Policing Plan 2025 - 2028

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A Foreword from Chief Constable Ivan Balhatchet

As your new Chief Constable, I am honoured to serve the people of Northamptonshire and to present my Policing Plan for the next three years. At the heart of this plan is a simple but vital principle: policing is built on trust, and trust is built through listening, understanding, and working together.

• Focus 1: Build and maintain trust and confidence in Northamptonshire Police
• Focus 2: Quality of investigation standards
• Focus 3: Developing the workforce to close the skills gap across the force

Policing faces many challenges, and Northamptonshire is no exception. Misconduct and discipline issues have tested public confidence in our Force and I fully acknowledge that this has impacted both our communities and our workforce. However, I also see this as an opportunity to rebuild, renew, and move forward—together. My commitment is to lead with empathy, integrity, and openness, ensuring that every voice is heard, and every concern is addressed.

My vision is simple, aspirational, but ambitious: to make Northamptonshire the safest county in the UK. Achieving this goal will require strong partnerships with local agencies, charities, and community leaders, ensuring that we serve all communities across this diverse and fast-growing county.

At the core of our approach are the ethical policing principles that guide everything we do: Courage, Empathy, Respect, and Public Service. These values define how we operate as a Force, how we engage with communities, and how we support one another as colleagues. Upholding these principles will ensure we remain a trusted and effective police service.

My ambition for Northamptonshire Police is two-fold. Firstly, my Force will focus on prevention and early intervention, ensuring that we work alongside communities to reduce crime before it happens and provide even greater support for victims. We are already increasing our police presence in neighbourhoods, strengthening community engagement, and tackling persistent issues such as anti-social behaviour.

Secondly, to build a Force that better reflects the communities it serves by attracting new recruits from all backgrounds. The people in my Force need to know they will be trained, fully supported, and, crucially, listened to. A strong, ethical policing service starts with its people.

Our latest inspection report by HMICFRS was our best in years and showed some very significant progress, but I acknowledge the areas of weakness. Therefore, focussing on the quality of our investigations remains one of the central pillars of this plan. Our core mission is to fight crime and protect people, especially the most vulnerable in our communities. I have already moved to strengthen our Protecting Vulnerable People Command and believe in the importance of partnership working in areas such as child and adult safeguarding.

Restoring trust in policing is not just about what we do, but how we do it. We must be a service that upholds the highest ethical standards. That means addressing misconduct without hesitation, strengthening our vetting processes, and ensuring that officers and staff uphold the core values of policing. Operation Admiral, our dedicated unit for tackling misconduct, is just one example of our commitment to accountability and integrity. We have also welcomed external scrutiny, including engagement with the Angiolini Inquiry, to ensure that our recruitment and vetting processes meet the highest possible standards.

Creating a positive culture within Northamptonshire Police is essential. It shapes the way we serve our communities, treat our colleagues, and build a Force that people can trust and be proud of. By embedding Courage, Empathy, Respect, and Public Service into our daily work, we will create an environment where officers and staff feel empowered to serve with professionalism and integrity.

This policing plan also sets out our control strategy, identifying the key operational priorities that will guide our work over the next three years, as well as the critical infrastructure, technology, and training investments that will enable us to serve more effectively.

Collaboration will be central to our success. Over the past few months, I have greatly enjoyed working with our new Police, Fire, and Crime Commissioner, and that positive collaboration will continue. This plan aligns with the priorities set out in her Safe and Sound Public Safety Plan, ensuring that we move forward with a shared vision for Northamptonshire.

Northamptonshire Police is built on the dedication of its people and the strength of its partnerships. By working with our communities, listening to their concerns, and acting with Courage, Empathy, Respect, and Public Service, we will create a safer, fairer county for all. Together, we will continue to build a police service that Northamptonshire can trust and be proud of.

Focus 1: Build and maintain trust and confidence in Northamptonshire Police

Effective communication plays a vital role in building public trust and ensuring transparency in everything we do. By clearly explaining police actions at a local level, we provide communities with insight into how and why decisions are made. Open and honest communication helps bridge the gap between the police and the public, reinforcing our commitment to accountability.

To rebuild trust, we continue to invest in Neighbourhood Policing, ensuring officers are visible, accessible, and actively listening to local concerns. We are also committed to treating people with professionalism, fairness, and respect—fundamental to restoring confidence in policing. How we use police powers, such as stop and search, is key to public perception, and we remain fully transparent in our approach, aligning with the Police Race Action Plan to reduce disproportionality.

Public trust is also shaped by the visibility of policing efforts. By making police operations clear and accessible, we help the public understand how we tackle crime, support victims, and keep communities safe. Misinformation can spread quickly, so our communications strategy ensures the public receives timely, factual updates about our work. This proactive engagement showcases the professionalism and dedication of our officers and staff, strengthening relationships with the communities we serve.

Doing all of this and ensuring we are aligned to the PFCC’s Safe and Sound Plan will help us to deliver in the years ahead.

Objectives

• We will serve our communities by listening, learning, communicating, and effectively delivering justice and safety
• We will strive to make our communities feel safe, putting them at the heart of policing
• To deliver, we must communicate effectively with the public and be open and transparent
• We will review our policies, procedures, and practices often, to ensure we are delivering an equitable service that reflects the highest standards

Focus 2: Quality of Investigation Standards

Based on the National Policing Vision 2025 and Home Office priorities, our focus will be on improving and monitoring quality of investigation standards

The reasons are clear: The 2023-24 Victims’ Commissioner’s Annual Report showed the vast majority of the public were dissatisfied with the police response to their crime while too many victims feel they are being let down by the Criminal Justice system. Furthermore, victims of anti-social behaviour continue to face ongoing harassment with nearly two-thirds experiencing unresolved problems despite having reported them.

