Category: United Kingdom National Police Chiefs Council

It comes after chief constables voted last month to fund a national team to drive delivery of the Police Race Action Plan (PRAP) for a further 12 months.

Police chiefs have agreed the focus of the Police Race Action Plan team for next year.

It comes after chief constables voted last month to fund a national team to drive delivery of the Police Race Action Plan (PRAP) for a further 12 months.

The PRAP is the biggest coordinated effort ever across every police force in England and Wales to improve trust and confidence in policing among Black communities.

Every Chief Constable has signed up to support the plan and achieve its objectives, the first time there has been such a coordinated response across policing to making the vital improvements envisaged under the plan.

Established in 2020, with the plan published two years later, it was intended that the national team would drive delivery of the programme for four years, but the national team has been extended for another year following a decision by Chief Constables Council, which represents UK police chiefs.

In 2025 the programme will be focusing on giving police forces the tools and support they need to embed anti-racist policy and practice across policing.  Priorities for the team in 2025/2026 are:

• Supporting police forces to implement action and policy developed by the programme team, National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and College of Policing to deliver an anti-racist police service, such as recording the ethnicity of those subject to traffic stops.
• Reviewing and prioritising actions and projects under the programme and making plans to transition activity led by the programme into the NPCC, College of Policing or police forces.
• Finalising long term processes for measuring, overseeing and scrutinising the performance and impact of the plan and policing’s progress towards anti-racism over time.  This includes a proposed maturity matrix that will enable police forces to assess and track their progress.
• The central team will be working with stakeholders over the coming months to test, refine and begin to implement these processes. Engagement is being planned with police forces, the plan’s Independent Scrutiny and Oversight Board (ISOB), the National Black Police Association (NBPA) and the Home Office, as well as civil society and community groups. 

• Ensuring police forces, partners and the public understand what has been delivered so far and what to expect from policing in the future. Continuing to engage with police forces and leading civil society groups working in criminal justice and anti-racism will be critical to this.
• Sharing knowledge and good practice identified in local forces across England and Wales.

These priorities reflect and address recommendations from the ISOB’s most recent annual report.

The plan’s senior team has recently held positive discussions with the Policing Minister and senior government officials, as well as leading civil society groups. These discussions around joint working and shaping the future direction of the plan will continue in the coming months.

November also saw the NBPA vote to re-engage with the plan, lifting a suspension of support that had been in place since June.

T/Deputy Assistant Commissioner Dr Alison Heydari, programme director for the PRAP, said: “Tireless work by our central team and invaluable insight from the partners we work with has helped deliver some major strides forward over recent months.

“I am under no illusion about the scale of the challenge that still exists to build the trust and confidence of our Black communities in policing.

“Our mission over the next year is to give policing the tools it needs to deliver the plan’s long-term vision to build an anti-racist police service.”

This is centred on a maturity matrix assessment across key areas of delivery for an anti-racist police service, underpinned by key performance measures.

Over the coming months the plan’s central team will continue its work with police forces, partners such as ISOB, the NBPA and the Home Office, as well as civil society and community groups, to finalise this assessment, including how communities will be involved in it.

Abimbola Johnson, chair of the ISOB, said: “The extension of the Police Race Action Plan (“PRAP”) has proven necessary after slow progress and an initial lack of traction in delivery against policing’s anti-racism goal. PRAP was announced four-and-a-half years ago and sadly many community members, internal and external to policing, continue to report that policing does not feel different in its impact upon them; in some cases, that their experiences have worsened. 

“In the last few years, we have seen pockets of good work, commitment and progress. These have primarily been driven by hardworking individuals and have landed best where they have received proper backing and support from local leadership. We have also been frustrated by delays in achieving simple and logical steps to get work underway. 

“Sustained focus and resources are critical to achieving PRAP’s vision of an anti-racist police service. Progress requires commitment and delivery by the central team but also adoption of responsibility and prioritisation by local police forces, parallel commitment by statutory accountability organisations like HMICFRS and the IOPC, and the involvement of central government. Input from communities and anti-racism experts must be utilised appropriately to give this work the legitimacy it requires. 

“We are encouraged that the 2025/26 priorities reflect key recommendations from our recent report, including embedding anti-racist policies, developing a maturity matrix to measure progress, and transitioning activities into long-term structures. We have started to see work that reflects proper commitment to those recommendations.

“This year, our scrutiny work will be focussing on the legacy of this plan. Policing needs to demonstrate that anti-racism commitment is a permanent focus that will outlive the central team’s final year: joined up working, structural reform and cultural changes.”

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 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.

The National Police Chiefs’ Council responds to today’s announcement on the police funding settlement. 

