New HMI brings a victim-centred lens to police and fire inspections 

Emergency services are used to being inspected. His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services is a long name for an important organisation that shines a spotlight on the work of police and fire and provides assurance to the public. Led by Sir Andy Cooke, there is a small group of His Majesty’s Inspectors (HMIs) who lead the inspections assisted by teams drawn from the civil service and the emergency services.

Kathryn Stone OBE is the newest inspector at HMICFRS and brings a unique perspective to the role. Unlike many of her colleagues who have spent their careers in policing or fire, Kathryn’s experience is rooted in the criminal justice system, with extensive work supporting victims and leading regulatory bodies. Her career spans child protection, mental health, and roles with Voice UK, the Commissioner for Victims and Survivors in Northern Ireland, and the Legal Ombudsman for England and Wales. Catherine Levin caught up with her for our new episode of For Every Response. 

“My granddad was a police officer, and he told me regularly that if you ever see something wrong or bad, you must always speak up,” Kathryn said. “I guess it’s pretty much his fault that I haven’t really shut up ever since, but I like to think I’m carrying on a family tradition of doing the right thing.” 

Her path to HMICFRS was guided not just by inspiration from her grandfather, but by her professional experience too. “My knowledge and experience is about regulation. It’s about inspection. It’s about holding people to account, and importantly, it’s about a victim perspective as well. That’s why I applied for the role – professional excitement, professional opportunities, and a personal sense that it felt like the right thing to do for me,” she explained. 

This focus on victims informs her approach to inspections. Kathryn emphasised that understanding victim experiences is central to judging the effectiveness of both police and fire services. “Victim experiences have to be central to how we judge effectiveness,” she explained. “We take very seriously victim services assessments, looking at everything from initial contact to case outcomes. Police forces and fire and rescue services exist to serve the public, either in times of crisis or to keep them safe or to bring them from harm.” 

Kathryn draws on her previous roles supporting victims of sexual violence, hate crime, and trauma in Northern Ireland to inform her inspections. She has also revisited her early career as a child protection and mental health social worker to assess how police forces safeguard children today. “It’s bringing all that past experience together and using that as a particular lens to look through and inform inspections and outcomes,” she said. 

This perspective extends to fire and rescue services. Kathryn pointed to incidents where teams have had to respond to child fatalities, noting both the care shown to families and the support provided to staff afterwards. “The work they do to protect people from harm, whether through community safety initiatives or emergency response, is hugely impressive,” she said. She also pays attention to how organisations care for their staff. “I’ve listened to Chief Fire Officers talk in detail about how they promote the wellbeing of their teams. Similarly with police officers, we have to make sure people are looked after properly, especially when facing extremely challenging situations, like the civil disorder last summer.” 

“We want to make sure that what we recommend is based on what we actually see and learn on the ground.” 

Kathryn’s regulatory background also informs her understanding of the inspectorate’s role. HMICFRS currently relies on reputation and consent to encourage forces to implement recommendations, but there is a push for more powers. “Our chief inspector is working very closely with government to bring about the manifesto pledge, to give us more powers to intervene or direct forces to implement recommendations,” she explained. “Evidence-based recommendations can make a real difference to community safety, but having the authority to ensure they’re implemented would amplify that impact.” 

A key area of focus for Kathryn is super complaints, which spotlight systemic issues such as stalking. “Super complaints are a really important way of bringing a specific issue to light,” she said. “We want to highlight harmful patterns and work with other agencies to genuinely enhance victim safety and confidence.” 

Early in her tenure, Kathryn is focused on listening, learning, and understanding the sector. She emphasised that inspections are informed by a combination of past experience and careful evidence collection, including data gathered by inspection teams and observations from frontline staff.  

Kathryn’s unique combination of regulatory expertise, criminal justice experience, and victim-centred perspective positions her to bring fresh insight to HMICFRS. As the inspectorate prepares for a new chief inspector in April, her approach signals a continued commitment to improving services for victims and communities alike, ensuring inspections go beyond compliance and make a tangible difference in people’s lives. 

Listen to the episode below.

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