Northamptonshire PEEL Assessment 2023–2025

Overall summary

Our judgments

Our inspection assessed how good Northamptonshire Police is in ten areas of policing. We make graded judgments in nine of these ten as follows:

We also inspected how effective a service Northamptonshire Police gives to victims of crime. We don’t make a graded judgment in this overall area.

We set out our detailed findings about things the force is doing well and where the force should improve in the rest of this report.

We also assess the force’s performance in a range of other areas and we report on these separately. We make graded judgments for some of these areas.

PEEL 2023–2025

In 2014, we introduced our police efficiency, effectiveness 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.

We have moved to a more intelligence-led, continual assessment approach, rather than the annual PEEL inspections we used in previous years. Forces are assessed against the characteristics of good performance, set out in the PEEL Assessment Framework 2023–2025, and we more clearly link our judgments to causes of concern and areas for improvement.

It isn’t possible to make direct comparisons between the grades awarded in this PEEL inspection and those from the previous cycle of PEEL inspections. This is because we have increased our focus on making sure forces are achieving appropriate outcomes for the public, and in some cases we have changed the aspects of policing we inspect.

Terminology in this report

Our reports contain references to, among other things, ‘national’ definitions, priorities, policies, systems, responsibilities and processes.

In some instances, ‘national’ means applying to England or Wales, or England and Wales. In others, it means applying to England, Wales and Scotland, or the whole of the United Kingdom.

HM Inspector’s summary

I am pleased with some aspects of Northamptonshire Police’s performance in keeping people safe, reducing crime and providing victims with an effective service. But there are areas in which it needs to improve.

Since our last inspection, the force has made a concerted effort to review and improve its performance. In particular, it has improved how it communicates with its communities to identify local problems and gather intelligence. The force has made improvements in most areas and I commend the force for the progress it has made.

But I have concerns about how the force is investigating crime. We were concerned that offenders may not always be brought to justice and that victims weren’t always getting the most appropriate outcomes. For example, the force doesn’t always follow national policy on issuing community resolutions in cases of intimate partner domestic abuse. We alerted the force about this problem at the time of our inspection, and since then it has started work to address our concerns. We will continue to monitor performance in this area.

My principal findings are as follows:

• Officers understand the importance of appropriate behaviours, and they communicate effectively with the public. Supervisors and an external panel scrutinise and challenge use of stop and search effectively. In most cases, the force records reasonable grounds for using stop and search. While the force is increasing its use of this police power, it needs to make sure its officers feel confident in using it.
• The force works effectively in partnership with a wide range of other agencies to divert young people away from crime. But there are areas in which it needs to improve, including consistency in recording and evaluation of problem-solving activity.
• The force needs to improve how it responds to the public. The force isn’t answering 999 calls within the timescales set by national targets or attending non emergency calls within set times. And we found that it didn’t always update victims about delays.

However, at the time of our inspection, the force had recently invested in its control room to improve how it responds to the public. It was also addressing surplus demand from another force. We will continue to monitor the force’s performance in this area.

The force also needs to make sure that it monitors performance effectively at all levels. It should regularly review its strategic decisions, policies and processes to assess whether they are effective and achieve their objectives. And it needs to make sure it has effective governance of its data systems to maximise opportunities to increase productivity.

In the months leading up to our inspection, there was an amount of instability in the chief officer team due to several vacancies and chief officer appointments. And a short time after our inspection, the chief constable was suspended pending the outcome of a misconduct investigation. We will closely monitor the how this affects the force’s performance and how it meets the public’s needs.

Roy Wilsher

HM Inspector of Constabulary

Providing a service to the victims of crime

Victim service assessment

This section describes our assessment of the service Northamptonshire Police provides to victims. This is from the point of reporting a crime and throughout the investigation. As part of this assessment, we reviewed 100 case files.

When the police close a case of a reported crime, they assign it an ‘outcome type’. This describes the reason for closing it.

We selected 100 cases to review, including at least 20 that the force had closed with the following outcome:

• A community resolution (with or without formal restorative justice) has been applied in accordance with College of Policing guidance.

Although our victim service assessment is ungraded, it influences graded judgments in the other areas we have inspected.

The force needs to improve the time it takes to answer emergency and non-emergency calls. The force identifies repeat victims

The force needs to improve the time it takes to answer emergency calls and reduce further the number of non-emergency calls that the caller abandons because they aren’t answered. When it does answer a call, it uses a structured process that takes into account threat, harm, risk and vulnerability (THRIVE).

The force identifies repeat victims when calls are made to the force control room (FCR) but doesn’t always consider the victim’s circumstances when deciding what response it should give. We found that call handlers were polite and gave crime prevention advice. But they didn’t always give victims advice on how to preserve evidence.

The force doesn’t always respond promptly to calls for service

On some occasions, the force responds to calls for service appropriately. But on almost half of the occasions we examined, it didn’t respond within set timescales. It doesn’t always inform victims about delays, meaning that victims’ expectations aren’t always met. This may cause victims to lose confidence and disengage from the process.

The force crime recording is of an outstanding standard when it comes to making sure victims receive an appropriate level of service

The force has effective crime recording processes in place to make sure that all crimes reported to it are recorded correctly and without delay.

We set out more details about the force’s crime recording in the ‘Recording data about crime’ section.

The force doesn’t always carry out effective investigations

We found that in most cases, the force carried out investigations in a timely way. But, in some cases, relevant and proportionate lines of enquiry weren’t completed. The force didn’t always supervise investigations. But, in the cases we examined, the force regularly updated victims on the progress of the investigation. Victims are more likely to have confidence in a police investigation when they receive regular updates.

A thorough investigation increases the likelihood of perpetrators being identified and arrested providing a positive result for the victim. In all cases we reviewed, victim personal statements were taken, which gives victims the opportunity to describe how that crime has affected their lives.

When victims withdraw support for an investigation, the force considers progressing the case without the victim’s support. This can be an important method of safeguarding the victim and preventing further offences from being committed. In some cases, the force didn’t always record whether it considered using orders designed to protect victims, such as a Domestic Violence Protection Notice (DVPN) or Domestic Violence Protection Order (DVPO).

The Code of Practice for Victims of Crime requires forces to carry out a needs assessment at an early stage to determine whether victims need additional support. The force usually carried out this assessment and recorded the request for additional support.

The force doesn’t always assign the right outcome type to an investigation, and it doesn’t always hold auditable records of victims’ wishes

Northamptonshire Police isn’t consistently providing a level of service that makes sure it achieves appropriate outcomes for victims of crime. It doesn’t always close crimes with the appropriate outcome type. It records a clear rationale for using a certain outcome in most cases, but this decision isn’t always effectively supervised. The force seeks victims’ views when deciding which outcome type to assign to a closed investigation. But, when required, an auditable record of the victim’s wishes wasn’t always obtained. On most occasions the force informed victims of what outcome code was assigned to the investigation.

