performance had deteriorated this year.

The move comes just two months after inspectors placed the force in Level Two, saying it needed enhanced support because of concerns about its handling of investigations and its ability to safeguard vulnerable adults and children.

Chief constable James Vaughan accepted that the public "deserve a better service and a stronger leadership response".

When it was placed in Level Two, police and crime commissioner Alison Hernandez said officers needed to reach the top performance level and that was "the standard the public deserves and expects".

HMICFRS has now issued an accelerated cause of concern - a measure reserved for situations involving significant service failures or risks to public safety.

Inspectors found investigations were not being carried out or supervised consistently and in some cases the risk of serious harm to victims was not identified or addressed for several weeks.

They also found some crimes and safeguarding concerns had remained unallocated for weeks, while weaknesses in the force's operating model meant demand was not being managed effectively.

His Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary Kathryn Stone said: "The force is failing to provide effective leadership to manage demand, investigate crime and safeguard victims."

She said: "Devon and Cornwall Police will now receive additional support and it should take immediate action to address our recommendations. I will be closely monitoring its progress."

The new policing performance system has four categories:

• Level one – default position for all forces. No action or intervention is required from the performance system at this time.

• Level two – enhanced support will be available to prevent any deterioration in performance. This would apply where a force has some low-level, non-systemic issues, issues which are getting better but require oversight, or multiple minor issues.

• Level three – targeted support and intervention will be provided and chief constables will develop improvement plans. This would apply where a force has a single, critical and lasting issue, widespread or systemic performance concerns, or if it fails to demonstrate meaningful improvements.

• Level four (Special Measures) – forces will be subject to special measures where force performance failings are very serious and there is insufficient evidence or confidence that the steps being taken to address them are having the required effect.

Vaughan, who was appointed as chief constable on an interim basis in December 2024, said: "When an organisation continues to struggle to grip and manage known and important issues, this ultimately does become a matter of leadership.

"Our workforce and more importantly the public we serve, deserve a better service and a stronger leadership response."

The grading "crucially" meant access to additional support, expertise and resources from the College of Policing.

Vaughan, who confirmed earlier this month he would stay in post until 2028, added that he had the confidence of Hernandez and he was "fully committed to leading this force into the strong position where it needs to be".

He added that crime levels were "stabilising" and anti-social behaviour had declined for the second consecutive year.

Burglary rates were among the lowest in England and Wales and the number of people killed or seriously injured on the region's roads was dropping.

"Investigative outcomes (solved crime) have increased steadily, remaining above the national average since April 2026 reaching 16.9% during August and has exceeded 20% during September to date.

"I recognise that the findings from HMICFRS are very serious and we must address them at pace. I will work tirelessly with my leadership team to support our brilliant officers, staff and volunteers to deliver the safe, timely and quality service the public rightly expect."

Vaughan said to avoid the force going into special measures, three things need to be addressed.

He said he would look at leadership standards and leadership quality by bringing in specialist providers from outside to "help senior leaders improve and become the leaders that our workforce and the public deserves".

The second issue was to look at the crime management models in the force.

"We have a million calls for service and our ability to manage all of that while prioritising the high risk and deliver everybody a high quality of service, even for the more routine and low level crimes is our challenge."

He said he had "agreed to go further with audit quality inspection" and agreed that the Police and Crime Commissioner can have more oversight in the quality and assurance work.

Vaughan said if the force was to go into special measures he should be held responsible.

"I'm determined to stay. I've said I will see this through and I will do the best I can over the coming weeks and months to do just that."

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