Nottinghamshire Police placed into special measures and asked to 'urgently produce improvement plan'

Inspectors say the force "needs to improve how it manages and carries out effective investigations".

Henry Vaughan

Home affairs reporter and feature writer

Monday 11 March 2024 13:55, UK

Nottinghamshire Police has been asked to "urgently produce an improvement plan" after being put into special measures.

The force has been moved to an enhanced level of monitoring by watchdog His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS).

Inspectors said "the force needs to improve how it manages and carries out effective investigations" and "doesn't have adequate processes, planning or governance arrangements in place".

It comes after Nottinghamshire Police faced intense criticism over the handling of the case of paranoid schizophrenic Valdo Calocane, who stabbed to death three people in Nottingham last June, although HMICFRS said the decision was not related.

The victims' families welcomed the move and said they hope it gives the city's residents "more reassurance in their public safety".

His Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary Roy Wilsher said: "We move police forces into our enhanced level of monitoring, known as Engage, when a force is not responding to our concerns, or if it is not managing, mitigating or eradicating these concerns.

"The Engage process provides additional scrutiny and support from the inspectorate and other external organisations in the policing sector to help the force improve and provide a better service for the public.

"Nottinghamshire Police has been asked to urgently produce an improvement plan and will meet regularly with our inspectors. We will work closely with the force to monitor its progress against these important and necessary changes."

The reasons behind the decision are set to be included in the latest inspection report due to be published later this year.

Chief constable Kate Meynell said she recognised the "serious nature of the findings" and had "taken urgent action" to address the concerns raised, including ensuring "all of the initial recommendations that relate to our investigations and support for victims have been completed".

"Victims of crime are at the heart of everything that we do," she said.

"The team have reviewed all of the cases identified to ensure that victims of crime are receiving regular updates and that these are being correctly recorded."

Nottinghamshire Police are now one of six forces in special measures, along with the country's two largest, the Metropolitan Police and West Midlands Police, as well as Devon and Cornwall, Staffordshire, and Wiltshire.

Nottingham attacks

The force is being investigated by both the police watchdog the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) and the College of Policing over its handling of the Calocane case, while the victims' families have hit out at its leadership.

Leicestershire Police are also being investigated by the IOPC over contact with the killer.

Calocane was detained at a high security hospital for killing university friends Grace O'Malley Kumar and Barnaby Webber, both 19, and 65-year-old school caretaker Ian Coates, after prosecutors accepted his manslaughter plea due to his history of mental illness.

The Crown Prosecution Service faced criticism over the decision not to pursue murder charges, prompting Attorney General Victoria Prentis to order a review and ask the Court of Appeal to decide whether Calocane's sentence was too lenient.

Last month, Mr Barnaby's mother Emma Webber called for Ms Meynell to step aside while allegations of failings are investigated after it emerged her son was among members of a police WhatsApp group in which graphic details were posted about the killings.

After the force was put into special measures, the families said they have been clear in the concerns they have raised "not only in the investigation itself" but "also in the failures, missed opportunities, lessons and poor communication before, during and after".

"Our criticisms are aimed at the leadership of both forces and also the management and failures of the SIO in the Nottingham force in charge of our own case," they said in a statement.

"We welcome the news today that the HMICFRS recognise that Nottingham Police require intervention and urgent improvement and that they have effectively been placed into 'special measures'.

"We hope this gives the residents of Nottingham more reassurance in their public safety."

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