Surrey Police responds to HMICFRS PEEL report

His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) has today (Thursday, 30 April) published its full PEEL (Police Effectiveness, Efficiency, and Legitimacy) report on the performance of Surrey Police.

The inspection took place in August 2025.  It is one of the national assessments of the 43 police forces in England and Wales. These inspections assess force performance in eight sections. Surrey Police was graded as follows:

• Leadership and force management – REQUIRES IMPROVEMENT
• Attracting, developing, and retaining the workforce and creating a diverse and inclusive workforce – REQUIRES IMPROVEMENT
• Using powers fairly and appropriately – GOOD
• Preventing and deterring crime and anti-social behaviour and reducing vulnerability – GOOD
• Responding to the public – ADEQUATE
• Investigating crime – REQUIRES IMPROVEMENT
• Safeguarding children and adults at risk of harm – ADEQUATE
• Managing fraud – REQUIRES IMPROVEMENT

This inspection forms part of the new PEEL assessment regime introduced by HMICFRS for 2025–27. Direct comparisons cannot be made between the grades awarded in this inspection and those from the previous Surrey Police PEEL report published in 2023, due to changes to the areas of policing inspected and the introduction of new areas of assessment.

An improved crime fighting force

Since HMICFRS last inspected Surrey Police, the charge-summons rate has more than doubled. These charge rates are for the crimes of greatest concern to residents, such as burglary, vehicle crime, assaults, drug dealing, shoplifting, and harassment. Since the 2023 inspection, the force has implemented a successful retail crime strategy and charged 2,345 more suspects with shoplifting.

Better outcome rates in offences of violence against women and girls are also noted, with the total charges for stalking and rape double those at the time of the previous inspection. From 10 May the introduction of a new team, aligned with the national model for investigating rape offences, will also deliver better investigations and improve the quality of service provided to victims and survivors.

Significant improvements in responding to the public

In 2023 the inspectorate applied a cause of concern to Surrey Police in relation to call handling and response times. Following an improvement programme, the force has moved up two gradings and the cause of concern has been lifted.

Non-emergency calls are now answered three minutes faster than a year ago. It now takes on average 12 seconds to answer a 101 call, and 999 calls are answered in two seconds rather than five. Our time to deploy to emergency calls has exceeded the published target of 80% for over a year compared to the 46% reported in 2023, and Surrey Police now answers 93.6% of calls for service in under ten seconds, ranking consistently in the top ten of forces nationally and showing improvement year on year.

Looking forward

Chief Constable Tim De Meyer said, “I welcome today’s PEEL report and accept its findings.

“The period covered by this inspection reflects the first two years of our five-year strategy, which prioritises fighting crime, protecting people, and earning public trust.

“The PEEL report is a fair assessment of our progress made so far, and the improvements still required. We are grateful for the acknowledgement of continued improvement across the force.

“The inspection found encouraging early progress under our five year plan, reporting how we have maintained our good record in crime prevention, problem solving, and visible neighbourhood policing while addressing previous areas of weakness such as response times and charge rates.

“On 10 May we will implement our most important organisational restructure in a generation, a much-needed change to longstanding structures and arrangements. This will ensure that we are resilient and prepared for the crime and policing challenges ahead.

“I am grateful to every officer, member of staff, and volunteer in Surrey Police for their hard work and resilience. Together we are determined to serve victims tirelessly, pursue criminals relentlessly and cut crime in our county.”

His Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary Roy Wilsher said, “I am pleased with some aspects of Surrey Police’s performance and recognise that the chief officer team has improvement plans that are yet to be completed.

“I am satisfied with some aspects of the performance of Surrey Police in keeping people safe, reducing crime and providing victims with an effective service.

“There are still areas in which Surrey Police must do better, but I am optimistic that the plans it has in place will help it make the improvements needed.”

The full PEEL report can be found on the HMICFRS website.