Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS)

Our principal role is summarised in our statement of purpose:To promote improvements in policing and fire & rescue services to make everyone safer.Who we areEstablished in 1856, next to the Home Office, we are the senior institution in the policing landscape, overseeing, inspecting and reporting on the efficiency and effectiveness of all Home Office police forces and a number of others. During summer 2017, our organisation, formally Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, was given an extended remit to inspect England’s fire & rescue services, assessing and reporting on their efficiency, effectiveness and leadership. Our workWe visit police forces and in the coming year fire & rescue services, carrying out inspections on individual functional areas – such as performance management and leadership. In preparing our reports, we ask the questions which citizens would ask, and publish the answers in accessible form, using our expertise to interpret the evidence and make recommendations for improvement. We provide authoritative information to allow the public to compare the performance of their police force – and, in future, their fire and rescue services - against others. Our evidence is used to drive improvements in the service to the public.We also look at critical national issues and themes, across the Police Service as a whole. Current inspections include assessments of undercover policing, and of the police’s response to domestic abuse and child sexual exploitation.We inspect other major policing bodies such as the National Crime Agency, the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the British Transport Police. We also inspect HM Revenue and Customs, and the Police and Guarding Agency, including those at the Sovereign Base in Cyprus.