Northamptonshire Police rated 'good' by inspectors for performance by staff and officers

Stephen Mold was speaking after the latest reports from Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabularies which assessed the effectiveness of the force's legitimacy and leadership.

The report gave the force a rating of good for "legitmacy". There was no rating for leadership. Legitimacy is determined by staff and officers consistently being shown to be behaving fairly, ethically and within the law. Leadership relates to the force's development of its staff.

HMIC said there were no areas of concern but there were a number of areas that need improvement in the future.

Police and Commissioner for Northamptonshire, Stephen Mold, said: "I’m encouraged to see that HMIC have maintained the Force’s legitimacy rating of ‘Good” from last year, however I want to make clear that this is not the end-level of our ambition – I want my team and the Force to be striving to deliver the best possible service for the public of Northamptonshire.

“Following HMIC’s feedback to earlier in the year, we have already begun work on areas highlighted for improvement.

As part of this we will soon undertake a significant piece of work assessing the mental health of frontline officers, who by the very nature of their roles come into contact with situations that can have a notable psychological effect. I am committed to ensuring we help and empower officers through practical innovations such as new technologies, as well as through emotional support when needed.

“I’m confident that Chief Constable Simon Edens and his chief officer team are leading the Force to a level of service that we can be proud of and I will continue to help him achieve this while at the same time holding the Force to account for their performance.”

Chief Constable of Northamptonshire Police, Simon Edens, added: "The ‘Good’ rating given by HMIC is testament to the very positive work our officers and staff do every day and how we strive to treat people fairly and equally. The inspection rightly recognises that the force clearly understands the importance of treating people with fairness and respect and that this forms an integral part of our vision and values.

“The force has undertaken a lot of hard work engaging with communities in the county to understand their views and opinions around the work of Northamptonshire Police and how it can shape what we deliver. Ethical and fair practices begin internally within the force and the report also acknowledges the good approach the workforce has to operating ethically and lawfully, with effective channels for staff to report possible corruption or abuse of power.

“However, this does not mean we will be complacent about the future. We need to make sure we do not rest on our laurels and we will continue to work hard and strive for the best positive level of protection and service to the public.”