Responding to today’s announcement on police funding, National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for Finance, Chief Constable Paul Sanford, said:

“The funding settlement announced today presents real challenges for policing, with forces facing an estimated £1.3bn gap in finances over the next two years. This will inevitability lead to cuts across forces.

“Investment in neighbourhood policing is welcome, as is the Government’s ambition to support and deliver the wide-scale reform our service needs in order to better protect the public in the long term.

“However, by ringfencing funding for neighbourhood police officers, forces are unable to invest in other specialist areas of policing that are critical to our service.

“Crime is evolving at a rapid pace and becoming more and more complex in nature. At a time when community needs have never been greater, we cannot afford to cut back our resources.

“We are fully committed to achieving the Government’s ambition of making our streets safer and reducing violence against women and girls. To do that, we need to focus on recruiting the right people with the right skills, supported by the best technology, and not measure our effectiveness alone through officer numbers.

“Our current funding model is outdated and means that the funding announced today will not be evenly shared across forces, resulting in some forces facing significant deficits. As part of wider police reform, we have long called for a new funding model that would help forces to plan for the future and improve financial resilience.

“We continue to work with government to drive greater productivity and efficiency in our police service, however, without proper funding and investment, and with no resilience left in police budgets, efficiencies can only take us so far to meet these challenges.

“We reaffirm our commitment to work closely with government to improve policing, including through the forthcoming spending review.”

National policing team in place for next stage of Post Office Horizon criminal investigation

• 100-strong investigation team made up of officers across the UK
• Investigation continues to focus on offences of perjury and perverting the course of justice
• Over 1.5m documents so far to review and thousands of victims

An ongoing investigation unprecedented in size and scale will now be supported by a 100-strong team of skilled police officers and staff from across the UK to try and secure justice for the thousands of people affected by the Post Office Horizon scandal.

Operation Olympos is the ongoing criminal investigation into what is often described as the largest miscarriage of justice in British legal history. It has been running since 2020, and in parallel with the Public Inquiry since it began in February 2022. The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and the Metropolitan Police Service have been working with Chief Constables across the UK to build a national investigation team, which is now in place. The investigation is currently reviewing over 1.5 million documents, although the true scale is not yet known.

Four Regional Investigation Teams (RITs) are made up from police forces across England and Wales with Police Scotland, Police Service of Northern Ireland and the National Crime Agency, also making a contribution.

Op Olympos is currently investigating offences of perjury and perverting the course of justice and is not a reinvestigation of all of the prosecutions of sub postmasters. It is a focussed and proportionate investigation into potential criminality in the prosecutions of sub-postmasters and the wider presentation of the Horizon IT system as robust.

Commander Stephen Clayman is Gold lead for Op Olympos, he said:

“The sub-postmasters and their families are at the heart of this investigation and our goal is to try and secure justice for those affected by this shocking set of events, the impact of which cannot be underestimated.

“The scale of the task ahead  is unprecedented and I am confident we have an excellent team in place, with the support of cutting-edge technology to strengthen our search for information and evidence in amongst the 1.5 million-plus documents obtained and which will grow.

“I do know that if you take into account Post Office criminal and private prosecutions, civil claims and contract withdrawals, there are potentially thousands of victims who we are working hard to identify and build our database so that we can ensure we reach as many affected individuals as possible.

“I cannot make promises that this will be a fast process.  An investigation of this size must continue to be undertaken meticulously and methodically and will take time. However, I speak on behalf of our whole team when I say we will approach it with independence, precision and integrity.”

Emily Spurrell, APCC Chair, said:

“The severe and enduring impact on sub-postmasters has become increasingly clear as events have unfolded, and the stories have emerged of some of those wrongfully prosecuted and convicted. Victims of the Horizon IT scandal exist in every part of the UK – innocent people whose lives have been ruined over a quarter of a century.

“Those who found themselves caught up in this through no fault of their own deserve justice and, as what is likely to be a lengthy police investigation scales up, they are entitled to be fully supported through it. Under the Victims Code of Practice, victims have a right to be referred to free support services for help in coping and recovering after a crime.

“Delivering support for victims is key to what Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) do, and I would encourage any of those affected, or their families, to contact their local PCC for help in accessing support services available in their area.”

The team has launched a Major Investigation Public Portal where anyone can submit information and documents and will shortly be publishing a dedicated webpage to provide updates and resources on the investigation as it progresses.

If you have information to submit or would like to get in touch with the investigation team, you can do so here Public Portal.

Further information about Op Olympos

National oversight of the investigation is provided by a Platinum group, led by NPCC Chair, Chief Constable Gavin Stephens comprised of nationally appointed leads for the investigation, finance, Crown Prosecution Service and victim engagement. Its role is to ensure the national team remains resourced to agreed strengths, along with oversight of the financial management of the investigation and infrastructure. 