Recording data about crime

Northamptonshire Police is outstanding at recording crime.

The Home Office Counting Rules, which provide the standard for crime recording in England and Wales, have changed since the last time we inspected the force for crime data integrity. This change mainly relates to the way forces record violent crime. This means we can no longer compare the findings from this audit to those from previous audits.

We estimate that Northamptonshire Police is recording 95.9 percent (with a confidence interval of +/- 1.9 percent) of all reported crime (excluding fraud).

We estimate that the force is recording 94.5 percent (with a confidence interval of +/- 4.0 percent) of sexual offences.

We estimate that the force is recording 98.0 percent (with a confidence interval of +/- 2.2 percent) of violent offences.

Main findings

In this section we set out our main findings that relate to crime data integrity.

The force records rape offences effectively

Since 2020, the force has improved how it records rape offences. We found that 42 out of 43 rape crimes were recorded correctly. One rape crime was misclassified as a N100 (reported incident of rape), but it had been investigated and the victim had received a good service. Rape is one of the most serious crimes a victim can experience. Therefore, it is especially important that crimes are recorded accurately to make sure victims receive the service and support they expect and deserve.

The force records crimes committed against vulnerable victims effectively

The force nearly always records all crimes against vulnerable victims. We examined 66 incidents and found that 48 of 49 crimes were recorded correctly. The one unrecorded crime was in circumstances where it wasn’t at all clear that a crime had been committed. Recording crimes committed against the most vulnerable people in society is particularly important.

The force has improved how quickly it records crime

The force has improved how quickly it records crime. In 2020, we found that 79 percent of crimes were recorded within 24 hours of being reported. In 2023, we found that the force now records 93 percent of its crime within 24 hours. It is important that crime reported by victims is recorded in a timely fashion as it helps victims to access victim support services quickly and investigations to start without delay.

Police powers and treating the public fairly and respectfully

Northamptonshire Police is good at using police powers and treating people fairly and respectfully.

Main findings

In this section we set out our main findings that relate to police powers and treating people fairly and respectfully.

Officers understand and use stop and search powers fairly and appropriately

During our inspection, we reviewed a sample of 192 stop and search records from 1 January to 31 December 2022. Based on this sample, we estimate that 89.1 percent (with a confidence interval of +/- 4.3 percent) of all stop and searches by the force during this period had reasonable grounds recorded. This is compared with the findings from our previous review in 2020, when we found 94.2 percent (with a confidence interval of +/- 4.5 percent) of stop and searches had reasonable grounds recorded. Of the records we reviewed for stop and searches on people from ethnic minorities, 34 of 38 had reasonable grounds recorded.

This suggests that Northamptonshire Police officers are suitably trained and that they use stop and search powers in a fair and appropriate way.

The force has improved the stop and search training it provides to officers but needs to do more to improve their confidence to use this power

In our 2021 PEEL inspection report, we said that the force needed to make sure officers were trained and confident to use stop and search fairly and appropriately. Training in stop and search forms part of initial recruit training. Officers we spoke to during our inspection had a good knowledge of these powers.

Since our last PEEL inspection, the force has put in place annual refresher training for longer-serving officers. This training is scenario-based, using community observers from a local college. It includes police powers and insight into lived experience. The observers give feedback to officers around their communication style. And police trainers provide guidance and oversight to make sure that the grounds are lawful and that officers follow procedure. Officers we spoke to were aware of this training. But we still found that some of them lack confidence in using these powers.

We were told by supervisors that while they are required to review every stop and search encounter, they haven’t received any training to understand what the force expects of them. This means the force is missing an opportunity to maximise the effectiveness of this process.

Officers are making appropriate use of stop and search as an investigative tactic to prevent and detect crime

In the year ending 31 March 2022, the force carried out 3,156 stop and searches. This is 4.0 stop and searches per 1,000 population, which is in line with other forces in England and Wales. In the year ending 31 March 2022, there was a 11.3 percent increase in the number of stop and searches compared to the year ending 31 March 2021. Over this same period, the use of stop and search decreased by 25.9 percent across England and Wales. During this period, based on population data from the 2021 Census, Black or Black British people were 3.2 times more likely to be stopped and searched by Northamptonshire Police, compared to 4.8 times more likely across England and Wales.

During stop and searches, Northamptonshire Police officers found the item sought in 29.3 percent of all cases. This value is higher than other forces in England and Wales and indicates that use of stop and search in Northamptonshire Police is effective.

We have seen how the force is continuing to monitor and improve its use of this police power. Stop and searches that result in items not being found are discussed and included within training. Officers are asked to consider whether any alternative police action could be taken instead, such as waiting longer or submitting the circumstances as police intelligence.

The force is working to improve its recording of use of force

In the year ending 31 March 2022, Northamptonshire Police recorded 7,880 use of force incidents. This was an increase of 17.9 percent compared to the previous year. Based on the number of arrests, we estimate that Northamptonshire Police under records its use of force by 3,811 incidents.

While this under-recording isn’t significant, the force is working to understand it and is currently reviewing its policy. We will continue to monitor this area.

The force has access to data and uses it to better understand the effect of stop and search and use of force on the community

Northamptonshire Police is using data to develop a better understanding of the effect of stop and search and use of force on the community. In one example, the data identified a significant increase in use of stop and search at a specific location. This was found to be linked to a particular individual and their criminal associates and activities. The force was reassured there was no disproportionality associated with use of this police power which could have negatively affected public trust and confidence.

The force has identified that some of its data isn’t reliable in terms of locations where force is used. It is currently working to resolve this issue.

The force publishes data on its website regarding stop and search and use of force. However, this data is complex and doesn’t include any analysis. Improving the quality of data that is published will improve transparency regarding the use of these police powers and will help build public trust and confidence in policing.

The force responds to feedback to improve its response to stop and search and use of force

All Northamptonshire Police officers are issued with a body worn video (BWV) device which they are expected to use when exercising police powers. There are high levels of compliance with this which allows BWV footage to be reviewed at a later stage. The force has an internal scrutiny process where supervisors review all stop and search encounters and dip sample five use of force incidents each month. BWV is available and reviewed as part of this process.

During our audit we identified a stop and search encounter that raised concerns about the officer’s conduct from their BWV. We made senior leaders aware, and they were quick to respond and act appropriately.

