MP urges 'root-and-branch' police force overhaul

A team of experts will be sent in to review Nottinghamshire Policeoperations after HM Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) said it had "not seen a convincing plan" to improve the force.

It is expected the review will focus on the way the force handles 999 calls, arranges regular public meetings and responds to messages left for neighbourhood teams.

Between 2002 and 2006, Nottingham witnessed a marked increase in gang violence and gun crime, including the murder of 14-year-old schoolgirl Danielle Beccan in a drive-by shooting.

The Labour MP for Bassetlaw in the north of the county, John Mann, believes resources were diverted from rural areas to Nottingham city to deal with gang culture and the number of shootings.

It has left the rest of the patch with few resources, he said. One night, there were only 16 officers covering the whole of Newark and Bassetlaw divisions.

Mr Mann wants the way resources are allocated to change but believes chief constable Julia Hodson should remain in post.

Mr Mann said: "I don't regard Julia Hodson as the problem. The whole centralised culture of the police force is the problem. How the police works is the critical issue.

"Decisions are made by senior police officers with the police authority. There are some significant issues for the police authority, particularly about a 2 million under-spend last year on recruitment.

"I don't think simply changing the chief constable solves the problem. I think there needs to be a root-and-branch overhaul about how resources are allocated."

An HMIC spokesman said its expert team would review operations at the force until the end of next month.