Root and branch
The Police Leadership Commission’s 27 recommendations, from a professional digital passport to a shake-up of chief constable recruitment, summarised in full.
Jul 6, 2026
The case for change
- A root-and-branch modernisation of recruitment, training, development, promotion, monitoring and appraisal across policing.
Definition of police leadership
- A clear, shared national definition and set of principles of police leadership, to be developed further by the proposed National Academy of Police Leadership.
Workforce, data and evaluation
- Work should begin immediately on the comprehensive workforce strategy already promised in the government’s police reform white paper.
- The new National Police Service (NPS) should lead delivery of that workforce strategy, with a senior workforce planning function housed in the National Academy.
- A complete rethink of how police workforce data is collected, collated and analysed in real time.
- A centrally supported evaluation framework to assess the value and effectiveness of leadership training and development, owned by the National Academy.
Representation and ethics
- The NPS should lead on ethical and inclusive policing, building a national community of practice and potentially a dedicated national ethics capability.
Police constable recruitment and training
- Recruits trained through the unaccredited Police Constable Entry Programme (PCEP) should gain formal accreditation and recognition of their learning, including the option to top up to a full degree apprenticeship equivalent.
- Forces should offer a range of constable training programmes and give recruits proper advice to choose the right one, rather than locking them in at application.
Career-long learning
- A mandatory, standardised approach to annual performance reviews, feeding into a professional digital passport held on an NPS national database — which should also underpin a licence to practise for police officers.
- A national system for recognising learning and experience, from internal course certificates through to higher education qualifications, feeding into the same professional digital passport.
A police leadership fast stream
- A new police leadership fast stream, recruiting at least 400 people a year, providing five to ten years of structured development toward superintendent rank — open to serving officers, staff, volunteers and external candidates, with no degree requirement.
Frontline leadership
- A new senior constable rank, recognising experience and leadership on the front line, with mentoring and tutoring responsibilities, introduced as soon as possible.
- Reform of promotion to sergeant and inspector: clear criteria, use of performance reviews and leadership training rather than a single legal exam, probationary periods, and an end to temporary promotions.
An open profession
- Secondments to other forces, sectors and the NPS made routine and expected as part of leadership development, with the NPS acting as policing’s “staff college”.
- A targeted direct entry scheme bringing proven leaders from adjacent professions — security, risk management, public protection — into senior and executive roles.
- Police staff structures aligned to officer ranks, with equal access to leadership development.
Quality leadership development
- National leadership development programmes available to everyone in policing, delivered nationally and regionally for consistency and economies of scale.
- Leadership development networks at every level, connected to public sector partners, with protected time to participate.
Senior promotions and appointments
- Mandatory annual performance reviews for all chief officers, including chief constables, supported by non-executive boards similar to the Met’s.
- A new standardised promotion process for chief inspector, superintendent and chief superintendent, mirroring the reformed sergeant/inspector process.
- Urgent establishment of the senior workforce planning function already promised in the white paper, hosted by the National Academy.
- A central appointments panel for chief constable roles, including external voices such as HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary, to be consulted on shortlisting and any extension of tenure.
Delivering a new approach to police leadership
- Creation of a National Academy of Police Leadership as an essential entity of the NPS, owning the leadership definition, fast stream, promotion standards, direct entry scheme, secondments, development networks and senior workforce planning.
- The Academy should have its own dedicated physical home, potentially generating income through a global offer of police training and development.
- Restoration of central government funding for leadership development, brought into line with organisations such as the military and the NHS.
- A Home Office-led implementation group, working with the NPS, to set a clear delivery timeline — prioritising the leadership definition, workforce strategy, performance reviews, the senior constable rank, new promotion processes, senior workforce planning and the National Academy’s establishment within the 2026/27 financial year.