The force has an effective external scrutiny panel with representation from community members. The panel is co-chaired by a community member and a senior officer. The community member independently selects cases for review by the panel. The panel meets quarterly and scrutinises officers’ use of stop and search and use of force, including by reviewing BWV footage. Panel members are given information around police powers, procedure and national standards of professional behaviour before reviewing officers’ interactions. There was good representation of individuals from ethnic minority backgrounds and young people at the panel meeting we observed. And members were confident to challenge and speak out.

In the meeting we observed, members only scrutinised three stop and search encounters and three occasions involving use of force. This panel provided value and insight into Northamptonshire Police’s use of police powers. The force may benefit from reviewing more cases. The force is seeking ways to continue to improve its external scrutiny and is responsive to feedback. This is positive.

Members of the workforce are aware of the audit regime around stop and search but don’t generally view it as a supportive process. It isn’t clear whether all opportunities to share positive feedback are being maximised within the force.

The force understands the importance of appropriate behaviours and officers generally demonstrate effective communication

The force provides training to its police personnel in tactical communication skills during personal safety training. This includes conflict management, de-escalation models and cultural awareness, using examples of lived experience and input from staff associations. During our audit we identified a stop and search encounter where the officer had demonstrated exemplary communication skills when interacting with a young person. This was shared with the force who intend to use it as a positive example in training.

However, while the force has identified the need to provide unconscious bias training, at the time we inspected this it hadn’t been completed. This training will further improve the skills and understanding officers have when interacting with members of the community.

Preventing and deterring crime and antisocial behaviour, and reducing vulnerability

Northamptonshire Police is adequate at prevention and deterrence.

Main findings

In this section we set out our main findings that relate to prevention and deterrence.

The force uses its own and some shared data to identify and prioritise vulnerable people, groups and locations, for early intervention and prevention opportunities

The force is effective at drawing together and sharing relevant data to understand crime, antisocial behaviour and vulnerability. A partnership team called The Observatory gives the force access to data from community safety and other partner organisations. It also gives access to three jointly funded analysts. The Observatory is used by the force and its partners for early intervention and prevention activity, primarily around youth offending, neighbourhood crime and serious violence.

In one example the force gave us, The Observatory identified 19 young people who were suspected of knife-enabled robbery or violence. Police and youth justice workers jointly visited these young people and invited them to sign up to the ‘turnaround project’. This is an early intervention project aimed at supporting young people away from crime.

The force gave us another example that took place after a violent crime in Northampton involving a young person. The force used Observatory data to identify several schools with high exclusion rates for pupils carrying weapons which hadn’t resulted in police action. It then commissioned an external company to work with young people in these schools to outline the risks and consequences of carrying knives. The force told us that feedback from the schools was positive, both about the number of pupils taking part and how well they responded to these sessions.

The Observatory is a relatively new concept. It would benefit from Northamptonshire Police providing clear governance and oversight to clarify its expectations of Observatory activity.

The force communicates well with communities, listening, understanding and responding to what matters to local people including hard-to-reach communities

Northamptonshire Police listens and responds well to the local community. To do so it uses face-to-face meetings, as well as online and written information for the public. The force has two ‘beat buses’ that travel around the county. These buses provide a place where the public can meet their local policing teams, talk about crime and policing activity in their area and share any concerns they may have. The force uses its website to advertise where these buses will be.

The force also has two full-time community engagement officers whose job is to engage with hard-to-reach communities. We were told about some work they had done to reduce the vulnerability of asylum seekers being exploited by serious and organised crime groups.

In July 2023, the force introduced an interactive online platform called Northamptonshire Talking. The force told us that, at the time of our inspection, just under 36,000 households had signed up to the service. It hopes to expand this number significantly through its daily interactions with members of the public. Subscribers determine what type of messages they receive and in which language. The force can send messages relevant to specific locations. It told us that sign up from seldom-heard communities is increasing, which is providing greater representation of the local community.

The force is using Northamptonshire Talking to work more effectively with people in different communities, and to support crime investigation and prevention. This is positive. It told us about a neighbourhood alert that went out in response to a report of vehicle crime. The alert was sent with a picture of an offender who had their face covered. A member of the public responded after checking their personal CCTV and identifying the same suspect with their face uncovered. The offender was charged with the offence and crime prevention advice was widened to adjoining streets.

Northamptonshire Talking is a two-way platform. Subscribers can reply directly to neighbourhood officers and have their say on local policing priorities. But the force should consider how it monitors this incoming information, to guarantee compliance with crime recording and make sure that intelligence is transferred onto other systems.

The force told us that it carries out locally informed priority surveys (LIPs) to make sure it understands what is important to the public. Along with local crime statistics and information from partner organisations, it uses the survey results to set priorities in local areas. The force told us that in the second quarter of 2023 it had received 3,469 completed LIPs. These surveys are seen as an important way to find out what matters to communities and create confidence.

We saw an example of how the force uses a ‘You said, We did’ publication on its website to update communities on police activity relating to local priorities. In one example, it informed the public about how it had executed 15 warrants relating to drug dealing and misuse across Northampton. The communication included information about the drugs, cash and weapons seized, as well as what safeguarding activity had taken place for children linked to these incidents.

The force tackles antisocial behaviour in several ways. It works with partner organisations in the community safety partnership, and via community 1 meetings, to identify and manage chronic and repeat antisocial behaviour. It has a dedicated antisocial behaviour sergeant who provides tactical advice and guidance to neighbourhood teams, focusing on early prevention and intervention. Some neighbourhood teams have access to a messaging system called Northampton Town Anti-Social Behaviour Reporting Scheme. This was set up by the business improvement district so local businesses can bring low-level antisocial behaviour issues to the attention of the police and their partner organisations. The force has also signed up to the ASB Help Pledge, which allows members of the community to trigger independent reviews of antisocial behaviour issues. Being part of this process has improved the service the force is able to offer victims. In one case the force told us about, additional support was provided by adult support agencies.

The force is increasing the visibility of its workforce in the community

Northamptonshire Police is working hard to increase the visibility of its workforce in the community, particularly in ‘priority areas’. These are ‘hot spot’ areas for offences such as vehicle crime and residential burglary. The force expects response and neighbourhood officers and police community support officers (PCSOs) to spend 60 percent of their time in the community. This allows for the fact that activities such as file work and dealing with prisoners has to take place in police stations. The force measures this based on airwaves radio data.

However, the force would benefit from improving its understanding of the effect this visibility is having on local communities and the amount of crime in priority areas.

Neighbourhood officers are routinely being diverted away from their main duties due to demand

When officers are diverted from their main duties due to demand, this is known as abstraction. Some neighbourhood officers in Northamptonshire Police are being abstracted to meet demand on response teams. This is in line with the force’s abstraction policy which states there will always be exceptional and unforeseen circumstances where it becomes necessary to redeploy to other policing areas or duties. However, the policy also states that this decision will need to make sure that the necessity ‘is based on critical need and not simply high demand’.

