Every force assigned a performance level under new HMICFRS system
Every police force in England and Wales has been assigned a performance level for the first time under the new Policing Performance System, His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) has announced.
The system, announced in the Police Reform White Paper, replaces HMICFRS’s previous Scan and Engage monitoring arrangements. It runs from Level One, the default, to Level Four, special measures.
Twenty-nine forces have been assigned Level One. Thirteen are at Level Two: Avon and Somerset Constabulary, Derbyshire Constabulary, Devon and Cornwall Police, Dorset Police, Gloucestershire Constabulary, the Metropolitan Police Service, Northamptonshire Police, Staffordshire Police, Suffolk Constabulary, Surrey Police, Warwickshire Police, West Mercia Police and West Yorkshire Police.
Lincolnshire Police is the only force at Level Three. No force has been assigned Level Four.
HMICFRS defines the four levels as follows:
Level One is the default position for all forces, where no action or intervention is required from the performance system at that time.
Level Two makes enhanced support available to prevent any deterioration in performance. It applies where a force has low-level, non-systemic issues, issues which are getting better but require oversight, or multiple minor issues.
Level Three provides targeted support and intervention, with chief constables developing improvement plans. It applies where a force has a single, critical and lasting issue, widespread or systemic performance concerns, or fails to demonstrate meaningful improvements.
Level Four (Special Measures) applies where performance failings are very serious and there is insufficient evidence or confidence that steps being taken to address them are having the required effect.
The Chief Inspector of Constabulary is responsible for determining each force’s level. Levels are assigned at the Policing Performance Monitoring Group, which meets three times a year with the option of an emergency meeting. The group is chaired by the Chief Inspector and includes the Home Office, the chief executive of the College of Policing, and representatives of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners and the Independent Office for Police Conduct.
Assignments draw on HMICFRS inspection findings, performance data from the Police Performance Framework developed and maintained by the Home Office, and contextual information from partner agencies. HMICFRS says the system is linked to PEEL assessments but does not replace them, and that PEEL inspections continue as normal.
Forces at higher levels will receive dedicated turnaround teams from the College of Policing to co-design improvement plans. All forces will have access to a Performance Support Toolkit.
Under the White Paper, forces become accountable to the Home Secretary for performance, and forces have been set targets on neighbourhood policing levels, 999 response times and incident response times through the Police Performance Framework. HMICFRS says proposed new powers would allow the Chief Inspector to issue directions to forces, subject to specific circumstances and safeguards, and would allow the Home Secretary to intervene directly with forces that persistently fail to improve or refuse to engage with support.
Held accountable
His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary Michelle Skeer OBE QPM said the approach would support all forces in England and Wales, and that using a range of data, evidence and insight to identify concerns earlier would provide the correct level of support at the right time, helping forces address issues before they worsen.
Crime and policing minister Sarah Jones said that “for too long, failings in policing have been identified too late”, allowing poor performance to go unchecked, and that the new system would catch problems earlier and ensure forces were challenged, supported and held accountable.
College of Policing chief executive Chief Constable Sir Andy Marsh described the approach as groundbreaking, and said College turnaround teams would work with forces in partnership to identify the causes of performance issues and create plans for sustained improvement.
Lincolnshire Police had been in Engage, the previous system’s enhanced monitoring phase, since December 2024.
HMICFRS says the force has been placed at Level Three because it needs to attend calls for service in line with its published target attendance times; improve how it allocates, supervises and carries out investigations so victims get the support they need; improve its understanding of demand; have adequate strategic plans in place; carry out effective investigations when children are at risk of, or have been harmed by, criminal or sexual exploitation; and have enough trained and accredited officers to investigate child abuse and exploitation effectively.
His Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary Roy Wilsher OBE QFSM said forces are assigned to Level Three where the inspectorate identifies “more serious or systemic performance issues”, as in Lincolnshire’s case, and that the force would remain subject to increased oversight and receive bespoke support from the College of Policing.
The next round of Policing Performance System decisions is expected in autumn 2026.