West Mercia Police Reviews 

Loathed to give it 1 star as it wouldn't let me write anything otherwise. Utter useless, on two separate occasions I had to contact them, Both times they did sod all. No wonder crime is through the roof as nobody reports stuff as its pointless. Just remember people you pay for this sh1te service. Waste of time.

Gave it one star but to be honest it didn't deserve that disgusting the way they treat people I witnessed there behaviour myself and in my own home there not here to help the public infact they have made my life hell and my son's I complained to and surprise surprise no reply from them I they also need to work on the things like mental health and people's money medical conditions before the dragging someone to the floor and kneeling on them yes this happened in my own home before my own eyes I will never ever to go to the police for help nor will I ever be a witness to anything if ever the matter arises .

Telford police are nothing but racist bullies who love to instigate trouble. They push peoples boundaries and when you fire back its help help because they only can be tough in groups. Sad people who become police officers

As with every service, their are the great,good,ok,bad,very bad and why are you still allowed to work.

The Police have dealt with some violence agaist me the best they could & it fell apart in the Courts.

A sample list of why they are poor is;
1) Most Police Officers etc do not actually know the Law.
2) When I was a minor, they arrested the person who was also abused and nearly killed and the police left me with the abuser.
3) Failure to communicate between departments,victims etc
4) Some use their 'Power' to suppress making any complaint.
5) They don't understand the difference between a NON-MOL and a Restraining Order.
6)Lazy & Rude and are pressured to meet their targets
7) DO NOT trust their tactics - get things in writing, make recordings,request an advocate.
8) If you have witnessed a Crime, think long and hard if you want to get involved. Remember - would they help you?
This list is tip of the iceberg. Remember to record date/time/place/name/rank/number....regardless if victim/witness/defendant.

We are reviewing putting a case too IOPC/Professional Standards.

I wish to echo Rodney's experience of West Mercia Police. Their response to the death of PD Ivy has been appalling - an absolute embarrassment. WMP had a completely lackadaisical approach to dog welfare and in the end a police dog lost her life in the most awful of circumstances. There was also a clear breach of animal welfare legislation - are police officers above the law?.

Those officers responsible (not just Ivy's handler) should have been disciplined at the very least. The RSPCA should also have prosecuted them.

This shower make the Keystone Cops look competent.

Death of PD Ivy

PD Ivy died from heat stroke after being left unattended and unchecked for over two hours in full sun in a West Mercia Police (WMP) vehicle on one of the hottest days of 2018 The WMP issued an initial police statement which claimed that 'Ivy was in a purpose-designed climate-controlled police vehicle'. In fact, the vehicle was an ordinary police vehicle with a standard air-conditioner rigged to run from the car engine when stationery. There was no humidity control (beyond 80% humidity the effectiveness of panting is negated), no thermostat control and no alarm system. The veterinary record showed that during the two hours during which Ivy was left unattended in her vehicle, her body temperature exceeded 43C, the maximum recorded by a veterinary thermometer, whereas the normal temperature for a dog is between 38 to 39.2C

Chief Inspector Mark Colqhoun of the WMP commissioned a Peer Review Report from the Staffordshire Police but the terms of reference were set by the WMP and stated that 'The review is not to attribute blame but to act as a critical friend in establishing the facts surrounding the death of PD Ivy, identifying any lessons to be learned and providing transparency in order to maintain public confidence'. In other words, the Staffordshire Police were forbidden from attaching any blame to the actions of the WMP and far from criticizing the actions of WMP the Staffordshire Police were expected to be their 'critical friend'. The review was NOT intended to establish any culpability for the death of PD Ivy.

In the event, the Staffordshire Police Peer Review was highly critical of WMP and included the following summary comments:
Section 10.10 'There seems to be no recorded or supporting evidence available that shows that consideration was given to the welfare of the resting dogs on the day in question…'
Section 10.11 'It is in my view the responsibility of both training staff and handlers to ensure that regular checks are conducted at all times throughout training and operational deployment and especially in extremes of temperature'

Nevertheless, in a statement issued in October 2018, the WMP blamed equipment failure for the death of PD Ivy and refused to accept any responsibility for her death.

Following the release of the WMP statement, we made an official complaint to the WMP Professional Standards Office but they refused to register our complaint because we were not 'witnesses' and had no 'evidence'. We appealed to the IOPC who told us that we could not use the Staffordshire Police Peer Review as evidence because it is 'a publicly available document which can be accessed or retrieved for public sources'.

The Animal Welfare Act places a duty of care on individuals to ensure that they take reasonable steps in all the circumstances to meet the welfare needs of their animals to the extent required by good practice (RSPCA website). In our opinion, it is manifest that the WMP did NOT take reasonable steps to ensure the welfare needs of PD Ivy.

We requested that the RSPCA make a separate and independent enquiry into the death of PD Ivy but they refused and said that they were satisfied that the Staffordshire Police Force had 'conducted a full and thorough investigation into the circumstances of Ivy's death and did not identify any criminal offences'. They declined to make any further investigation or enquiry.

Our view

The WMP investigated themselves and decided they had done nothing wrong. The Professional Standards Office and the IOPC refused to allow any public complaint against the WMP. The RSPCA accepted the result of the WMP internal investigation without any further investigation or enquiry. Ivy was failed by her police handlers who did not properly ensure her welfare, failed by the senior officers of the WPC who refused to accept responsibility for her death and failed by the RSPCA who refused to independently investigate the circumstances of her death. The whole episode is utterly discreditable to the police force involved, to the IOPC and to the RSPCA.