Officers that we spoke to said abstraction levels are improving. However, they told us they are still supporting response teams every day due to demand. This is affecting their ability to be proactive in their local areas.

The force would benefit from a better understanding of the effect of diverting neighbourhood officers from their core role, which includes problem-solving and working with people in the community.

The force has invested in its neighbourhood policing, but PCSO numbers are declining

In 2021, during our last PEEL inspection of Northamptonshire Police, the force told us it had 50 police officers dedicated to neighbourhood policing. At that time, it was investing in neighbourhood policing in order to improve its ability to prevent and detect crime. For the year ending February 2023, the force told us its neighbourhood policing establishment had risen to 117, with a vacancy factor of 19.7 percent. While the number of police officers is increasing – and the force says it intends to double this number – the number of PCSOs has declined. The data shows there were 73 PCSOs in 2022/23, a 9.4 percent decrease from 80 in the previous year. This is reducing visibility and risks undermining effective neighbourhood policing.

The force has introduced formal training for its neighbourhood officers. Working with Northamptonshire University, officers are offered professional development training leading to a formal qualification. This consists of three days of classroom-based learning, one day online and two protected learning days for project work. The content of the course includes PCSO powers, legitimacy, working with communities, antisocial behaviour, problem-solving and working with partner organisations.

The force places value on its volunteers

The force has a ‘citizen in policing’ strategy which aims to provide an effective, value for-money service, building on the success of the Special Constabulary, Northamptonshire Emergency Service Cadets and police service volunteers. There is a dedicated manager who is supported by a sergeant and four co-ordinators, with chief officer oversight. They work closely with a local business which provides access to its amenities and additional marketing opportunities.

Volunteers assist the force across several different roles. The force told us this includes 120 special constables who predominantly support response and neighbourhood policing. There are plans for 14 to receive training to work in the FCR. We were also told there are 130 volunteers working across the force. Some volunteers work in specialist teams and others perform administrative functions. And there are 320 tri-service cadets across police, fire and ambulance.

The force values and recognises the work of the volunteers. For example the force told us about a cadet who won the national ‘Lord Ferrers Cadet of the Year’ for their work supporting young people in custody. The aim of the ‘trauma informed custody’ initiative is to reduce the trauma of a young person’s time in custody and help them to leave with more support than when they entered.

The force is innovative in its development of a performance framework for citizens in policing. This has been devised with academic support and includes several qualitative measures including the effect on volunteers themselves. This framework wasn’t in place at the time of our inspection. But it has the potential to lead the way in understanding the true effect that citizens in policing are having for the force. We will watch with particular interest to see how this develops.

Responding to the public

In August 2024, the grade for ‘Responding to the public’ was changed from ‘adequate’ to ‘requires improvement’. The change was made because the original data supplied to HMICFRS by Northamptonshire Police for this question was incorrect.

Northamptonshire Police requires improvement at responding to the public.

Main findings

In this section we set out our main findings that relate to how well the force responds to the public.

The force uses structured triage so it can prioritise calls and give the public an appropriate response

As part of our victim service assessment, we found that in 63 of the 64 calls we reviewed, the force recorded a structured triage and risk assessment. THRIVE was accurate and meaningful in 52 of 52 cases. We also found that the initial prioritisation grading of the call was appropriate with the information obtained in 98 of 100 cases.

This means that the force is properly assessing victims’ needs, based on the information it records. Using this comprehensive risk assessment makes it easier to prioritise calls at times of high demand.

Officers and staff feel supported by supervisors and managers

The FCR has a clear governance structure and performance framework which reports to the local policing performance board. This board is chaired by the assistant chief constable. The force identified an overspill of emergency calls from another force, which was affecting Northamptonshire Police’s own performance. Senior officers raised this with the other force and monitored the issue until it was successfully resolved.

The force also identified and understood issues relating to retention of police staff within the control room. To address this, it made a significant financial investment, to be used for an increase in staff pay and a projected increase in staffing levels over the next two years. Members of the control room that we spoke to felt valued and supported by supervisors, managers and senior leaders alike.

The FCR also has a ‘blue star’ reward and recognition scheme that recognises the high-risk and demanding nature of the role. Police staff that we spoke to were proud to talk about their achievements.

The FCR has its own training and audit team. New members of staff receive bespoke classroom-based training and a supported phase in the control room with an allocated buddy. The team completes regular audits and provides positive feedback and learning for newly qualified police staff. Call handlers and dispatchers are trained across both roles and can provide resilience at times of peak demand.

The force has improved the way it identifies and records vulnerability and repeat callers at first point of contact

We found that call handlers acted politely, appropriately and ethically, and used clear, unambiguous language without apparent bias.

During our last inspection in 2021, we identified that the force was missing opportunities to identify and record all repeat and vulnerable victims. Since then, the force has provided training for its control room staff using external experts. It has also made system changes to improve both identification and recording.

During this inspection, our audit found that checks for repeat victims were completed in 88 of 88 relevant cases. The information gathered when a repeat victim had been identified was used effectively in 18 of 24 cases. There was also evidence of a check for a vulnerable victim and/or other person in 91 of 92 relevant cases. Where a vulnerable person was identified this was recorded in 45 of 45 cases.

Accurate recording of this information means that the force is fully aware of the victim’s circumstances when considering what response it should give.

The workforce has access to mental health experts and domestic abuse advisers

The force has access to a mental health professional based in the FCR, who has access to health and police systems. They advise on and assist with decision-making, referrals and disposal options. Officers across the force are aware and make good use of this mental health support. They told us they consult the mental health professional in relation to urgent mental health support incidents. The mental health professional can also deploy to scenes of people in crisis.

There are also independent domestic abuse advisers (IDVAs) working in the FCR on a part-time basis. IDVAs can provide independent advice to victims of domestic abuse at the first point of contact. They can also respond to the scene with officers to support the victim and offer safeguarding advice.

Officers and the service providers themselves gave us positive feedback about the benefits these initiatives provide to the public and the workforce. While the mental health provision is available throughout the week, the IDVA service provision is limited to weekend evenings only. We are aware that there are plans to increase this provision, which would bring additional benefits to vulnerable people.

The force has introduced the Right Care, Right Person programme to make sure that the agency best positioned to respond in a crisis is able to do so. It is working with local authority partners and NHS providers and has scrutiny and governance in place to make sure its use is appropriate and providing the right service to vulnerable people.

The force needs to reassess risk and vulnerability for all non-emergency calls awaiting deployment

The force doesn’t consistently attend non-urgent calls for service in a timely way.

