Nottinghamshire Police

Nottinghamshire Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the shire county of Nottinghamshire and the unitary authority of Nottingham in the East Midlands area of England. The area has a population of just over 1 million.

The force headquarters are at Arnold. As of April 2022, the force had 2,238 police officers, 1,465 police staff including PCSOs, around 163 special constables, 113 police support volunteers, 19 student placement volunteers and 131 police cadets.

The chief constable is Kate Meynell, appointed from nearby Derbyshire Constabulary in December 2022, who followed Craig Guildford, in-post since February 2017.

Nottinghamshire Police Authority, which governed the force, was disbanded in November 2012, when the first Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner was elected.

As of early 2024, the force is under two special investigations following three killings and three attempted killings by one offender in June 2023.

Police area
The police area covers the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire, which contains the following local authorities:

Map showing Local Authorities within the Police Area.

History
Nottinghamshire Constabulary was established in 1840. The following year it absorbed Retford Borough Police. In 1947, it absorbed Newark-on-Trent Borough Police. In 1968 it amalgamated with Nottingham City Police to form Nottinghamshire Combined Constabulary. On 1 April 1974, it was reconstituted as Nottinghamshire Police under the Local Government Act 1972, but retained the name Nottinghamshire Constabulary on all signage, uniform and vehicles until the early 21st century.

In 1965, Nottinghamshire Constabulary had an establishment of 1,026 officers and an actual strength of 798.

Proposals made by the Home Secretary in March 2006, would have seen the force merge with the other four East Midlands forces to form a strategic police force for the entire region. However, in July 2006 the proposed merger was cancelled.

In June 2006, the force was declared effective and efficient by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) after five years of intense scrutiny.

In 2009, a performance assessment carried out by the government ranked the force's operational area as the third worst in the country.

In March 2010, HMIC rated the force as 'poor' in three reviewed areas of, 'Local Policing', 'Confidence' and 'Protecting from Harm'. Nottinghamshire Police were the only force in England & Wales to receive such a rating. Although HMIC did not attempt to place the 43 police forces in England & Wales in a directly comparable league table (due to difficulties in comparing a large city force with a small rural force), Nottinghamshire Police did give HMIC cause for concern. The media portrayed the analysis as showing the force as the 'worst in England & Wales'.

Chief constables
Chief constables were: In 1968, Nottingham City Police merged with Nottinghamshire Constabulary
 * Nottingham City / Borough of Nottingham Police
 * 1814–1833 Richard Birth
 * 1833–? William Barnes
 * 1860–1865 Joseph Hedington
 * 1865–1869 John Freeman (former chief constable of Plymouth)
 * 1869–1872 Captain F. Parry
 * 1872–1881 Major William Henry Poyntz (appointed chief constable of Essex)
 * 1881–1892 Samuel Stevens (former chief constable of Rochdale)
 * 1892–1912 Phillip Stephen Clay (former chief constable of Southampton)
 * 1912–1930 Lt. Col. F. Lemon
 * 1930–1959 Captain Athelstan Popkess
 * 1960–1968 Thomas Moore


 * Nottinghamshire County Constabulary
 * –1852 Peter Valetine Hatton (dismissed for inefficiency)
 * 1852–1856 Captain John Henry Forrest (later appointed chief constable of Hampshire)
 * 1856–1892 Captain Henry Holden
 * 1892–1922 Captain Sir William Hugh Tomasson
 * 1949–1970 John Edward Stevenson Browne
 * 1970–1976 Rex Fletcher
 * 1976–1987 Charles McLachlan
 * 1987–1990 Sir Ronald Hadfield (knighted in 1995 Birthday Honours)
 * 1990–1995 Sir Dan Crompton
 * 1995–2000 Colin Bailey
 * 2000–2008 Steven Green
 * 2008–2012 Julia Hodson
 * 2012–2016 Chris Eyre
 * 2016–2017 Susannah Fish (acting chief constable )
 * 2017–2022 Craig Guildford
 * 2022–present Kate Meynell
 * 2022–present Kate Meynell

Officers killed in the line of duty
The Police Memorial Trust lists and commemorates all British police officers killed in the line of duty, and since its establishment in 1984 has erected over 38 memorials nationally to some of those officers.

