This year, for the first time, we have assessed leadership across the force. The assessment has led to a narrative rather than graded judgment, which is summarised below.
Read more about my assessment of Northamptonshire Police’s performance this year, including any exceptional events and where I would like to see improvements next year.
I am satisfied with some aspects of the performance of Northamptonshire Police in keeping people safe and reducing crime, but there are also areas in need of improvement if the force is to provide a consistently good service.
Northamptonshire Police requires improvement in the way it prevents crime, and tackles anti-social behaviour and serious and organised crime. There are weaknesses in the way the force allocates crime cases for investigation that are causing unacceptable delays. This means that offenders may not be brought to justice quickly enough and victims may lose faith in the system. More positively, I have been monitoring closely the hard work the force has been undertaking with its partner agencies to tackle violent crime and I am encouraged by the progress that has been made.
I am also pleased by the way the force works with partners, such as local councils, to protect vulnerable people. Northamptonshire Police has developed strong relationships with other organisations and shares information well, helping it to keep some of the most vulnerable members of its communities safe through this joint working approach. While investigations of missing and absent people and child sexual exploitation are of a good standard, I have some concerns about how the force safeguards victims of domestic abuse who are at the highest risk of harm.
I am encouraged that the force has balanced its budget and has a good track record of achieving savings. However, the force needs to improve its understanding of the demand on its services and will need to change its structure and processes significantly to meet those demands.
I welcome the leadership shown by the new chief constable. He has set a clear direction for the force and I am reassured by some very encouraging signs that performance is starting to improve. I look forward to seeing continued improvements in the coming year.
Description of force area
Northamptonshire Police provides policing services to the county of Northamptonshire. Although there are some more affluent areas, Northamptonshire has a high level of poverty. Around 0.7 million people mainly live in the urban centres which include the town of Northampton. The resident population is increased by university students and the large numbers who visit or travel through the county each year.
The proportion of areas in Northamptonshire that are predicted to present a very high challenge to the police is lower than the national average. These are characterised by social deprivation or a concentration of commercial premises (including licensed premises), and in some cases both.
Working arrangements
Northamptonshire Police works well with other forces within the East Midlands and is part of a successful collaboration that provides policing and support services, such as major crime, special branch and serious and organised crime and forensics.
The force is also part of the East Midlands Operational Support Service, a collaboration between Leicestershire Police, Nottinghamshire Police and Lincolnshire Police that is responsible for managing and deploying resources including firearms, dog sections, search and roads policing units.
The force shares accommodation with Northamptonshire Fire Service. Some senior fire officers have posts that include oversight of some areas of police public safety work, such as integrated offender management.
Cheshire Constabulary provides accounting, purchasing, human resources and payroll services for the force.
There were a number of chief officer changes this year, including the appointment of a new chief constable and deputy chief constable.
Effectiveness
In our effectiveness inspection, we judged Northamptonshire Police to require improvement in the way in which it keeps people safe and reduces crime. Although the force has a clear commitment to reducing crime and keeping people safe, there is room for improvement in the way it prevents crime and anti-social behaviour. Weaknesses in the assessment and allocation of crime for investigation are causing unacceptable delays. The force has good systems and processes in place to deal with vulnerability and risk at the initial point of contact. However, an improved awareness of vulnerability and empathy for victims by call-handlers is required to ensure that vulnerable victims feel fully engaged from the outset of their contact with police.
The force also needs to work better with partner organisations in its fight against serious and organised crime. This is the first year HMIC has graded forces on their overall effectiveness so comparison of their year-on-year effectiveness is not possible.
Efficiency
Northamptonshire Police is partly prepared to face its future financial challenges. In last year’s value for money inspection, which considered how forces had met the challenge of the previous spending review period, Northamptonshire was judged to be good. It has balanced the budget and has a good track record of achieving savings. However, future plans beyond 2016 are still in the early stages of development; and the force does not yet have a full understanding of the demand on its services. Because of this, the force cannot be confident that its structure and processes are aligned with its overall demand and budget.
Legitimacy
The chief officer team is committed to securing an ethical and inclusive workforce, and allegations against officers and staff are generally dealt with fairly and consistently. It is clear that local teams engage positively with the public, but this approach lacks consistency.The force is complying with most of the features of the Best Use of Stop and Search scheme, and use of Taser is fair and appropriate. This is the first time HMIC has graded forces on their legitimacy, so no year-on-year comparison is possible.
Leadership
Northamptonshire Police has a good understanding of its leadership skills, capacity and capability and is taking positive steps to address identified gaps.
We saw some evidence of how the force manages talented and high-performing officers and staff, specifically regarding crime investigation.
Insights from other inspections
HMIC undertakes other inspections in addition to the PEEL programme. Since the last PEEL assessment there have been four reports published on inspections that included Northamptonshire Police. More detail on some of these inspections can be found under the Other inspections section.
Looking ahead to PEEL 2016
In the year ahead, I will be interested to see how the force responds to this assessment, and to the areas for improvement that HMIC has identified in the last year.
I will be particularly interested to see:
- how the force improves its understanding of demands for its services, and how ensures that its operating model puts it in the best possible position to be able to respond well to the public;
- how the force improves the overall quality of investigations;
- how the force makes improvements in keeping vulnerable people safe including missing or absent children and victims of domestic abuse; and
- how the new chief constable’s sound plans for improvement lead to better police services for the people of Northamptonshire.
In May 2016, like the majority of forces in England and Wales, the force will see the second elections for its police and crime commissioner.