In our victim service assessment, we found there was effective and appropriate supervision when required for response/deployment in 74 of 75 cases. But we found examples of non-emergency calls in lists awaiting deployment that were days old and contained risk and vulnerability. We found occasions where the periodic reviews of these incidents lacked quality and were ineffective in getting these incidents resourced.

The force should have the right levels of oversight in place. This would help it improve how it reassesses risk and vulnerability and how it uses this information to better prioritise its incident response. This would help it to respond to incidents in a timelier way.

Investigating crime

Northamptonshire Police requires improvement at investigating crime.

Main findings

In this section we set out our main findings that relate to how well the force investigates crime.

The force has an effective governance structure that provides appropriate oversight of volume crime investigations

Volume crime is any crime which, through its sheer volume, significantly affects the community and the ability of the local police to tackle it. Volume crime often includes priority crimes such as street robbery, burglary and vehicle-related criminality, but can also apply to criminal damage or assaults.

The detective chief superintendent for crime and justice and the local policing chief superintendent co-chair a monthly ‘improving volume crime investigations’ board. This board monitors officer workloads and identifies areas for improvement. To support this, the force reviews approximately 200 crime files every month and carries out further audit activity when performance issues are identified.

However, during our inspection we didn’t find the same level of governance and oversight being applied to domestic abuse investigations. The force would benefit from applying the same level of scrutiny to domestic abuse.

The force aims to make sure that officers have sufficient skills to do quality investigations

The force has used the accelerated detective pathway direct entry route to fill detective vacancies. This gives new recruits transferable skills, knowledge and experience to become a detective at the end of their probation period. As of 31 March 2023, Northamptonshire Police had 304 PIP2 trained investigators in post, which is 79 percent of its target of 385. This is an improvement from 2021, when we last inspected the force, when it had 65 percent of its target filled.

The force told us it has an effective selection process and has put measures in place to support detectives while they are new to the force. It says this has led to low numbers leaving the programme. The officers that we spoke to generally felt they were valued and supported by the force. Supervisors and colleagues were positive about the quality of these new recruits.

The force recognises that it needs to support a young-in-service workforce and has put in place several initiatives to support them with their investigations. Operation Mustang and Operation Introduce provide protected time to complete crime enquiries. And ‘Super-Wednesdays’ are drop-in sessions providing advice and support.

In our reality testing we found a lack of consistency across the force as to which local policing areas and which teams make full use of the protected time and support. Officers told us the idea of protected time is good. But frequently this time is cancelled or interrupted due to response demand and resourcing.

The force doesn’t always carry out effective investigations

In most cases, the force carries out investigations in a timely way. But in some cases relevant and proportionate lines of enquiry aren’t completed. We audited 100 investigations. In 85 of 97 cases, we found evidence that all appropriate and proportionate investigative opportunities were taken from the onset and throughout the investigation. A thorough investigation increases the likelihood of perpetrators being identified and arrested providing a positive result for the victim.

We found evidence of an appropriate investigation plan in line with authorised professional practice (APP) guidance in 45 of 47 cases. This plan was followed and updated in 44 of 45 cases. But supervisors didn’t always review these investigations. There was evidence of effective supervision in 83 of 94 cases.

During our inspection, some criminal investigation department supervisors told us that force initiatives to improve standards for investigations were adding to their already heavy workloads. They also told us that when response officers pass investigations onto them, the investigations are often of poor quality, are inconsistent and frequently have important lines of enquiry missing.

Data produced by the force indicates that, on average, response officers have ten investigations in their workloads. But our reality testing consistently showed that this figure is higher. Response officers told us their workloads are unmanageable. On occasion this leads to officers working on administrative tasks from home. We heard one example where a response officer felt concerned enough to come in on their day off to progress a high-risk investigation.

The force has increased its arrest rate for domestic abuse

In our 2021 PEEL inspection, we found that the force had a declining arrest rate for domestic abuse. At that time, it was 20.1 percent, which was below the average for England and Wales of 29.2 percent. In the year ending 31 March 2023, Northamptonshire Police had an arrest rate of 34 percent which was slightly higher than the England and Wales average of 33.6 percent.

During this inspection, officers told us that the force had made it clear that it expected officers to use their powers of arrest when dealing with domestic abuse.

In the year ending 31 December 2022, 2.8 percent of the force’s domestic abuse related crimes were assigned a charge or summons (outcome 1). This was lower than the average outcome 1 rate for domestic abuse related crimes across England and Wales of 4.9 percent. The force has also been issuing community resolutions outside national guidance for intimate partner abuse.

The arrest rate is an improvement from when we last inspected and provides better opportunities to safeguard vulnerable victims. But the force should reassure itself that officers are taking all investigative opportunities to secure justice for victims.

The force is complying with the Victims’ Code of Practice

Officers are aware of their responsibilities under the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime. Supervisors monitor compliance through a dashboard and through the force’s daily management meeting. The force’s crime recording system has a Victims’ Code of Practice template that supports officers with this process.

In our victim service assessment, we found that appropriate victim needs assessments were clearly recorded in 55 of the 58 relevant cases we reviewed. Where a victim was entitled to an enhanced service, this was recorded in 26 of 30 relevant cases. The victim contract was adhered to in 75 of 76 relevant cases. A victim personal statement was considered in 6 of 6 cases. We judged that in 85 of 92 cases a good level of victim service was provided in line with the Victims’ Code of Practice.

Protecting vulnerable people

Northamptonshire Police is adequate at protecting vulnerable people.

Main findings

In this section we set out our main findings that relate to how well the force protects vulnerable people.

Force governance is in place for vulnerability, but this isn’t as effective as it could be for domestic abuse

The deputy chief constable chairs the force’s vulnerability board. The force has a definition of vulnerability, a vulnerability strategy and a ‘plan on a page’ that align closely to the national vulnerability action plan. The strategy focuses on early intervention and prevention and includes a ‘whole vulnerability’ approach with its partner organisations.

The force has recently aligned the shift patterns of its public protection and criminal investigation departments. This is to build better working relationships and increase the resilience of investigators.

Despite having force governance structures in place for vulnerability, these aren’t as effective as they could be for domestic abuse. Public protection teams are responsible for ‘very high risk’ domestic abuse (the force’s definition), while local policing teams manage all other risk levels. As a result, scrutiny of domestic abuse performance isn’t as consistent as it could be. During our inspection we identified that the force uses a lot of community resolutions compared to the rest of England and Wales. This included using them for intimate domestic abuse cases, which was outside national guidance. We presented the issue to the force, which has since addressed our concerns. But this helps to explain why the inappropriate use of community resolutions for some domestic abuse investigations went unnoticed by the force.

