Inspectorate of Notts Police ‘considerably concerned’ about leadership team

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A man has been charged by police, over a number of public order incidents.

HMIC have said they are ‘considerably concerned’ about Notts Police’s ‘lack of a settled leadership team.’

In a report published today (Thursday December 8) about the force’s leadership, the inspectorate said that ‘more could be done’ and they ‘found only a limited understanding of what is expected of effective leaders.’

HMIC also raised concerns about the time it has taken Notts Police to find a replacement, which could be announced tomorrow (Friday December 9).

This could lead to a period of significant uncertainly and lack of direction

The report reads: “No systematic approach is in place to identify leadership capacity and capabilities across the organisation.

“The force is led by a chief constable and an assistant chief constable whose ranks are temporary.

“A decision made not to advertise immediately for a new chief constable means the arrangement will continue until the new post holder takes up the role by 1 April 2017 – ten months after the previous chief constable left.

“This could lead to a period of significant uncertainly and lack of direction for the force at a time when it faces some significant performance challenges.

“The interim arrangement is also causing uncertainty among the workforce; this, together with the potential for the new chief constable to review the force structure, may have an impact on the force’s effectiveness.”

In response to the claims, Notts Police have said measures are in place to improve the understanding of leadership and that comments will be taken on board.

The force was found by HMIC to ‘have a good understanding of diversity in leadership and successfully delivers leadership programmes.’

Chief Constable Sue Fish said: “The report claims that the force does not understand leadership, however it recognises we clearly display good leadership.

We also develop opportunities for leaders to thrive and in order to do these other things, we always seek opportunities to continuously improve.

“We will however take on board feedback, look to get better and seek out areas to improve.

“There has been a significant amount of work ongoing to ensure our leaders have the skills and abilities to lead the workforce and shape policing for the future.”

We are pleased HMIC have recognised the efforts of the force

Another report published today into police legitimacy has found Nottinghamshire Police to be good at keeping people safe and reducing crime.

The latest PEEL inspection report from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary found the force to be consistent in its work and continuing to reinforce the importance of treating people with fairness and respect.

The workforce were also found to behave ethically and lawfully in the inspection that took place earlier this year.

Forces are rated in terms of their effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy in how they keep people safe and reduce crime.

Chief Constable Sue Fish said: “We are pleased that the HMIC has recognised the efforts the force has put into ensuring the work we carry out is seen as legitimate in the eyes of the public.

“We know that this must continue and we are looking at new innovative ways that we can engage the public, support our workforce and address issues both internally and externally when things don’t go as planned.”

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Chief Constable Sue Fish

Successful community and partnership engagement and community cohesion were also positively highlighted in the report.

She added: “The public is at the heart of what we do and it is vitally important that we understand the issues they face and address them.

“But we also need to ensure the public know what we are doing and the reasons behind the decisions we make, in often challenging and competing areas of demand with limited resources.”

The report states Notts Police make good use of social media and the force website, which is said to be easily accessible to people whose first language is not English and also considers the needs of people with sight or hearing problems, or dyslexia.

However in the previous HMIC report that inspected finances, the force was deemed ‘inadequate.’

That report also said the force’s understanding of future demand was ‘good’ and its ability to manage demand ‘requires improvement.’