Nottinghamshire Police removed from enhanced monitoring by watchdog
Last March, the force was told to “urgently produce an improvement plan” by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services.
Nottinghamshire Police has made improvements and has been removed from an enhanced level of monitoring by a watchdog after being put into special measures last year.
Last March, the East Midlands force was told to “urgently produce an improvement plan” by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) after being put into special measures.
The report came after the force was criticised for the way it handled of the deaths of Grace O’Malley-Kumar, Barnaby Webber, and Ian Coates, who were killed by Valdo Calocane in Nottingham in 2023.
While the watchdog said the decision was not linked to the force’s handling of the case, the news was nevertheless welcomed by relatives of Calocane’s victims as a sign that inspectors recognised how the force needed “intervention and urgent improvement”.
The report last year ranked three of the eight areas of policing “inadequate” in the review following an inspection from the end of 2023 to January.
Forces are moved into special measures – which HMICFRS calls being subjected to an “enhanced level of monitoring” under what is known as the “engage” process – when they are not responding to concerns raised by the watchdog or are not “managing, mitigating or eradicating these concerns”.
Nottinghamshire Police has now been removed from “engage” as it has made improvements, HMICFRS said.
All police forces are in routine monitoring under the “scan” stage by default, the watchdog said.
HMICFRS said the improvements include: 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.
HM Inspector Roy Wilsher 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.”
Calocane was sentenced to an indefinite hospital order last year for stabbing to death university students Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar, both 19, as well as school caretaker Ian Coates, 65, in the early hours of June 13 2023.
Calocane admitted manslaughter by diminished responsibility and pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of three people who were hit by a van stolen from Mr Coates, after Nottingham Crown Court heard he had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.
During a meeting with the Prime Minister in February this year, the families of the Nottingham attack victims were told a judge-led statutory inquiry would take place and that it would scrutinise a “number of different agencies”.