The force is working with other organisations to improve how it keeps people safe

Multi-agency safeguarding hubs (MASHs) allow organisations with responsibility for the safety of vulnerable people to work together. A range of organisations work closely as part of a single MASH in Northamptonshire, with effective information-sharing covering both adults and children. This is enhanced by some service providers working from the same location.

In our audit we found that referrals, where required, were made to relevant partner organisations in 54 of 58 relevant cases.

Effective governance and performance management is in place in the MASH. A dedicated detective chief inspector and a detective inspector use performance data to effectively manage demand. We found that there were few backlogs of referrals in the MASH and that staff were skilled to undertake their roles. Supervisors and managers spoke of positive working relationships with partner agencies. MASH staff review incidents, carry out audits and understand issues as and when they arise.

The force also has a MARAC steering group which the main safeguarding agencies attend. The group has access to relevant data and has a system for tracking actions. We reviewed minutes of a meeting and could see that attendees were confident in contributing suggestions to further improve the effectiveness of the MARAC.

The force showed us evidence of several initiatives that are in place that provide timely and appropriate support to vulnerable people. This includes having specialist staff from partner agencies working within the FCR via Operation Motto (IDVAs) and Operation Alloy (mental health professionals).

The force uses victim feedback to change its approach to dealing with vulnerability

When we last inspected Northamptonshire Police, we found it didn’t maximise opportunities to work with victims and obtain their feedback in order to improve its services.

On this inspection, we saw evidence of how the force receives feedback from both victims and victim services in several ways. This includes having representatives of victim services attend force-level meetings. In one meeting we observed, victim services were confident in challenging the force and providing a victim’s perspective. The force was receptive to this feedback.

The force has given us several examples of when it has used victim feedback to change its response. This includes the training it has developed around vulnerability. In response to feedback, it has also commissioned external providers to run initiatives that offer intervention support and aim to prevent crime.

While this is an improvement on when we last inspected, the force should consider updating victims and victim services about what action it takes on their feedback. This would further improve victim satisfaction and the confidence of partner agencies.

The submission of DASH risk assessments isn’t always timely

A Domestic Abuse, Stalking, Harassment and Honour-based Violence (DASH) risk assessment is a tool used by practitioners who work with victims of domestic abuse, stalking, harassment and so called honour-based violence. It helps to identify the level of risk posed to a victim and to refer them to appropriate agencies.

The force uses DASH risk assessments for all reported domestic abuse. The submitting officer’s supervisor reviews the initial risk assessment. Various workflows are in place after this initial submission, depending on the risk level and whether referrals to other agencies are required. This means that different people carry out the secondary reviews of these risk assessments.

In our audit we found some of these secondary reviews weren’t completed soon enough. One was audited 13 days after the date of completion. These delays in secondary reviews could lead to agencies not being notified early enough, and vulnerable victims not receiving timely safeguarding support.

We are aware that the force is planning to review its secondary risk assessment process around DASH. We will continue to monitor how this progresses.

Managing offenders and suspects

Northamptonshire Police is adequate at managing offenders and suspects.

Main findings

In this section we set out our main findings that relate to how well the force manages offenders and suspects.

The force is effectively monitoring and reducing the number of outstanding suspects and wanted persons to prioritise those who pose the most risk

Northamptonshire Police prioritises and monitors outstanding suspects. It has a detailed policy concerning the circulation and management of wanted persons which contains guidance on what is required by officers and supervisors. The force discusses priority suspects at daily management meetings. It also has an intervention team that can be given the task of locating outstanding suspects and wanted people. This process is generally well understood by the workforce.

The force has a dashboard that allows managers to monitor and review any outstanding and wanted suspects. This contains information such as how many days suspects have been outstanding, a harm score and warning flags, such as for domestic abuse.

We found individual officers taking responsibility for progressing actions to trace wanted suspects. But, on occasion, these were warrants where there was no likelihood of ever locating the suspect, such as where they had moved abroad. The force is working with the Crown Prosecution Service to determine an appropriate outcome for these cases. We shall continue to monitor how this develops.

The force understands the safeguarding purpose of bail and makes sure that it is effectively managed, reducing the use of released under investigation

The force has a detailed policy concerning the use of bail in line with the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Court Act 2022. This policy includes guidance detailing what is required by officers and supervisors. It emphasises the presumption of the use of bail over released under investigation (RUI), outlining the safeguarding benefit. The force told us that in the year ending August 2023 there had been a 30.9 percent increase in the use of bail.

The force has two dedicated bail sergeants. These sergeants support the force in managing bail returns, making sure RUI is used appropriately and improving data quality. The force’s crime recording system doesn’t allow investigations to be filed if there is a suspect still released under investigation. This further improves data quality.

During our visit to the force, members of a focus group told us that officers and supervisors use a dashboard to effectively monitor cases where they have investigations with suspects released on bail. This assists with their own management of bail and reduces the likelihood of bail lapsing into RUI. The force told us that it has seen a reduction in bail lapsing into RUI and a reduction of RUI over 365 days old: down from 368 in September 2022 to 269 in August 2023.

The force routinely considers preventative orders and the proactive examination of registered sex offenders’ electronic devices

The force has processes in place to make sure it considers applying for preventative orders for qualifying offenders. Having these orders in place allows the police to ask the court for certain prohibitions and restrictions to manage the person’s movements and behaviour, to protect children from harm.

Offender managers have access to digital software that allows them to interrogate electronic devices to prevent and detect crime. This includes carrying out examinations of devices during home visits. This helps the force identify breaches, new offending and safeguarding concerns at an early stage.

While this is an improvement from when we last inspected, officers and staff told our inspectors they would benefit from enhanced training in these software products, to improve confidence in their use.

The force has improved its approach to the management of registered sex offenders

When we last inspected Northamptonshire Police, we found it didn’t always comply with the College of Policing’s APP standards when managing registered sex offenders. Since our last PEEL inspection, the force has changed its approach. All reactive management of registered sex offenders is now in line with APP.

The force’s integrated offender management (IOM) teams are responsible for all reactively managed registered sex offenders. IOM personnel are all appropriately trained. This provides resilience to the Management of Sexual Offenders and Violent Offenders (MOSOVO) teams, who can focus on higher risk community-based offenders.

When we last inspected, we also found the force wasn’t always recording breaches of registered sex offender notification requirements. In our latest inspection we found the force was recording these breaches, which helps to identify the likelihood of a registered sex offender committing further offences.

The force has timely and appropriate information sharing with safeguarding partners to protect children

The force has established processes for liaising with social care. Officers in the online child abuse investigation unit understand the importance of completing a referral to social care as quickly as possible when they believe a suspect has access to children. This allows information sharing to begin between the two organisations and helps them build an accurate picture of the risk the suspect poses. Sharing this information safeguards children at the earliest opportunity.

