PEEL assessments 2023 – 2025
The PEEL inspection programme is an assessment of the effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy of police forces in England and Wales. This page sets out information specific to the 2023 – 2025 inspection cycle.
Overview of PEEL 2023 – 2025
We continuously adapt our approach to PEEL inspections. In 2021/22 we introduced the most significant changes yet. You can read about these on the PEEL 2021/22 page, including how we expanded our four-tier system of judgments to five tiers.
What has changed?
The PEEL assessment framework has been updated to reflect current priorities in policing and what we learned during the previous PEEL cycle. In this cycle, we will:
- inspect more aspects of leadership in forces at all levels;
- increase our focus on whether forces are achieving outcomes for the public that make communities safer; and
- inspect how forces are ensuring those newly recruited into the organisation are retained and how they develop its front-line leaders.
PEEL assessment framework
We set core questions for each PEEL assessment. These form the PEEL assessment framework. We gather evidence about each force so that we can answer these core questions. Police forces are given a grade for each core question, unless stated otherwise.
The grades are:
- Outstanding – The force has substantially exceeded the characteristics of good performance
- Good – The force has demonstrated substantially the characteristics of good performance
- Adequate – We have identified an appreciable number of areas where the force should make improvements
- Requires improvement – We have identified a sufficiently substantial number of areas where the force needs to make improvements
- Inadequate – We have causes of concern and have made recommendations to the force to address them
These are the core questions for all forces for PEEL 2023 – 2025.
- How good is the force’s service for victims of crime? This question isn’t graded.
- How good is the force at treating the public fairly, appropriately and respectfully?
- How good is the force at preventing and deterring crime, antisocial behaviour (ASB), and reducing vulnerability?
- How good is the force at responding to the public?
- How good is the force at investigating crime?
- How good is the force at protecting vulnerable people?
- How good is the force at managing offenders and suspects?
- How good is the force at disrupting serious and organised crime?
- How good is the force at building, developing and looking after its workforce and encouraging an ethical, lawful and inclusive workplace?
- How good is the force at leading and managing its services to make sure they are efficient, effective and sustainable?
- How effectively does the force vet its officers and staff?
- How effectively does the force protect the information it holds and tackle potential corruption?
The full PEEL assessment framework sets out what’s required to receive a ‘good’ grade for each of the core questions.
Read the PEEL assessment framework for 2023-2025
Reducing crime assessment
In 2023-2025 we will continue to focus on force performance relating to whether a force is doing all it can to reduce crime. We will draw on evidence from across the PEEL assessment framework to inform a narrative assessment on this in each force report.
Leadership
In 2023-2025 there will be a narrative assessment in force PEEL reports that focuses on leadership at all levels in the force. We will use the College of Policing leadership expectations as the basis, which are:
- Inspiring common purpose
- Developing and valuing people
- Building an inclusive workplace
- Leading across boundaries
- Performance and improvement
- Understanding self and others
We will draw evidence from across the PEEL assessment framework to inform our leadership narrative.