Nottinghamshire Police rated one of best forces in country

Nottinghamshire Police rated one of best forces in country

Nottinghamshire Police has been independently graded by national inspectors as one of the best forces in the country.

Police and Crime Commissioner Gary Godden has spoken of his pride at today's announcement by His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) that Nottinghamshire Police is now rated at Level One – the highest possible rating in the Policing Performance System.

He said: "I am absolutely delighted with this announcement which means Nottinghamshire Police is seen by national inspectors as one of the best performing forces in the country.

"Having come from being placed in enhanced monitoring status by HMICFRS in March 2024 to being the very top status of Level One in July 2026 is absolutely incredible and the force deserves huge recognition for the remarkable turnaround which has involved delivering a really focussed and sustained improvement programme.

"As the person elected to hold Nottinghamshire Police to account on behalf of the public, I'm really proud of how the force has risen to this challenge and improved the service it delivers to the people of Nottinghamshire. 

"I am determined to ensure that this performance is maintained and that Nottinghamshire Police remains one of the country's best police forces."

Over the last two years, Nottinghamshire Police has implemented a huge programme of change which has seen rapid improvements to its leadership and oversight and the quality of its investigations.

A new neighbourhood policing model has also been rolled out during this time, along with an abstraction policy to ensure officers remain in their specific communities as much as possible. This has seen the force's neighbourhood policing footprint become one of the highest of all 43 police forces across the country. 

Nottinghamshire Police's Chief Constable Steve Cooper also welcomed today's announcement from HMICFRS.

He said: "This represents a significant step in the force's ongoing improvement journey to better serve our communities across Nottinghamshire. 

"Back in March 2024, HMICFRS identified three areas where we needed to improve. 

"These related to how we deliver neighbourhood policing and crime prevention, our governance and how we manage performance, and the effectiveness of investigations.

"We have worked incredibly hard as an organisation to ensure all three areas of concern were lifted by the HMICFRS at their last inspection. 

“We are now delivering a much better service to victims of crime and our communities, which has been acknowledged by HMICFRS. 

"This week we were assigned as a Level One force. 

"This certainly does not mean that our work is done. We are determined to deliver an outstanding service for all of our local communities."

The Policing Performance System is a joint approach between the policing sector and government to assess, support and improve police performance across England and Wales. It provides transparent, consistent assessment and enables earlier support where improvement is needed, helping forces achieve better outcomes for communities.

HMICFRS assign forces to one of four performance levels, with Level One being the highest. Each level has associated degrees of support and intervention. The level that assigned to a force reflects its current performance, the extent of support required, and the expected level of interaction with the support and intervention process.

For more information, visit Latest police performance levels - His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services

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