Northamptonshire Police commended for improvements, but further changes are needed
Northamptonshire Police has improved the service it provides to the public, but it needs to make further changes, the police inspectorate has said.
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PEEL 2021/22 – An inspection of Northamptonshire Police
Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) graded Northamptonshire Police’s performance across 10 areas of policing and found the force was ‘adequate’ in four areas and ‘requires improvement’ in six areas.
HMICFRS said the areas requiring improvement included how the force protects vulnerable people and how it manages offenders.
Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary Roy Wilsher said:
“I am satisfied with some aspects of the performance of Northamptonshire Police, but there are areas where the force needs to improve.
“Northamptonshire Police has embarked on a major change programme since our last inspection and has addressed, or is addressing, most of the problems we found. By introducing new scrutiny and audit processes and recruiting more detectives, the force has made improvements in how it investigates crime. The force is also investing in neighbourhood policing to improve its ability to prevent crime.
“However, the force needs to get better at co-ordinating its community engagement and public scrutiny work. There is limited public scrutiny of its use of police powers, which needs to be addressed to make sure the force acts fairly and proportionately.
“The force is also missing opportunities to secure meaningful outcomes for victims, and it needs to make sure it can identify and support repeat victims so they can be properly safeguarded.
“Overall, I commend the progress made by Northamptonshire Police in improving the service it provides to the public. The force has clear plans for further improvements, which I will continue to monitor.”
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PEEL 2021/22 – An inspection of Northamptonshire Police
Notes
- In 2014, we introduced our police effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy (PEEL) inspections, which assess the performance of all 43 police forces in England and Wales. Since then, we have been continuously adapting our approach and this year has seen the most significant changes yet.
- We are moving to a more intelligence-led, continual assessment approach, rather than the annual PEEL inspections we used in previous years. We have also changed our approach to graded judgments. We now assess forces against the characteristics of good performance, and we more clearly link our judgments to causes of concern and areas for improvement.
- We have also expanded our previous four-tier system of judgments to five tiers. As a result, we can state more precisely where we consider improvement is needed and highlight more effectively the best ways of doing things.
- However, these changes mean that it isn’t possible to make direct comparisons between the grades awarded this year with those from previous PEEL inspections. A reduction in grade, particularly from good to adequate, does not necessarily mean that there has been a reduction in performance, unless we say so in the report.
- More information about the new PEEL assessment framework 2021/22 is available on our website.
- For further information, please contact the HMICFRS Press Office on 07836 217 729 or HMICPressOffice@hmicfrs.gov.uk.