The investigation is unprecedented in both scale, complexity and is truly national in  scope – with most areas across England and Wales affected, along with Scotland and Northern Ireland. Given that that the majority of victims are located outside of London, it was determined that this should not be the sole responsibility of the MPS and that a national policing response would be necessary to build the larger team required.

Phase 1 of this investigation focuses on individuals making key decisions on post office investigations of supporting prosecutions and related activity. Phase 2 will look at wider offences.

Whilst the investigation was progressing in parallel to the Public Inquiry and will continue to do so now that is coming to an end, no charging decisions will be made until the final inquiry report is both received and thoroughly reviewed.

Further information available here

The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners have partnered with ITN Business to create a new programme that will feature interviews with senior leaders in policing. 

The policing landscape has never changed as fast and as much as it has today, with crime and the needs of the community becoming more and more complex and public confidence at a low. But it’s a sector that is determined to build back trust, delivering a police service that is both effective and inclusive, ensuring that communities throughout the UK, remain safe.

The NPCC Policing Vision 2030 outlines that to remain fit for the future, policing must adapt to the changing nature of crime and have the right tools to do so, whilst becoming more efficient, productive and sustainable. Traditional crime is at the lowest it’s been since records began – we are a safer nation than we have ever been, and collaboration is at the heart of this.

Policing for a Safer Tomorrow is a new programme that looks at how the sector is pushing the boundaries of innovation, safeguarding neighbourhoods, building an inclusive and supportive workforce and encouraging the next generation. The programme features key industry and news-style reports along with sponsored editorial profiles.

This news-style programme features organisations such as the NPCC, who will be showcasing the positive work in action within policing and the services, technology and tools that will enable our workforce to meet the challenges of the future, and secure confidence on a local and national level.

To watch the programme in full, visit the ITN Business Hub.

Twice yearly week of action showcases innovation across policing.

Sceptre is a week of action which runs twice a year and sees police forces highlight a range of tactics in the fight to keep communities safe from the blight of knife crime.

The latest week of action which ran 10 – 17 November 2024, saw participation from police forces across England and Wales in a range of tactics working with local partners and organisations.

9,376 knives were recovered in total during the week. Some of these from weapons’ sweeps undertaken to look for knives which are often concealed or discarded in public areas, others from knife bins and a number from arrests and warrants.

1,719 arrests were made over the week across the country for various knife offences and forces this November had a particular focus on knife enabled robbery, conducting additional patrols of hot spots and targeting high harm offenders.

Education and early intervention activity continues to be a core part of work to tackle knife crime with over 6,000 visits conducted to schools and community groups, and inputs, supported by technology such as VR headsets which quite literally immerse participants in decision-making around knife carrying.

Commander Stephen Clayman is National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for knife crime. He said:

“Our work to tackle knife crime from a number of different perspectives, both nationally and locally, continues to develop and Sceptre really brings this together, highlighting those ongoing collective efforts.

“The number of weapons seized and arrests made will always provide some measure of effectiveness, but what is particularly encouraging are the ever more innovative ways that police forces are working with partners in their communities to tackle knife crime. I got to see this when visiting Nottingham and Leeds, seeing the really effective collaboration between policing, education, voluntary sector and Violence Reduction Partnerships.”

“At a national level, we continue to work closely with government on restricting the accessibility of knives, and we were pleased to see additional measures announced for consultation during Sceptre week. We welcome the chance to take part in the consultation and explore the most effective means of achieving this, including using the findings of the ongoing online sales review which will be completed in January.

“We’ve always said that policing alone cannot solve the problem and we will continue to work hard with, communities, partners and government to bring real, impactful change.”

Policing Minister, Dame Diana Johnson said:

“The fact that almost 10,000 knives were recovered during one week alone shows just how crucial this work being done by forces across the country is, not just during this operation, but all year round.

“We are absolutely committed to giving policing the resources they need and ensuring the right legislation is in place to support them in our ongoing mission to halve knife crime over the next decade. We are shortly introducing the ban on ninja swords and placing tougher sanctions on social media executives who fail to remove illegal content from their platforms.

“I also look forward to seeing the findings of Commander Clayman’s review into online knife sales and, if further legislation is needed, we will work as swiftly as possible to make our streets safer.”

The Premier League Charitable Fund has today (Wednesday 27 November) announced the formation of a new partnership with the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC).

The partnership, which will see the charitable arm of the Premier League work closely with the NPCC and 43 police forces across England and Wales, is designed to use the power of football to help reduce anti-social behaviour and foster meaningful change in areas across England and Wales.

Using football as a tool to build community cohesion, the new partnership will support collaborative working between professional football club charities and their local police forces to inspire young people to reach their potential and provide them with positive opportunities which divert them away from possible involvement in anti-social behaviour, crime and youth violence.

