Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) graded Nottinghamshire Police’s performance across nine areas of policing and found the force was ‘good’ in two areas, ‘adequate’ in six areas and ‘requires improvement’ in one area.
The inspection assessed how good Nottinghamshire Police is in ten areas of policing, and graded judgments were made in nine of those ten as follows:
Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary, Roy Wilsher said:
“I am pleased with some aspects of Nottinghamshire Police’s performance in keeping people safe and reducing crime, but there are areas where it needs to improve.
“The force is good at investigating crime – once a crime is recorded, the force carries out effective investigations, allocating them to staff who have the capacity and capability to investigate them appropriately.
“The force is effective at recruiting a diverse workforce. In the year ending 31 March 2021, the force recruited the highest percentage (19.5 percent) of new police officers who were Black, Asian or from a minority ethnic group, compared with the other 43 forces in England and Wales.
“It has also made significant progress in supporting the wellbeing of its workforce and makes effective use of technology to support frontline policing. The force looks for opportunities to help staff on the front line.
“However, the force needs to improve its crime recording processes, particularly when recording crimes related to violent offences, domestic abuse or behavioural crime.
“The force also needs to improve the way it responds to calls. We found call handlers do not always give callers advice on preventing crime or preserving evidence before officers arrive at a scene.
“Nottinghamshire should also consider its approach to problem-solving policing. We found that most of the time, frontline neighbourhood staff are deployed to areas where they can work with communities, offering reassurance and building confidence in the force. But sometimes neighbourhood teams miss opportunities to involve other organisations and the public in jointly managing and solving problems.
“I look forward to monitoring the force’s progress towards addressing the areas I have identified for improvement.”
HM Inspector’s observations
“I am pleased with some aspects of the performance of Nottinghamshire Police in keeping people safe and reducing crime. I am satisfied with most other aspects of the force’s performance, but there are areas where it needs to improve.
These are the findings I consider most important from our assessments of the force over the last year.
Crime recording needs to improve
The force requires improvement in recording crime. The way overall crime is recorded by the force has remained largely the same since our last inspection in 2018. The force needs to improve its crime recording processes to make sure crimes reported to it are recorded correctly – particularly those related to violent offences, domestic abuse or behavioural crime.
The force needs to improve the way it responds to calls for service
Call handlers are not always giving callers advice on preventing crime or preserving evidence before officers arrive at a scene. And they are sometimes failing to carry out checks to identify repeat victims.
The force needs to improve its approach to problem-solving policing
The force’s approach to problem-solving work within its neighbourhood teams is inconsistent.
We found that most of the time frontline neighbourhood staff are deployed to areas where they can work with communities, offering reassurance and building confidence in the force.
Neighbourhood teams are sometimes missing opportunities to involve other organisations and the public in jointly managing and solving problems. Evaluations of problem-solving work would help the force understand what has or has not worked before, and allow it to learn from successful examples.
The force is good at investigating crime
Once a crime is recorded, the force carries out effective crime investigations. Crimes are allocated promptly to officers and staff who have the capacity and capability to investigate them appropriately. Oversight from supervisors is effective, and opportunities for positive outcomes are sought where possible.
The force is effective at recruiting a diverse workforce
The force works hard to recruit individuals from underrepresented communities. In the year ending 31 March 2021, the force recruited the highest percentage (19.5 percent) of new police officers who were Black, Asian or from a minority ethnic group (BAME), compared with the other 43 forces in England and Wales.
The force has made significant progress in supporting the wellbeing of its workforce
The wellbeing measures offered by the force to its workforce have significantly improved since our last inspection. Officers and staff have welcomed the additional support. It is important that the force continues to offer and establish similar initiatives in the future.
The force makes effective use of technology to support frontline policing
The force looks for opportunities to help staff on the front line. Operational staff have been given electronic mobile devices to allow them to perform their role while out on the streets. And the force has sought government funding to enhance its capacity for examining digital devices: it is due to receive two mobile vans equipped with the technology to download material from phones belonging to victims of serious sexual offences. Software (Power BI) is being introduced to help the force understand performance data and demand.
My report sets out the detailed findings of this inspection. While I acknowledge the good work officers and staff have already carried out in other areas to keep the public safe, I look forward to monitoring the force’s progress towards addressing the areas I have identified where the force needs to improve.
HM Inspector of Constabulary
