NPCC response to Inspectorate report on summer disorder

Today (Wednesday 18 December) His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) have published the first part of their findings into the police response to this summer’s violent disorder.

The Inspectorate state that, with the benefit of hindsight, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) should have activated the national mobilisation plan earlier. However, they also recognise the complexities of the operation, and that policing was dealing with many unpredictable seats of disorder, while dealing with a disparate intelligence picture.

The report acknowledges that the national mobilisation of resources worked well and that this was instrumental in ending the disorder and restoring peace to our towns and cities. We’re pleased that this has been recognised as it testament to the incredible work undertaken by our officers, staff, and volunteers, who were dutiful and quick to respond in the face of real danger and adversity, and unprecedented escalation.

The Inspectorate also rightly recognise that that local mobilisation was conducted robustly, and that it was only when these responses became insufficient, inflamed in part by social media, that a national mobilisation plan was required to support forces across the country. The impact of social media and the sporadic nature of some of the violence was not predictable in advance and led to unprecedented violence fuelled by disinformation. In some areas, social media indicated that disorder was expected, but it did not materialise.

We accept the Inspectorate’s recommendations and findings, and our own reflective work (conducted with forces and the College of Policing) is already making substantial changes across policing to better prepare the police service for any future disorder of this scale. 

The senseless violence and destruction of communities by groups of violent thugs was completely inexcusable and policing responded quickly to arrest those suspected of involvement. Working closely with partners in Government and the criminal justice system, we have ensured that perpetrators of violence have received swift justice.

To ensure that operational learning is collated, shared and implemented, the College of Policing is currently carrying out a thorough debrief of forces and officers. The themes being looked at include around welfare, tactics, leadership, and equipment. The responses to this are currently being analysed.

As stated in the report, the National Police Coordination Centre (NPoCC) has recognised the need to review capacity and capability and have already made substantial updates to the national mobilisation plan.

In September, NPoCC circulated this draft plan for consultation. This revised plan begins to address the need for the national coordinating gold commander to have the explicit authority to decide on national mobilisation numbers and to set the strategic plan that forces should follow.

The NPCC has also already carried out an impact survey following the conclusion of the summer disorder to help understand what impact this had on individual officers. The majority of respondents have reported being aware of the physical and wellbeing support available to them through their force but less aware that this support was available through the National Police Wellbeing Service, Oscar Kilo. This finding has also been reflected in the report. It is an important learning and something that chief constables will take time to carefully reflect on.

National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for Public Order, Chief Constable BJ Harrington said:

“Scrutiny and reflection must always be expected after responding to major incidents such as this summer’s major disorder, and we thank the Inspectorate and forces for working quickly to complete this work.

“The report states that, with hindsight, the national mobilisation plan should have been made earlier, and this is a helpful recommendation. Hindsight can be useful, and these learnings are important, but we are pleased that the Inspectorate also recognise how complex of a situation this was for policing to respond to, and that on the whole, the service did so well. Of particular note, I’m pleased that the report recognises that the mobilisation of resources was instrumental in ending the disorder and restoring peace to our towns and cities.

“This was the largest mobilisation of public order public safety officers since 2011, and it is encouraging to see that the report acknowledges the immense bravery and professionalism shown by our people at this time, often in the face of serious abuse and threats.

“We are committed to continuous improvement and learning, and all of the report’s findings and recommendations will of course be considered very carefully. Those relating to the national management of public order related intelligence and also the process for effective national decision-making are timely, and can be considered as part of wider conversations currently taking place within policing and Government regarding police reform.”

The national policing response launched by NPCC - Operation Navette - was created to provide effective national coordination for the planning and response to demonstrations and disorder, as well as engagement and communication with forces, government and key national stakeholders. This included:

• A national Gold group established and led by the NPCC Public Order and Public Safety Lead.
• An intelligence coordination group led by the NPCC Intelligence Lead.
• The activation of the national mobilisation plan and the development of national strategic public order research, with NPoCC assuming a central coordination function for all public order assets across the country.

At the outset, forces affected by these issues planned and resourced operations based upon assessment of threat and risk within a local context. This included neighbourhood officers, as well as public order trained person

Throughout the period of Operation Navette, forces continued to mobilise neighbourhood policing resources alongside public order reserves. In many force areas these were sufficient, and managed responses to disorder and assemblies effectively.

Despite the demands on our people, ‘business as usual’ policing activity never ceased; as always, responding to crime and maintaining public safety remained the top priority for all chief constables.

For example, the period of disorder coincided with the start of the new Premier League season, and there was some speculation in the press that policing would be unable to commit its normal level of resourcing. However, forces, in conjunction with the UK Football Policing Unit (UKFPU), were able to mitigate risk to an acceptable level, and the weekend’s fixtures took place without major incident.

Police forces are committed to delivering swift justice for those involved in the summer disorder. As of 13 November 2024, there have been:

•  1,711 arrests
•  1,041 charges

127 suspects have been identified using retrospective facial recognition.

340 suspects have been observed in footage who are yet to be identified – work continues to bring them to justice.

The highest volume of arrests took place in the north and centre of England and were primarily for public order offences.