Northamptonshire PEEL 2018

Northamptonshire Police needs to be more consistent in how it communicates with the public. It doesn’t consistently seek public feedback to improve its approach and the force could make more use of social media. The force would also benefit from focusing on harder to reach groups, and those less likely to contact the police. The force makes some good use of its cadets, volunteers and special constables.

The force complies with recording requirements relating to use of force. It uses lessons learned to improve its approach in this area. The force doesn’t yet externally scrutinise the use of force but has plans to introduce this.

The force’s reasonable grounds panel has improved recording standards around stop and search, but the panel isn’t seen as a support function by the workforce. This means that some officers are reluctant to use the power. The force would benefit from promoting the benefits of the panel among the workforce.

There is an external scrutiny group for stop and search, although membership doesn’t fully represent all communities. The force has started to better understand the disproportionately high numbers of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) groups being stopped. The force is now improving its practice as a result.

Northamptonshire Police behaves ethically and lawfully. The workforce understands expected standards of behaviour and is aware of its obligations associated with business interests, reportable associations, gifts and hospitality.

All officers and staff have up-to-date vetting appropriate to their role. The force has enough resources to fully vet its workforce and recent system upgrades have made the vetting unit more efficient. The force complies with its obligations for barred and advisory lists.

The force uses feedback from its workforce when developing policies. It would benefit from promoting more awareness of its ethics committees among its workforce.

Abuse of position is well publicised throughout the workforce and is recognised as serious corruption. The force asks for information about corruption from a variety of sources and an anonymous public reporting line will be available soon too. The force provides appropriate support to staff and officers who report wrongdoing, and investigations are conducted promptly.

Northamptonshire Police has raised awareness of potential corruption among its workforce and has trained supervisors to look for the signs. It works to reassure the public by publishing cases.

There are examples of the force inviting feedback from staff. These include an ‘Ask the chief’ section on the intranet, and staff network groups are involved in plans for change. Decisions are sometimes made in isolation – for example, changing a shift pattern based on the feedback from one team. This may have a negative impact on the effectiveness of demand management force-wide.

The workforce is feeling optimistic about the future and positive about the visibility and vision of the new chief constable. The last staff survey was in 2017 and we look forward to seeing the results of the one planned for 2019.

The force needs to better understand wellbeing issues. Sickness absence across the workforce is high. Occupational health provision doesn’t meet demand, and the force only operates a limited range of preventative measures to improve workforce wellbeing. There is now improved support for those on maternity and paternity leave. Wellbeing services that are available aren’t publicised enough. Levels of support should improve when more permanent staff have filled temporary roles. Wellbeing is a priority in the new leadership programme, which should help address the problem.

The force needs to better support supervisors to tackle poor performance. It has plans to address this. There is a new leadership programme for supervisors and we are pleased to find that most now have regular meetings with their staff.

Outside national schemes, there are limited talent management programmes or structured ways to develop both officers and staff. The workforce doesn’t perceive as fair the processes for performance, talent management and promotion. This is having a negative impact on workforce morale and productivity.