HMICFRS recently published four new performance reports from their 2023-25 inspection regime. These late July 2025 results cover City of London Police, Hampshire Police, South Yorkshire Police, and Sussex Police.
As usual, I’ve summarised the results from these PEEL inspections in short videos for busy cops in those forces, or indeed for anyone interested in their performance. Read my PEEL inspections blog on how the HMIC inspection regime is changing, along with a deeper understanding why these reports are essential reading for aspiring officers
For now, here’s the highlights for each force and embedded video from my free Rank Success YouTube channel…
City of London Much Improved
In their last inspection before the 2025-27 PEEL regime takes hold, the City of London will no doubt be pleased with their much improved performance since 2022. Their recording of crime was graded top marks as ‘Outstanding’, while response and investigation themes both scored solidly too as ‘Good’. All other areas were given the middling ‘Adequate’ grading by the His Majesty’s Inspectorate.
Commissioner Pete O’Doherty shared his pride with the improvements, saying of the report into his one-square-mile force:
“I am very happy to share our inspection results which demonstrate the hard work our officers and police staff are doing to keep people safe and put victims at the heart of everything we do. I am especially proud of our ‘outstanding’ grade for recording crime, as well as being recognised for how we investigate crime and respond to the public. We are not at all complacent, but this is a good outcome, reflecting our new Policing Plan priorities for the next three years, and it shows how we really are going the extra mile to deliver the best service possible to the City of London, and beyond.”
Chair of the City of London Police Authority Board, Tijs Broeke, also praised the force saying:
“These are excellent results and a testament to the professionalism, commitment, and integrity of the City of London Police.”
As I show in the summary video, there were 12 areas for improvement highlighted for the force. If you are an aspiring police promotion candidate, these are good to know so you can share your ideas on improvement in interviews or presentations, in essence painting a brighter future under your leadership.
HMIC also noted three areas of good or promising practice, relating to training and communication with the public. Watch the video too for additional context about the City of London Police, key stats, total budget and its policing priorities.
If you want to know more about the Commissioner, what his priorities are and what he expects from police leaders in the City, listen in to my exclusive recent podcast interview with Pete O’Doherty.
Hampshire Police Also Shows Improvement
Hampshire Police will also be satisfied with the July results from their inspection. While most policing themes ranging being scored as ‘Adequate’, there were a couple of areas graded as ‘Good’ (protecting the vulnerable, supporting its workforce). Hampshire also shook off its previous ‘Requires Improvement’ gradings from Hampshire’s prior inspection in 2022. Preventing crime and responding to the public were upgraded to ‘Adequate’.
The force is sizeable, covering Aldershot, Andover, Basingstoke, and Farnborough in the north down to Portsmouth, Southampton, and the Isle of Wight on the south coast. Acting Chief Constable Sam de Reya at the time welcomed the results, stating:
“The report reflected that we have made significant changes, are better connected with our local communities, improved the way we investigate to bring more offenders to justice, provided better outcomes for victims and reduced crime. While there were no areas identified as requiring improvement, we are not complacent.”
Again, there’s plenty for an aspiring police promotion candidate to get their teeth into and understand the force better. I even highlight for you some key info and stats about the force, its demand, budget, workforce and public served.
Here’s how Roy Wilsher, HM Inspector of Constabulary, summarised his report and gradings for Hampshire Police:
“I am pleased with some aspects of the performance of Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary in keeping people safe, reducing crime and providing victims with an effective service. I am satisfied with the other aspects of its performance.”
South Yorkshire Police Shows Significant Decline
South Yorkshire Police covers Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and Sheffield. While most of its policing activities were formally graded as ‘Adequate’, there’s a couple of ‘Requires Improvement’ gradings (investigating crime, supporting the workforce) and an overall significant decline from its mostly ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’ gradings achieved in South Yorkshire’s prior inspection report.
HM Inspector Michelle Skeer summarised her findings of the force somewhat positively however:
“I am pleased with some aspects of the performance of South Yorkshire Police in keeping people safe, reducing crime and providing victims with an effective service. I am satisfied with most other aspects of the force’s performance, but there are areas in which it needs to improve.”
Responding to the report, South Yorkshire’s Deputy Chief Constable explained the deterioration by pointing to more challenging standards set by HMICFRS for forces this time round, along with funding challenges. While giving assurances that “work is already underway to develop an action plan to improve the service we are delivering to South Yorkshire”, DCC Sarah Poolman stated:
“As the public’s expectations of policing increase, so too do the expectations of His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services… Some gradings have lowered. This is not a sign that we are holding ourselves to lower standards than before but rather that a new higher bar has been set by HMICFRS prior to this round of inspections and that we need to address our outstanding challenges and embed some recently identified innovative practices into our ways of working.”
Sussex Police Improved
Sussex are another force showing grading improvements since their last inspection. Almost all aspects of Sussex’s performance were graded as ‘Adequate’, with the exceptions of response (Good) and investigation (Requires Improvement).
Responding to the publication, Chief Constable Jo Shiner congratulated her officers and staff on the improvements in performance, stating:
“These ratings put us as one of the stronger performing forces in England and Wales, and one of the most improved over the last two years. The inspection is also stricter and more rigorous than before, and so to achieve the same ratings in many areas – particularly with limited investment – is a sign of success and testament to the hard work of our officers and staff across the county.”
Watch the video for more insights into this force on the south coast, including the key stats and my simple summary of its mission and priorities, essential for more senior police leadership ranks of Inspector and beyond to know.
Want to dive even deeper into Sussex? Well you’re in luck, with free podcasts and blogs galore…
- In another exclusive Chief Officer interview, earlier this year I had the pleasure of an insightful podcast interview with Chief Constable Jo Shiner.
- Listen to my interview with Sussex Federation Treasurer Chris Thompson for more insightful commentary on policing and leadership.
- Learn what Sussex rank and file officers say makes a good leader, in my bespoke Sussex Leadership Framework I compiled for fun following a visit last year.
As always, I hope you find these free resources useful and let me know if there’s anything else you’d find helpful. And if you want great value police promotion support to prepare you in the best way and quickest possible time, then browse my rank-specific toolkits, including my market-leading Promotion Masterclass. These don’t just aid your promotion ambitions, you’ll also learn valuable leadership skills in an intuitive, cop-friendly way.
Kind Regards, Steve
Seeking police promotion? Want a MASSIVE head start right now? Hit the ground running with your personal digital promotion toolkit, and/or my market-leading Police Promotion Masterclass and CVF explainers. There’s nothing else like it to effectively prepare you for success in your leadership aspirations. You can also contact me to arrange more personal coaching support. Or try my podcast for your ongoing police leadership CPD covering a range of fascinating subjects.