Victims of domestic abuse are not receiving satisfactory levels of support from Humberside Police, according to a new report.
The HM Inspectorate of Constabulary has today released critical findings after an assessment into police effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy within the force.
Inspectors said they had "specific concerns" about the force's approach to domestic abuse, which was described as "fragmented and inconsistent".
The report states the force needs to "significantly improve" the accuracy of crime-recording decisions and investigations must be better supervised.
Public perception of Humberside Police is also worse than the national average. Overall, 52 per cent of adults surveyed think officers do either a good or excellent job, compared to 61 per cent across England and Wales.
However, the force has been ranked as 'good' for its work to tackle antisocial behaviour.
And the report also recognises that crime figures have fallen over the past four years.
Michael Cunningham, HM Inspector of Constabulary for the Northern Region, said: "Humberside Police does not provide a consistent level of service to victims of crime, investigations are not always effectively supervised and victims of domestic abuse may not have received the level of support they needed. We have some specific concerns about its approach to domestic abuse."
On domestic abuse, the report states: "Although domestic abuse is a priority for Humberside, there is a fragmented and inconsistent approach across the force and victims may not have received the level of support they needed.
"The inspection found that high-risk cases were generally dealt with well, but there was concern about standard and medium-risk cases, particularly repeat cases where the true level of risk may not be understood."
Humberside Police must cut £31m from its budget by 2019. Despite outlining plans to get rid of 200 officers and more than 500 members of staff, the force still needs to find a further £9m.
Mr Cunningham added: "The force has introduced a new leadership style and the culture of the organisation is now more able to support the level of change resulting from a reduction in the workforce, and while progress has been made, with plans for a new affordable structure being well under way, the force has not yet found the required recurring savings."
The crime data integrity inspection examined 168 incident records at Humberside Police and found that 129 crimes should have been recorded. However, only 94 were actually recorded. Of these 94, three were wrongly classified and four were recorded outside the 72-hour limit allowed under the Home Office Counting Rules.
The report goes on to say the force needs to improve its effectiveness when investigating offending. It states: "Humberside Police has safeguarding arrangements in place to support some, but not all, vulnerable victims.
"An examination of crime investigations highlighted little record of supervisory oversight and review.
"The use of plans to direct investigations to a satisfactory conclusion is inconsistent."
David Griffin, Deputy Chief Constable at Humberside Police, said the force would take on board the recommendations made by HMIC, but also pointed to positive findings, including a "good" rating for its work to tackle antisocial behaviour.
He said: "Despite highlighting that improvement is required in the areas of reducing crime, preventing offending and investigating offending, the report acknowledges that our new model 'One Force' will present an opportunity for Humberside Police to address areas for improvement highlighted in this report.
"The report has given Humberside Police a "good" rating with regard to tackling antisocial behaviour. It recognises the strong partnerships we have built and the fact that we play a pivotal role in uniting our partners across the Humberside Policing area.
"It also recognises the public are less likely to be victims of antisocial behaviour here than in other parts of the country.
"We have taken the comments of HMIC on board. Many of the recommendations have already been identified."
Humberside police and crime commissioner Matthew Grove said: "I am confident the implementation of the new 'One Force' model, which is now beginning, will address many of the issues already identified and confirmed in the HMIC report.
"I appreciate the length of time, however, to introduce the changes necessary to modernise the force to cope with the changes required while at the same time coping with significant financial reductions could not be rushed.
"The new model will ensure a force fit for the 21st century and able to properly protect and serve the public."
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