Nottinghamshire Police has been told to improve how it records crime following an inspection.
Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) graded Nottinghamshire Police’s performance across nine areas of policing and found the force was ‘good’ in two areas, ‘adequate’ in six areas and ‘requires improvement’ in one area.
HMICFRS said while Nottinghamshire is good at investigating crime, more needs to be done to ensure it is recording it effectively.
Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary, Roy Wilsher, said: “I am pleased with some aspects of Nottinghamshire Police’s performance in keeping people safe and reducing crime, but there are areas where it needs to improve.
“The force is good at investigating crime – once a crime is recorded, the force carries out effective investigations, allocating them to staff who have the capacity and capability to investigate them appropriately.
“The force is effective at recruiting a diverse workforce. In the year ending March 31, 2021, the force recruited the highest percentage (19.5 percent) of new police officers who were Black, Asian or from a minority ethnic group, compared with the other 43 forces in England and Wales.
“It has also made significant progress in supporting the wellbeing of its workforce and makes effective use of technology to support frontline policing. The force looks for opportunities to help staff on the front line.
“However, the force needs to improve its crime recording processes, particularly when recording crimes related to violent offences, domestic abuse or behavioural crime.
“The force also needs to improve the way it responds to calls. We found call handlers do not always give callers advice on preventing crime or preserving evidence before officers arrive at a scene.
“Nottinghamshire should also consider its approach to problem-solving policing. We found that most of the time, frontline neighbourhood staff are deployed to areas where they can work with communities, offering reassurance and building confidence in the force. But sometimes neighbourhood teams miss opportunities to involve other organisations and the public in jointly managing and solving problems.
“I look forward to monitoring the force’s progress towards addressing the areas I have identified for improvement.”