In 2021, we inspected Northamptonshire Police as part of our national child protection programme. In that inspection, we considered how the force approaches online child abuse investigations and how it manages registered sex offenders. During this PEEL inspection we found progress had been made against some of the recommendations in the National Child Protection Inspection report.

Building, supporting and protecting the workforce

Northamptonshire Police is adequate at building and developing its workforce.

Main findings

In this section we set out our main findings that relate to how well the force builds and develops its workforce.

The force gives extra support to officers and staff in high-risk roles, and those experiencing potentially traumatic incidents

The force has identified departments and roles that carry a high risk to well-being. It reviews these regularly. Most officers and staff we spoke to said they had been trained and equipped for the role before starting it and they felt confident to do the work. They told us they felt valued by the force and well supported. This support includes regular one-to-ones and regular mandatory psychological screening.

The force has established processes for post-incident support, including debriefs after specific traumatic or critical incidents. It also has a well-regarded trauma risk management referral process.

The force supports members of its workforce who have been assaulted. It has a clear governance structure in place. It records incidents and supports and monitors the well being of officers who have been assaulted. The workforce is aware of the force’s approach to assaults on duty and considers this to be supportive. In one example the force told us about, an increasing proportion of young officers were being assaulted in a particular area. The force examined the reasons for this, that were linked to antisocial behaviour in the area. It put additional training in place for the officers and changed the way it tackled antisocial behaviour to prevent a reoccurrence.

Some roles, predominantly those that involve safeguarding of vulnerable people, receive mandatory ‘check-in’ sessions with a healthcare professional. But we found this isn’t being consistently offered in all areas across all teams. Not all staff and teams we spoke to were aware of this support. The force told us it has recently changed its service provider and that more qualitative data will be produced. The force should use this data to improve the support it provides to its workforce.

The force has a new occupational health unit that provides support to improve officer and staff well-being. Officers and staff are aware of the new occupational health provision and generally see this as an improvement on what was previously in place.

In the year ending 31 March 2023, Northamptonshire Police had 5.1 occupational health referrals per 100 employees. This was in line with other forces in England and Wales. In the same period, Northamptonshire Police had a 1.0 percent rate of long term sickness absence as a proportion of full-time equivalent police officers. This was lower than expected compared to other forces in England and Wales.

The force effectively develops and supports its first-line leaders to meet leadership standards

The force has a high proportion of first-line supervisors that are either acting or temporary in the rank. This is recorded on the force’s risk register and the force has taken appropriate action to mitigate the risk.

The force has developed an initial two-week training programme to provide new sergeants with the knowledge and skills to perform in the role and be effective supervisors. This is followed by an additional week to refine their leadership skills. The programme is focused on operational policing and is in line with the College of Policing first-line leaders’ development programme. The force brings in subject matter experts to provide training in different areas. The course is varied and includes well-being, healthy culture and inclusivity, investigation and file-building standards and coaching and mentoring.

Sergeants that we spoke to had either received the training or were shortly due to receive it. They spoke positively about it.

The force has also initiated ‘floating sergeants’ across all response teams to further support inexperienced supervisors in managing their teams and workloads. They appear to be well received. Frontline supervisors told us the floating sergeants are supportive and this is having a positive effect.

As part of our PEEL inspection, we carry out a workforce survey with personnel across the whole force. This survey is anonymised and provides an insight into the thoughts and feelings of police officers and staff. We received 493 responses to the Northamptonshire Police PEEL workforce survey 2023, which we estimate to be around 17.9 percent of the force’s total workforce.

Some 86.1 percent of line managers who responded to this survey agreed that Northamptonshire Police equipped them with sufficient training to carry out their line manager role.

The force needs to improve the effectiveness of its personal development reviews and make sure they are valued by the workforce

All police officers and staff should be having formal professional development reviews (PDRs). These reviews include a series of conversations where together, individuals and their line managers plan and subsequently review their professional development over a 12-month period. These should be seen as effective and valued by the workforce.

Supervisors and police personnel in Northamptonshire Police are completing PDRs. In the year ending 31 March 2023, 91 percent of the workforce had a completed PDR.

Of those who responded to our workforce survey and had had a PDR in the last 12 months:

• 60.5 percent agreed that these were an effective tool in their development; and
• 65.6 percent agreed that they value the process of these reviews/appraisals.

But the officers and staff we spoke to placed limited value on the process. They viewed PDRs as only really being beneficial if you are considering promotion in the future, rather than increasing experience in their current role or in equivalent positions. Without an effective PDR process which the workforce properly participates in, the force can’t confidently support people’s development needs, recognise achievement and identify future talent. This is important to the workforce’s overall perception of how Northamptonshire Police values its people.

The force plans to use PDRs to show how it values its workforce by identifying ‘talent pools’. It hopes that monitoring career intentions, development opportunities, skills gaps and training requirements will align the ambitions of its staff to the future needs of its workforce.

Leadership and force management

Northamptonshire Police’s leadership and management is adequate.

Main findings

In this section we set out our main findings that relate to leadership and management.

The force has developed an operational process for using its force management statement, which helps it achieve the goals it has set

The force has a clear and effective force management statement (FMS). It explains the force’s understanding of the demand it deals with and includes an assessment of the risks currently facing the force. The force uses predictive software called Poliscope. This helps it to forecast future changes and model the effect additional resource allocation will have on demand. The FMS refers to the police, fire and crime commissioner’s (PFCC) priorities and those set nationally. This information, along with the force’s assessment of risk, helps it to prioritise business cases to inform change.

In performance and planning meetings, we saw strategic leads and police personnel staff referring to the FMS. This showed that the force was mindful of its strategic priorities while meeting the daily need to investigate crime and respond to incidents. The force has invested in its FCR and its child abuse investigation unit. The force recognised through the FMS that both these teams were under resourced and there was a risk to the service they were providing to the public. The force has since made satisfactory progress in mitigating these risks.

The force supports training and development of frontline supervisors, but could do more to develop its police staff

The force has strong and motivated leaders, with clear values and expectations that the workforce understands. The chief officer team has set up Operation Admiral to understand the implications, for its workforce and the wider community, of Baroness Casey’s report into police culture and standards of behaviour.

The force values the role of first-line supervisors, in particular sergeants. While a high proportion of sergeants are temporary or acting, the force has sought to address this gap in experience, primarily through a bespoke sergeant course. The force has also created a ‘floating sergeant’ role that sits across all response teams. The general view from the workforce is that this is a supportive role and a benefit to inexperienced frontline supervisors.

The force should look to develop its police staff in a similar way, to provide opportunities for them to gain more experience in their current role and in equivalent positions. And the force should make sure they have the right skills to support and manage their teams.

