Police forces assigned to levels as part of new Policing Performance System

Gloucestershire Constabulary has been assessed as a Level Two force as part of the new Policing Performance System.

All forces in England and Wales have been assigned a level between one and four depending on its current performance, the extent of support required, and the expected level of engagement with the College of Policing.

Forces assigned to Level One may have minor, mitigated concerns but an overall positive trajectory to manage these as they seek to continuously improve.

Forces in Level Two are deemed to have either enduring, low-level, non-systemic issues; receding issues which require oversight or multiple, minor issues; while forces in Level Three have a single, critical, enduring issue; widespread and/or systemic performance concerns; or fail to demonstrate meaningful improvements.

Level Four forces will be subject to special measures and statutorily required to act on His Majesties’ Inspectorate of Constabularies and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) recommendations due to very serious performance failings and where there is insufficient evidence or confidence that the steps being taken to address them are having the desired effect.

The Policing Performance System is separate to the PEEL assessments HMICFRS conducts regularly on all forces. Gloucestershire Constabulary has just undergone a PEEL inspection, and we expect the findings to be published in the autumn.

Temporary Chief Constable Maggie Blyth said: "HMICFRS inspectors have told us we have been assigned to Level Two as a result of the findings of our National Child Protection Inspection and the inspection of the South West regional response to serious and organised crime. These inspections were carried out in late 2024 and published in May and June last year and we have already put in place measures to address the recommendations made in these reports.

"HMICFRS have also told us they remain concerned about the quality of our data as it makes it difficult to track our performance, while they also recognised our budget pressures continue to make it harder for us to provide an effective policing service.

"Having just undergone our PEEL assessment, we are confident HMICFRS recognise we have the right plans in place to improve our performance and that we are committed to delivering the best service we can.

"In recent months we have gone through a period of significant efficiency savings and have also welcomed performance input from the College of Policing. We will continue to access this support; however, we will also need further investment to address our vastly outdated ICT systems.

"We recognise that to be an effective police force we require accelerated data integration and digital improvements which can only be achieved through modernising our entire technological infrastructure through police reform.

"Our financial planning has already included major technology investment, but we look forward to working with the College and Home Office, as a Level 2 force,  to harness specialist capability in this specific priority area.

"We know that our communities in Gloucestershire deserve a police force with the same technological capabilities as anywhere else in the UK."