A troubled Chief Constable has defended his force's record in dealing with murder investigations after they were criticised in a report for being too passive in preventing organised crime.
Steve Green said Nottinghamshire Police had taken large numbers of dangerous gun criminals out of circulation and seen a significant reduction in shootings over the past few years.
His comments came as it was announced that West Midlands Police Deputy Chief Constable Chris Sims was being drafted in to assist Mr Green following an investigation by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary into the force.
Mr Green said: " I am pleased that the report acknowledges the real progress on reducing crime, capping drug trafficking and reducing shootings.
"The report says that has not been the case in relation to murder and organised crime.
"Whilst we want to examine every option in preventing murders we would argue that the excellent work of the Operation Stealth team and significant reductions in shootings prove that we have been anything but passive in this area."
Government inspectors were dispatched to Nottinghamshire to assess the challenges facing the force after Mr Green claimed a lack of resources was leaving his team of detectives overstretched.
He sparked a political storm following his comments in a Sunday newspaper last month in which he said he was preparing to "farm out" Category C murder investigations to other forces.
He later said he was wrong to accept that his force was in crisis and added that the interview was not his "finest hour".