The force changed to a new operating model to better align its resources to meet demand

In July 2023, the force reduced the number of its response teams from five to four. This was to better align its resources to meet demand on a daily basis. It also changed the shift pattern to two duty days, two duty nights and four rest days.

Despite this change, the force doesn’t always attend calls for service in line with its published attendance times and doesn’t always update victims. Neighbourhood officers are often being taken away from their core roles to manage response demand. And response officers are managing a greater number of crime investigations than intended.

At the time of our inspection, the force hadn’t reviewed the effect of this change in operating model. The force should reassure itself that officers have the time to investigate crime and update victims, as well as respond to calls for service.

The force has effective collaboration with fire and rescue services and local forces to support its service to the public

The force is collaborating with other local forces in the East Midlands area to make more effective use of some specialist police resources. However, in April 2022, the force withdrew its HR transactional service from the Multi-Force Shared Service arrangement. Instead, it is collaborating on an in-house arrangement with Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service. The force told us that since this change there has been an improvement in performance, particularly in relation to payroll accuracy, and that this arrangement provides the force with a recurring financial saving. This is positive for the force and shows good value for money principles being applied for the public in this area.

The force has collaborated with Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service in several other areas within enabling services. This has given the force the ability to jointly invest in IT systems and has improved resilience in terms of access to shared personnel across these teams. This is providing a return on investment for Northamptonshire Police.

The force shows effective financial management, linked to an understanding of its demand, performance and outcomes

In the year ending 31 March 2023, Northamptonshire Police received a total of £160.4m in funding, which was £203,806 per 1,000 population. The force receives 43 percent of its total funding through council tax precept, representing £69.5m. The force is funded in line with the rate across all forces in England and Wales.

The force has changed its business planning. There is a clear process in place which considers force and PFCC priorities, as well as other interdependencies such as digital, data and technology. The planning process has the flexibility to consider cases outside annual cycles when there is a requirement or operational need. This is an improvement since we last inspected.

The force shows effective financial management of the funds it has available to provide efficient police services. There is a clear link to force plans and priorities, which is reflected in the PFCC’s plans. The force has aligned its governance structure to make sure departmental requests for changes that will cost the force money consider the PFCC’s priorities, as well as those of the chief constable.

The force has a good level of total usable reserves which will be £20.3m by March 2024, with a prudent general fund of £5.3m. In July 2023, the force revised its medium-term financial plan. Its projected funding deficit in 2024/25 has reduced from £3.8m to £3m through efficiency savings.

But the force must still make significant savings in the coming years. It predicts that its funding deficit by 2027/28 will increase by £1.3m from £4.3m to £5.7m. While it is assured it will bridge that gap by that time, we will continue to monitor this.

About the data

Data in this report is from a range of sources, including:

• Home Office;
• Office for National Statistics (ONS);
• our inspection fieldwork; and
• data we collected directly from all 43 police forces in England and Wales.

When we collected data directly from police forces, we took reasonable steps to agree the design of the data collection with forces and with other interested parties such as the Home Office. We gave forces several opportunities to quality assure and validate the data they gave us, to make sure it was accurate. We shared the submitted data with forces, so they could review their own and other forces’ data. This allowed them to analyse where data was notably different from other forces or internally inconsistent.

We set out the source of this report’s data below.

Methodology

Data in the report

British Transport Police was outside the scope of inspection. Any aggregated totals for England and Wales exclude British Transport Police data, so will differ from those published by the Home Office.

When other forces were unable to supply data, we mention this under the relevant sections below.

Outlier Lines

The dotted lines on the Bar Charts show one Standard Deviation (sd) above and below the unweighted mean across all forces. Where the distribution of the scores appears normally distributed, the sd is calculated in the normal way. If the forces are not normally distributed, the scores are transformed by taking logs and a Shapiro Wilks test performed to see if this creates a more normal distribution. If it does, the logged values are used to estimate the sd. If not, the sd is calculated using the normal values. Forces with scores more than 1 sd units from the mean (i.e. with Z-scores greater than 1, or less than -1) are considered as showing performance well above, or well below, average. These forces will be outside the dotted lines on the Bar Chart. Typically, 32% of forces will be above or below these lines for any given measure.

Population

For all uses of population as a denominator in our calculations, unless otherwise noted, we use ONS mid-2020 population estimates.

Survey of police workforce

We surveyed the police workforce across England and Wales, to understand their views on workloads, redeployment and how suitable their assigned tasks were. This survey was a non-statistical, voluntary sample so the results may not be representative of the workforce population. The number of responses per force varied. So we treated results with caution and didn’t use them to assess individual force performance. Instead, we identified themes that we could explore further during fieldwork.

Victim Service Assessment

Our victim service assessments (VSAs) will track a victim’s journey from reporting a crime to the police, through to outcome stage. All forces will be subjected to a VSA within our PEEL inspection programme. Some forces will be selected to additionally be tested on crime recording, in a way that ensures every force is assessed on its crime recording practices at least every three years.

Details of the technical methodology for the Victim Service Assessment.

Data sources

999 calls

Data on 999 calls is provided by BT. Call answering time is the time taken for a call to be transferred from BT to a force, and the time taken by that force to answer the call. This data is provided for all 43 police forces in England and Wales and covers the year ending 30 June 2023.

Crime and outcomes

We took data on crime and outcomes from the July 2023 release of the Home Office police-recorded crime and outcomes data tables.

Total police-recorded crime includes all crime (except fraud) recorded by all forces in England and Wales (except BTP). Home Office publications on the overall volumes and rates of recorded crime and outcomes include British Transport Police, which is outside the scope of this HMICFRS inspection. Therefore, England and Wales rates in this report will differ from those published by the Home Office.

Police-recorded crime data should be treated with care. Recent increases may be due to forces’ renewed focus on accurate crime recording since our 2014 national crime data inspection.

For a full commentary and explanation of crime and outcome types please see the Home Office statistics.

Sexual Risk Orders

We collected this data directly from all 43 police forces in England and Wales. This data is as provided by forces in April 2023 and covers the year ending 31 March 2023.

Further information and documents

Download the PDF report

Northamptonshire PEEL assessment 2023–2025

More about Northamptonshire Police

You can find more about Northamptonshire Police on our dedicated force page.

What Northamptonshire Police says

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Northamptonshire Police has made improvements, but further changes needed

Our work

Find out more about HMICFRS’s work and other inspection areas.

Other forces

Find out how well other forces have performed during their PEEL assessment.

Progress

You can view the recommendations for all forces made by HMICFRS on our Progress against recommendations page. This shows how much progress has been made on these recommendations.

Data and methodology

Detailed information about the inspection methodology.