Nottinghamshire PEEL 2015

The force has a good and growing understanding of the demand it faces, and it is developing its knowledge of new and emerging demand. There is a demand profile which assesses demand through quantitative performance measures, and activity analysis to inform the resource allocation model.

The new operating model is trying to improve the overall victims’ experience of police contact. The force is developing its understanding of how the public contact the police.

There is innovative activity with partners to reduce demand, and an ambitious prevention programme with partners, which is important to delivering long-term change.

There is a good assessment of what different service areas cost and whether or not they provide value for money.

Police recorded crime has reduced over the period of the spending review and the victim satisfaction rate at the end of the period was higher than the rate for England and Wales.

There is a wealth of information available to staff on the intranet but there is recognition that communicating through email and the intranet is not as effective as messages given by first and second line managers. Similarly, police staff unions feel they are not as engaged as they want to be in consultations about organisational change.

The force is putting in place a new operating model using phased implementation rather than a ‘big bang’ approach. The ‘delivering the future’ change programme is moving the force towards a sustainable and affordable model – but this is not yet in place. Five years into the period of austerity, the force is still not currently matching its available resources to meet the overall demand for policing.

The new model to deliver policing services is based on providing a better experience for victims. The model has prevention at its core, with dedicated points of contact for victims.

The size of the workforce is expected to continue to shrink throughout the next five years. Skill gaps and workforce mix is better understood in investigations than in the rest of the force. This is a risk to ensuring the effective deployment of all staff to meet operational needs.

As the force implements the new model, HMIC would be looking for marked improvement in terms of matching resources to demand within its current and future budget.

The force has a good track record of sound financial management, accurate budgeting and delivering planned savings. There is good control of expenditure with financial assumptions being deliberately prudent.

Balancing the budget depends on the timely delivery of the force’s action plan for efficiencies and savings and on the effective management of budgets. This plan is constantly monitored, risks are identified and savings are on track.

There is effective oversight and scrutiny. Key financial and performance information is shared with the police and crime commissioner, enabling him to hold the chief constable to account for the delivery of performance and to ensure that budgets are monitored and managed appropriately. The force’s change plans are closely aligned to the priorities within the police and crime plan.

The force has secured other sources of funding through collaborating with other police forces in the East Midlands region. It has also secured Home Office funding for body-worn video, and funding from a number of partners to support an initiative which aims to reduce demand.

Most of the required savings are designed to be achieved by implementing the new operating model and by effective financial management. However, this will not be sufficient to deliver a balanced budget, in the longer term and further savings will be necessary.