CUMBRIA Constabulary has received an ‘Outstanding’ grade in its PEEL inspection. 

The Constabulary has been told it excels in 'providing a supportive environment for new recruits which allows them to develop, encourages them to remain in Force with their workload being reviewed weekly to ensure balance.'

Alongside the ‘Outstanding’, the Constabulary also received six ‘Good’ and two ‘Adequate’ ratings. Cumbria Constabulary is the only Force to date to receive an ‘Outstanding’ in ‘Building, Supporting and Protecting the Workforce’ and ‘Good’ ratings for ‘Responding to the Public’ and ‘Investigating Crime’ in the latest round of PEEL inspections.

Cumbria’s police, fire and crime commissioner, David Allen, said: “This is an excellent outcome for Cumbria Constabulary. The Chief Constable should be incredibly pleased with this report and proud of his Officers and staff.

“Being ‘Outstanding’ in supporting staff is no mean feat. Without the right support, Officers and Staff cannot protect the public to the best of their ability.

"Some Officers also see the worst scenes that any of us could imagine on a daily, weekly, monthly basis so it’s imperative that those who experience trauma are supported to ensure their mental health is maintained.

“This really is a brilliant report, and I am incredibly pleased that HMICFRS agrees that Cumbria Constabulary deserves recognition for all their efforts."

Chief Constable Rob Carden, added: “We welcome HMICFRS’ PEEL inspection report, published today, which shares the findings of an independent, robust scrutiny process by a team of inspectors over the past year.

“The grades are a huge endorsement of what we are doing in Cumbria and I am delighted that the exceptional efforts of police officers, police staff, volunteers and partners have received such well-deserved recognition.

“The following grades represent a significant improvement on our previous positive inspection.

”I am particularly pleased that Cumbria has become the first force in the current round of PEEL inspections to be graded as ‘outstanding’ for Building, Supporting and Protecting the Workforce and ‘good’ for both Investigating Crime and Responding to the Public."