In other words, public expectation is clear – victims want to be heard, respected and supported throughout the criminal justice process.

Their main expectations are:

• To have a range of communication channels available to them to contact the police.
• To have their inquiries dealt with promptly.
• For incidents to be attended within a reasonable timeframe.
• To ensure all reasonable lines of enquiry are pursued while keeping victims appropriately informed.

Objectives

• We will ensure effective oversight of investigations, make sure structures and review processes are robust
• As a service we will deliver high quality investigations, that will achieve greater positive outcomes and justice for the public
• We will improve confidence and satisfaction with the public, keeping them informed throughout investigations

Focus 3: Developing the workforce to close the skills gap across the force

Policing is ever-changing and needs to evolve continually to meet the needs of communities and develop and retain skills within the workforce. Our staff and officers want growth and need development, to feel listened to and recognised.

The Police uplift delivered by the previous Government saw Northamptonshire Police reach its highest ever number of police officers. However, nationally 36 per cent of officers now have less than five years’ service (State of Policing Report, March 2023) so it is essential we invest and build on officer development to reap the full benefits of them joining and staying in the service for the benefit of the wider community we serve.

Our priority is to invest in front-line policing, ensuring our teams have the resources they need to keep communities safe.

We are dedicated to building a force that reflects the diversity of our communities, equipping our officers with the skills, cultural awareness, and expertise needed to tackle evolving crime. This includes investing in training, professional development, and workforce flexibility while providing crucial support during the cost-of-living crisis.

Having integrity in our standards improves overall performance and in turn builds public trust and confidence in policing.

Objectives

• We will be an inclusive, collaborative organisation and commit to the wellbeing and welfare of all our officers and staff
• We will ensure officers and staff are sufficiently trained and proficient in digital solutions to be confident in their role
• We will expand skills, training, and development opportunities at every level of the organisation

Control Strategy

What is a control strategy?

The Control Strategy illustrates the operational thematic priorities of the Force and sets the long-term priorities for crime prevention, Intelligence, reassurance, and enforcement.

It provides a framework to implement decisions on prioritising the allocation of resources.

Throughout the past three years, the Force has delivered against the adopted “Matters of Priority”.

However, to align with other Forces and the region specifically, Northamptonshire Police will move away from Matters of Priority and once again adopt ‘control strategy’ as the agreed term to determine our operational priorities. These will continue to be based on locally identified areas of risk, as informed by the public, where operational priority should be focused to deliver against the Force mission to fight crime and protect people.

The Control Strategy does not capture every local issue or vulnerability, but this does not mean that those not captured will not be dealt with or are not as important. It may mean that these thematic areas are under control or that there are already plans in place to suitably respond to the threat, harm, and risk.

In the coming months you will see supporting campaigns focusing on the priority areas identified in the Control Strategy.

Strategic Plan on a Page 2025 - 2028

Our Vision

In partnership with wider agencies across Northamptonshire, what we want to achieve

To make Northamptonshire the safest county in the UK.

Our Mission

What we do

Fighting Crime, Protecting People

Our Ethical Policing Principles

We will ensure the highest standards of behaviour are adhered to by officers and staff across Northamptonshire Police, following the ethical policing principles of:

• Courage
• Empathy
• Respect
• Public Service

Our three strategic areas of focus

that will underpin all our work

Quality of Investigation standards across the service

• We will ensure effective oversight of investigations, make sure structures and review processes are robust.
• As a service we will deliver high quality investigations, that will achieve greater positive outcomes and justice for the public.
• We will ensure officers and staff have the right skills and digital solutions to investigate crime effectively.
• We improve confidence and satisfaction with the public, keeping them informed throughout investigations.

At the heart of our plan is to build and maintain trust and confidence in Northamptonshire Police

• We will serve our communities by listening, learning, communicating and effectively delivering justice, safety, and opportunity.
• We will strive to make our communities feel safe, putting them at the heart of policing.
• To deliver, we must communicate effectively with the public and be open and transparent.
• We will review our policies, procedures, and practices often, to ensure we are delivering an equitable service that reflects the highest standards.

Developing the workforce to close the skills gap across the force

• We will be an inclusive, collaborative organisation and commit to the wellbeing and welfare of all our officers and staff.
• We will expand skills, training, and development opportunities at every level of the organisation.
• We will seek out new ideas and enablers to develop the skills of the workforce that go on to support competent policing.
• We will provide the right training, where it is needed most.

Our Control Strategy Priorities

(identified areas of risk) where we will place our operational focus to make our county safer

• Neighbourhood Concerns: Anti-social behaviour, Organised acquisitive crime
• Serious Organised Crime: Organised acquisitive crime, Drugs exploitation
• Serious Violence: Knife crime, Near miss homicide
• Vulnerability: Child abuse and exploitation
• Violence Against Women and Girls: Domestic abuse and rape

Our strategy will align to the priorities set out in the Public Safety Plan 'Safe and Sound' and we will deliver them.

Our organisational enablers

to help us provide an outstanding service to our communities:

• We will provide the right resources, that align with current and future demands across the service, making best use of data to
  inform need.
• We will be an integrated organisation that delivers modern services with the right estate, fleet, digital enablers and kit for officers and staff.
• We will embed a culture of organisational learning through everyday professional curiosity and continuous improvement, striving to be an outstanding service.
• We will provide value for money, deliver efficient joint Enabling Services, invest in innovation and increase productivity through effective financial and strategic planning.