SURREY Police is more efficient at keeping people safe and reducing crime, but its response to 101 calls still falls short, according to the latest report by official watchdog Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary.

In last year’s inspection, the force was judged as ‘requiring improvement’. It has now been upgraded to ‘good’ for efficiency, and HMIC’s overall assessment to include effectiveness will be published in March 2017.

HMIC inspector Zoe Billingham reported: “Surrey Police has improved the efficiency with which it keeps people safe and reduces crime since HMIC’s 2015 inspection. It has undertaken a comprehensive analysis of some elements of current demand for its services, which it used to develop its new operating model.

“However, it does not yet have a complete understanding of all areas of demand and the changing scale and nature of future demand. It is undertaking further analysis of so-called hidden crime and emerging crime, such as child sexual exploitation, cyber-crime, hate crime and modern slavery.

“The force is making a more rigorous risk assessment of the calls for police service that it receives in order to better prioritise its demands. However, because over 25 per cent of non-emergency 101 calls were going unanswered as at April 2016, the force cannot be sure it has an adequate understanding of real demand.”

The inspection looked at how police forces across England and Wales operate in terms of managing resources, identifying current and future demand and financial planning.

Chief Constable Nick Ephgrave said: “I’m pleased with this report which recognises the huge amount of work over a sustained period of time that officers and staff across Surrey Police have put into improving how efficient we are at keeping people safe and reducing crime.

“However, while we have made significant progress since the last HMIC efficiency inspection we are certainly not complacent. We know that there is much more we still need to achieve.

“When the inspection took place in July we were open with HMIC about our challenges, including the need to increase the number of officers in key departments and non-emergency 101 call answering times, and our plans to tackle them.

“These are the key areas HMIC picked up in their report as areas for improvement and we continue to put significant effort into addressing them.

“We have already significantly boosted officer recruitment, with more frequent courses and a maximum number of 48 officers in each of the next three intakes.

“Regarding call handling, while our 999 performance remains strong, with 93 per cent of calls answered within target, we know our performance for answering non-emergency 101 calls is below where we want it to be and this is a priority for us.

“We are tackling this by maintaining staffing levels, we have introduced a new call handling system and enhanced our online reporting function.”

Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey, David Munro, added: “I am pleased with the HMIC’s assessment which is a reflection of the hard work officers and staff have put in over the last year to improve the efficiency with which Surrey Police operate.

“The force has made great strides in understanding and meeting the demands of modern policing. This has been achieved at a time when police budgets remain tight so it is particularly pleasing that the reports notes the force has sound financial plans in place for the future.

“Although great progress has been made in addressing those areas highlighted in last year’s inspection, we all recognise there is more to do to make Surrey a safer place for the people that live and work here.

“The HMIC report has highlighted some areas for improvement in terms of resourcing and understanding current and future demand, especially in respect of 101 calls. The Force recognises the urgent need for improvement in our 101 response and I am encouraged that over the last two months we have seen some real improvements in performance in this area.

“I am committed to working with the Chief Constable to ensure we meet these areas for improvement and sustain the efficient way Surrey Police works in the future.”

• To read the full report on the inspection visit the website www.justicein

spectorates.gov.uk/hmic.