Merseyside Police Earns Outstanding Rating for Crime Prevention and Deterrence

Merseyside Police has been recognised as outstanding for preventing and deterring crime, antisocial behaviour and reducing vulnerability.

The recognition comes from His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) who conducted a detailed inspection of the force between 2025 and 2026.

The main findings of this section of the report identified that ‘the force understands the causes of antisocial behaviour and vulnerability in its communities’; is ‘using preventative and protective orders effectively to help it tackle antisocial behaviour’ and ‘actively works with partners to divert young people away from crime.’

This section also highlighted that the force has invested in the capacity and capability of its neighbourhood policing teams.

In addition to ‘outstanding’, Merseyside Police were appraised a further three ‘good’ and four ‘adequate’ judgements.  Investigations were graded as ‘Requires Improvement.’  No areas were identified as ‘inadequate.’

This latest PEEL inspection began in August 2025 and continued through until the end of March 2026, with inspectors assessing how good Merseyside Police is across nine areas of policing. 

Chief Constable Rob Carden said: “We welcome the findings from the HMICFRS PEEL inspection which grades us as outstanding for our work in preventing and deterring crime, antisocial behaviour and reducing vulnerability. I want to thank every officer, member of staff and volunteer across Merseyside Police for their dedication and commitment to the communities of Merseyside.

“We know antisocial behaviour is a concern within all our communities, which is why we have invested in neighbourhood policing with our officer numbers among the highest in the country.  Initiatives such as Operation Banger - targeting antisocial behaviour around Halloween and Bonfire Night - have reduced incidents significantly, last year by 67 per cent compared to the same period in 2024.

“We recognised the areas for improvement before HMICFRS published its findings and have addressed these challenges since September last year.  So, whilst the grading for Investigations is disappointing, areas such as solving crime has, even before the report was published, increased significantly and we are now one of the top three performing forces in the country for crime outcomes.

“Response - graded as Adequate in the inspection – remains a priority for the force.  Our priority response performance has improved significantly and since the force restructure (which went live on 29 March) we have consistently achieved our target of over 90% (within 60 minutes) for the first time in 12 years.”

Chief Constable Carden vowed to keep communities safe when he took the helm of the force in September last year.  He introduced Operation Vanguard – large-scale operations which lock down areas to enable swathes of officers to proactively target those involved in criminality and causing the most harm to that community.  Operation Vanguard reinforces the Chief’s commitment for contempt for criminality, while at the same time showing compassion for victims and the law-abiding people who suffer criminality taking place on their streets.

He said: “Operation Vanguard supports the day-to-day activity our Local Policing officers carry out to keep our communities safe, by taking strong action against those involved in criminality.  Criminality has a massive negative impact on families and the most vulnerable in our communities and Vanguard targets those involved in serious organised crime, domestic abuse, County Lines, modern day slavery, burglary, robbery, drug and drink driving, and a whole host of other offences.

“Our relentless pursuit of criminals is one aspect of the new force strategy which I introduced earlier this year.  This is built around four objectives - Community First; Contempt for Criminality; Compassion for Victims and Care for Colleagues.  The findings in this report do not change those objectives. If anything, they reinforce them.”

In March, the force introduced a significant restructure designed to strengthen local accountability and improve the service delivered to communities across the region.  Following extensive planning by a dedicated team, Merseyside Police moved to a geographical Basic Command Unit (BCU) model, which is a local area-based command team, bringing more responsive local policing for communities.  An additional 80 officers were put into response policing, 60 additional officers into neighbourhood policing and the retention of 200 community support officers.

Emily Spurrell, Police and Crime Commissioner, said: “On behalf of the people of Merseyside, I welcome this latest HMICFRS inspection and the independent scrutiny it provides. While the report highlights many positive findings, my primary focus is on the areas where inspectors have concluded further improvement is required, particularly around investigations, victim outcomes, and response policing.

“Victims of crime must remain at the heart of policing. They have the right to expect that they will be listened to, supported and treated with compassion, and that crimes reported to the police will be investigated thoroughly and effectively. The findings relating to investigations and outcomes for victims are therefore matters I will be paying particularly close attention to. Through my regular scrutiny meetings, I will continue to hold the Chief Constable and his senior leadership team to account and seek clear evidence that improvements are being delivered and sustained.

“I note that many of the issues highlighted by inspectors had already been identified by the force and that action is underway through the Chief Constable’s new operating model and force strategy. While the report acknowledges progress in a number of areas, the public rightly expects continuous improvement, and I will continue to monitor performance closely to ensure the force responds positively to the findings and recommendations set out by HMICFRS.

“However, I am pleased to see inspectors recognise the strong partnership work taking place across Merseyside to steer young people away from crime and exploitation. Initiatives such as the No Comment pathway, She Inspires and Operation Prospect are helping young people build confidence, resilience and brighter futures.

“At the same time, the Outstanding grading for prevention is a significant achievement and reflects the professionalism, commitment and hard work of Merseyside Police officers, staff and volunteers. They should be proud that inspectors have recognised the force’s dedication to neighbourhood policing, early intervention and keeping people safe. These findings are testament to the vital contribution they make every day to supporting victims, tackling crime and maintaining public confidence in policing.”

In her summary included in the report, His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary Michelle Skeer said: “I am pleased with the performance of Merseyside Police in keeping people safe, reducing crime and giving victims an effective service.  The force has made improvements in leadership, prevention and safeguarding since our last inspection, and I recognise the workforce’s hard work in achieving this.

“I was pleased to see that the force has achieved outstanding performance in prevention and deterrence. It has a higher number of neighbourhood officers than the average for forces in England and Wales. This investment in prevention has proved very positive in tackling neighbourhood crime and antisocial behaviour.  It has particularly good offers to divert young people away from crime.

“There are some areas in which Merseyside Police must do better, and we will continue to monitor its progress. But I am optimistic that its new leadership team and operating model, together with its committed officers and staff, will continue to support the improvements needed.”

Chief Constable Carden added: “Of course, I want Merseyside Police to achieve outstanding results in future PEEL assessments.  But the reality is that achieving high grades is not the ultimate goal.  Our ambition is to be outstanding for Merseyside.

“We want to be the force our communities deserve, one that shows genuine contempt for criminality, demonstrates compassion for victims and cares for its colleague.  The people of Merseyside rightly expect the very best from us and I know that we are capable of delivering it.”

The full inspection report and those of the other fire and rescue services inspected so far are available on the HMICFRS website:His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services - His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services