The following officers of Nottinghamshire Police are listed by the Trust as having died attempting to prevent, stop or solve a crime, since the turn of the 20th century:
 * Sergeant Ernest Crowston, 1921 (fatally injured attempting to stop a speeding vehicle)
 * PC Raymond Free, 1950 (collapsed after attending a domestic disturbance)
 * PC Stephen Atkinson, 1977 (fatally injured in an accident when hit by a car while on point duty)
 * PC Christopher John MacDonald, 1978 (beaten and drowned by burglar)
 * PC Gerald Walker, 2003 (fatally injured when dragged by a stolen vehicle)
 * Sergeant Graham Saville, 2023 (fatally struck by a train while helping a distressed man on the track)

Divisional structure
In April 2018, the force restructured under chief constable Craig Guildford, and moved to a local policing model. Response teams moved back in alignment with local authority areas and local council boundaries. The force was then split into two response divisions:


 * North (Bassetlaw, Newark & Sherwood, Mansfield, Ashfield, Gedling, City North)
 * South (City Central, City South, Broxtowe Borough, Rushcliffe Borough).

As part of the restructure, the organisation moved response teams back locally, increasing the number of response bases from nine to 20. • Bassetlaw

• * Harworth

• * Retford

• * Worksop

• Newark & Sherwood

• * Newark

• * Ollerton

• Mansfield

• * Mansfield

• Ashfield

• * Kirkby

• * Hucknall

• Gedling

• * Jubilee House - Arnold

• Rushcliffe

• * West Bridgford

• * Cotgrave

• Broxtowe

• * Eastwood

• * Beeston

• Nottingham City

• * Oxclose Lane

• * Bulwell

• * Broxtowe

• * Radford Road

• * Byron House (City Centre)

• * St Anns

• * Clifton/Meadows

Each Division was managed by a Demand Management Inspector (DMI) who is responsible for demand on their area.

Custody suites
There are two custody suites across the force: Bridewell (70 cells) and Mansfield (30 cells) Newark custody suite has recently closed, however is able to be reopened if there is operational need.

Neighbourhood policing
Each local authority area is covered by a Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT). Each Neighbourhood policing team is run by a neighbourhood policing inspector, also referred to as the district commander. • Bassetlaw

• Newark

• Mansfield

• Ashfield

• Gedling

• Rushcliffe

• Broxtowe

• Nottingham City North

• Nottingham City West

• Nottingham City Central

• Nottingham City Centre

• Nottingham City South

Operational Support
Operational support policing for the force between 2015 and May 2018 was provided by the East Midlands Operational Support Service (EMOpSS), a multi-force alliance which provides roads policing, police dogs, armed response and other specialist services over Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire. In May 2018, Operational Support Policing withdrew from the regional collaboration and a new department was established. Air support for the force is provided by the National Police Air Service, who closed the former Nottinghamshire/Derbyshire Air Support Unit at Ripley in early 2015. Cover is now provided from further afield using the nearest available aircraft. This function was previously supplied to the force by a joint venture with Derbyshire Police, the North Midlands Helicopter Support Unit. In 2020, the air support has also been provided by a fixed-wing aircraft flying out of Doncaster-Sheffield airport.

Dog theft
In March 2021, Nottinghamshire Police became the first police force in the United Kingdom to appoint a dedicated dog theft lead, following increased rates of dog abductions during the coronavirus pandemic. The inspector would take a leading role in investigating cases of dognapping, work with Nottinghamshire Police’s Dog Section to produce advice for owners on how to keep their pet safe, and develop a 'Canine Coalition’ with dog welfare organisations to work together to both tackle the scourge of dog theft locally, and lobby Government for tougher sentences for dognappers.

On 15 March 2021, Chief Inspector Amy Styles-Jones was appointed to the role.

PEEL inspection
His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) conducts a periodic police effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy (PEEL) inspection of each police service's performance. In its latest PEEL inspection, Nottinghamshire Police was rated as follows:

2024 special investigations
Following three killings and serious injuries to three more in one sequence in June 2023, Police and Crime Commissioner Caroline Henry requested the College of Policing to undertake an independent review into the force's responses. Additionally, after complaints by the victims' families, the force's previous interactions with the offender, Valdo Calocane, are under scrutiny by the Independent Office for Police Conduct.