West Midlands Police: Force in special measures over sex offender failings

West Midlands Police is not carrying out its investigations effectively or managing the risk to the public by sex offenders, inspectors have said.

The government will now monitor the force closely and insist it meets with its inspectors regularly.

Home Secretary James Cleverly described it as "a failure of leadership from Labour's West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner."

The PCC and chief constable said they completely disagreed with the decision.

Mr Cleverly said the failure of leadership was the reason the force had been placed into special measures.

"We will do everything in our power to ensure the police are keeping the people of this country safe," he posted on X.

West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster apologised saying it was "completely unacceptable" if people were not obtaining access to justice.

"Action has already been taken and continues to be taken, to drive significant improvements within West Midlands Police," he said.

The police force's monitoring level has been escalated to "Engage", an enhanced form of monitoring, as it is "not effectively addressing the inspectorate's concerns", inspectors said.

It added significant improvements were needed and the force, which covers Birmingham, Wolverhampton, the Black Country and Coventry, has been asked to urgently produce an improvement plan.

His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services said West Midlands Police had failed to:

West Midlands Police is the biggest force outside London, covering 348 square miles with a population of 2.94 million people.

Those who want the police and crime commissioner's powers to be handed to the winner of next May's West Midlands Metro Mayor election, say failures on investigating crime and delivering for victims are clear evidence the current model doesn't work.

The Police and Crime Commissioner himself disputes the watchdog's findings and puts the blame for any shortcomings on a lack of government funding.

The force does have 1,000 fewer officers than in 2010, but all expectations are that the home secretary will merge the two offices, a decision I'm told will be made in the next few weeks.

His Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary Wendy Williams said the process would provide additional security and support from the inspectorate.

"West Midlands Police has been asked to urgently produce an improvement plan and will meet regularly with our inspectors. We will work closely with the force to monitor its progress against these important and necessary changes," she said.

Chief Constable Craig Guildford said many of the issues identified developed as a result of a previous operating model, with statistics "largely drawn" from before a new model was introduced in April this year.

He added the force was outperforming other forces in solving burglary, robbery and homicide cases.

"Although I remain respectful of HMICFRS, I completely disagree with their decision-making to move West Midlands Police into 'Engage' now despite providing them with recent evidence that should inform a much more comprehensive and fair assessment of the force.

"I want to reassure people that we had already identified these issues and put robust plans in place to rectify them," he added.

It was "misleading" for the inspectorate to say victims were not safeguarded, he said and added domestic abuse arrest rates have increased from 27% to 39%, he said.

The force also answers 70,000 999 calls a month in an average of five seconds, with "significant reductions in crime", Mr Guildford said.

He acknowledged issues around the force's management of sex and online child abuse offenders, but said these had been identified and were a "legacy" of the force's previous operating model.

PCC Simon Foster, said he was treating the matter "with the utmost seriousness and as a top priority".

He added the cuts to policing, leaving the force with 1,000 fewer officers, had "caused immense damage to the force."

"Today's announcement by His Majesty's Inspectorate is yet further evidence of the damage inflicted on West Midlands Police and the people of the West Midlands by the government," he added.

The force's next inspection report is due to be published in early 2024.

Ron Winch, professor in policing at Birmingham City University, told BBC Radio WM officers at the force would be feeling anxious at the move but remain resilient.

"It's always difficult when you are criticised," the former superintendent added.