‘You said, we've listened!’ Northamptonshire Police chief says force is delivering in key crime areas

Chief Constable Nick Adderley says Northamptonshire Police has delivered real performance progress in tackling his ‘matters of priority’ over the past 12 months.

Serious and organised crime, knife crime, domestic abuse and anti-social behaviour were identified based on the threat and risk they pose to communities and from public feedback on areas they were most concerned about.

Backed by high-profile campaigns and proactive operational activity, end-of-year data shows marked improvements with almost all targets reached.

Mr Adderley said: “A year ago we listened to what the Northamptonshire public was telling us and we have gone out and significantly improved our performance against these crime types.

“Nationally, we were ranked eighth across all 43 police forces in terms of the number of positive police outcomes we achieved for victims.

"This is a step change in terms of performance and meant we recorded the second best year-on-year improvement nationally.

“We strive constantly to build public trust and confidence in policing in this county.

“Be under no illusion, we are not there yet, but I hope the upward trend is an indicator of just how much this force has progressed.

“I’m incredibly proud of the work being done by our officers and staff right across the force, but none of this would be possible without the continued support of those living in the communities we serve.”

On knife crime, the force recorded falls in serious harm offences from 718 to 659 in the 12 months between April 2021 and March 2022 and in the number of repeat offenders plus a rise in ‘police positive outcomes’ when an offence is detected and resolved for the victim.

Across the county there has been a 17.4 percent rise in knife seizures while in Wellingborough, where Op Revive has proactively tackled knife crime, offences fell by almost 30 percent.

Significantly too, there has been a drop in the number of robberies where knives were used.

On domestic abuse, data showed a reduction in repeat victims and repeat offenders and an improvement in response times to calls for help by around two minutes on average.

More arrests have been made, too — more than 35 percent of incidents compared to 30 percent last year — at a time when the national trend has been decreasing, and more victims successfully protected as a result of different tactics including increased use of Domestic Violence Protection Orders.

Proactive operations have also reported success in tackling serious and organised crime.

A recorded increase in drugs trafficking offences included the largest single seizure of Class A drugs, 800 kilos of narcotics with a street value of £78m uncovered in a lorry in Brackmills last December.

The force also saw a more than 60 percent rise in firearms seizures — from 1,017 in the previous year to 1,665 — and an increased detection rate for cyber-related crimes.

Anti-social behaviour was identified as a threat and concerted efforts by the police have helped to reduce demand, which peaked during the initial Covid-19 period.

ASB victim satisfaction rates have dropped off in the past year although data from the past three months show this figure is beginning to climb again.