Police rated as '˜Good' by report

Herts Police have been rated '¨'˜Good' after Her Majesty's '¨Inspectorate of Constabulary's (HMIC) published its Report of Police Legitimacy.
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The document highlights several areas for praise, 
including the wellbeing of staff, promoting an ethical culture, and how well the force understands and engages with the general public.

But Herts Police are also graded as ‘Requires Improvement’ for its use of Taser 
weapons, and is described as not complying with the ‘best use’ of Stop And Search schemes.

Chief Constable Andy Bliss said: “This positive report 
reflects the hard work of my colleagues in the constabulary and it is encouraging to receive a ‘Good’ rating.

“We have effective policing across Hertfordshire, helped by the good relations we have across all of the communities we serve.

“Whilst the power to stop and search people is an 
important one to help us tackle 
crime, I am clear that our 
officers must always use these powers properly and fairly and that will be our focus moving forward.”

The report also looks at numbers around complaints, stop and search incidents, and use of Tasers, between April 2014 and March 2015.

Over 12 months Herts Police received 1,239 complaints, but only a quarter were finalised. Similar forces completed 43 per cent of complaints in the same time period.

However complaints were less likely to be upheld against Herts Police - 13 per cent, 
compared to 19 per cent with similar forces.

Herts Police carried out 9.9 stop and searches for every 1,000 people. This is more than the 6.5 for comparable forces.

However Herts Police were less likely to use Taser weapons. There were 0.9 instances of them being used in Hertfordshire for every 1,000 people, whereas similar forces used them 1.6 times on average.