Nottinghamshire Police removed from enhanced monitoring

These related to the need to make improvements in how the force investigates crime, delivers neighbourhood policing and activities to prevent crime and disorder, and to improve how it manages performance.

The force was placed under enhanced monitoring by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) back in March 2024.

The decision by His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services, Sir Andy Cooke, to remove Nottinghamshire Police from Engage followed improvements in:

• Its management of crime, including supervision of crime and oversight of performance;
• Its leadership and force management, including making progress in governance and the use of data. The chief officer team was visible and accessible, and inspectors found a positive culture and active participation in change across the workforce; and
• The way it is preventing and deterring crime, by addressing the issue of neighbourhood officers and staff being unable to spend enough time working in their communities.

HMICFRS continuously monitors the performance of all police forces in England.

The monitoring process consists of two stages: Scan and Engage. All police forces are in routine monitoring under the Scan stage by default, but may be escalated to enhanced monitoring under the Engage stage if they are not effectively addressing the inspectorate’s concerns.

Each police force is overseen by one of the HM Inspectors of Constabulary. HM Inspector Roy Wilsher has responsibility for Nottinghamshire Police.

He said: “I am pleased with the good progress that Nottinghamshire Police has made so far. While there is still work to do, I have recommended removing the service from our enhanced level of monitoring, known as Engage, and return it to routine monitoring.

“We are reassured by the plans the police force has in place to continue making improvements, particularly in relation to crime investigation, leadership, force management and neighbourhood policing. We will continue to assess its progress to make sure the people of Nottinghamshire are getting the service they deserve.”

T/Chief Constable Steve Cooper said: “This represents a significant step in the force’s ongoing improvement journey to better serve communities across Nottinghamshire.

“We took being placed in ‘engage’ very seriously and through Chief Constable Kate Meynell’s improvement plan, which she implemented and ensured we delivered against, we used this as an opportunity not only to deliver meaningful improvements that are embedded across our force, but to improve in all that we do.

“The changes we have made have improved the quality of service we provide to communities and victims of crime, and we are committed to maintaining this and identifying any further improvements we can make.

“We remain grateful to HMICFRS, the College of Policing, the National Police Chiefs’ Council and the Home Office for their guidance and support throughout.”

Nottinghamshire police and crime commissioner, Gary Godden added: “This is fantastic news for the public of Nottinghamshire. It is recognition that Nottinghamshire Police is successfully improving the service it provides, following the plan put in place by Chief Constable Kate Meynell and the focused delivery by the entire workforce.

“It is a milestone moment for the service, and we now have a platform to build from to improve even further.

“The next step is to keep up the pace and work toward Nottinghamshire Police becoming an outstanding force and supporting my Police and Crime Plan priorities –continuing to earn public trust and confidence by putting communities and victims first, strengthening partnership working and providing an effective and resilient policing service.”

Two of the causes for concern, relating to managing performance and governance, and neighbourhood policing and preventing crime, were closed by HMICFRS on April 4, 2025.

At this time, the inspectorate commended the force for the improvements it had made in these areas, which included ensuring neighbourhood police officers spend more time in their local community.

HMICFRS also reported being pleased with the progress Nottinghamshire Police had made in improving the management, supervision and effectiveness of its investigations, before closing this final cause for concern on May 22.

On closing this, the inspectorate commented that it was pleased with the improvement in Nottinghamshire Police’s management of crime, including supervision of crime and oversight of performance.

Nottinghamshire Police has introduced several new systems to maintain this level of performance and high-quality investigations. These include the implementation of Quality Assurance Thematic Testing, to improve crime outcomes and victim satisfaction, and Power BI, to manage performance.