Fed said: Changes to leadership standards little more than "branding exercise"

28 June 2023

Changes to leadership standards for officers by the College of Policing is little more than a “branding exercise”, Surrey Police Federation has said.

The College has this month released new leadership standards which will apply to everyone in policing. Currently around 80% of officers and staff choose not to move beyond PC rank, meaning huge swathes of the workforce don't currently receive any form of leadership training.

But Surrey Police Federation Chair Darren Pemble said the standards haven’t in fact changed.

He said: “They have simply been rebranded. Policing has always needed to build trust, improve performance & protect the public.”

The police leadership programme is split across five stages of leadership: new recruits, first line leaders, mid-level leaders, senior leaders and executive leaders.

Chief Constable Andy Marsh, CEO of the College of Policing, said: “This is the hardest time for policing I can remember in almost 40 years’ service and we cannot continue along this path. Something radical must be done.

“Policing must have high quality leaders at every rank and grade. We know about 80 per cent of officers and staff choose not to move beyond the rank of police constable so it cannot be right that leadership training is only given to those who seek promotion.

“We can no longer afford to underinvest in the people we expect to lead. Everyone in policing should be given the leadership training and development they need so they are fully equipped to solve more crimes, keep people safe and call out internal bad behaviour.”

To see the new standards, go to: https://www.college.police.uk/article/leadership-standards