Chair of the Premier League Charitable Fund and former Deputy Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Tim Godwin OBE QPM said, “I am proud to see the Premier League Charitable Fund and National Police Chiefs’ Council working together to create real and measurable change for communities across England and Wales through the Premier League Kicks programme.

“With the Premier League’s continued investment, and by joining forces with the National Police Chiefs’ Council, we are addressing shared challenges such as anti-social behaviour and youth violence. This partnership approach will encourage collective action that we hope will lead to safer, more connected communities, with football at the heart of that transformation.”

The Premier League Charitable Fund’s partnership with the National Police Chiefs’ Council, the body that enables independent Chief Constables and their forces to work together to improve policing for the public, will support 93 professional football club charities delivering the Premier League Kicks programme to work collaboratively with police forces to benefit people in their local communities.

As well as joining forces to raise awareness of positive community initiatives and to share professional resources, the partnership also involves the formation of a data sharing agreement to allow police forces and professional football club charities to share non-personal statistical data.

This data will allow the Premier League Charitable Fund and NPCC to monitor the success of the Premier League’s longest running community programme, Premier League Kicks, in reducing youth crime and anti-social behaviour in priority areas identified by the NPCC.

NPCC Lead for Anti-Social Behaviour, Deputy Chief Constable Andy Prophet, said: “On behalf of the NPCC I am delighted with the continuing success of our collaboration with the Premier League.

 “The Premier League Kicks programme is a fantastic way of engaging youth, developing self-esteem and teamwork, which supports the policing mission to create safer streets and tackle crime and anti-social behaviour.

 “This is an exciting collaboration between the NPCC and the Premier League Charitable Fund and that will allow us to understand the positive impact this amazing programme has on all our communities.

 “We look forward to continuing to work with the Premier League Charitable Fund on the Premier League Kicks programme to reap the benefits which extend far beyond football in its ability to positively impact young lives.”

Launched in 2006 as a collaboration between the Premier League and the Metropolitan Police, Premier League Kicks uses the power of football and sport to inspire young people to reach their potential.

Today, Premier League Kicks is delivered by 93 professional football club charities and is supported by 36 police forces across England and Wales. More than 520,000 young people have benefitted from the programme to date.

Premier League Chief Executive Richard Masters said: “The Premier League is committed to using the power of football to create lasting change in communities. Through working closely with the police, we will continue to create opportunities for young people to thrive. Football is more than a game, and programmes like Premier League Kicks prove that. Working together with the Premier League Charitable Fund and Club Community Organisations across the country, we can build a legacy that extends far beyond the pitch, ensuring that our impact is felt by those who need it most.”

To find out more about Premier League Kicks and the work of the Premier League Charitable Fund, please visit www.premierleague.com/plcf

Assistant Commissioner Louisa Rolfe, National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for Domestic Abuse reflects on how the police response to domestic abuse is evolving to better protect victims.

Today the Government has announced the pilot of new protective orders to safeguard victims of domestic abuse. We have long been aware of the limitations of existing protective orders, with victim-survivors and charities calling for a simplified and more effective process for obtaining a protective order that will be enforced if breached by a perpetrator.

Protective orders are designed to offer immediate protection for victims of domestic abuse by placing restrictions on a perpetrator’s behaviour. However, we know that enforcement has been inconsistent across the country, and the orders do not always go far enough to stop the abuse for happening.

The new orders will adopt a case-by-case approach that takes the victims’ individual circumstances and needs into consideration, with longer-term, more robust safety measures. It’s an encouraging milestone in improving the protection available to victims when they report abuse.

Improving our response from start to end

The domestic abuse protection order pilots are one of the many steps we are taking to make sure that every victim is heard, protected and empowered to seek help, whether from police or a support agency.

We have recently initiated the national roll-out of Rapid Video Response (RVR), a video call software that offers a discreet, quick and specialist police response to non-urgent reports of domestic abuse. The initiative was developed by Kent Police, where it has led to a decrease in the average response time from 32 hours to just three minutes, and a 50% increase in arrests. By using a simple piece of technology, we are already seeing a hugely positive impact on the trust and confidence of victim-survivors.

After a victim reports domestic abuse, they must have confidence that they will be protected by the criminal justice system, which can be a long and complicated process that retraumatises victims. Many cases do not result in a criminal justice outcome because victims withdraw support for the process. We need to change that.

Focusing on improving the timeliness of investigations to secure swifter justice for victims, we recently launched the Domestic Abuse Joint Justice Plan with the Crown Prosecution Service. The plan aims to improve the quality of investigations to ultimately charge more suspects in quicker time and provide a more joined-up approach to victim support as they journey through the criminal justice system.

The bigger picture

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to stopping domestic abuse. It is complex and woven into the tapestry of society. I have no doubt that the improvements we are making in policing will help to protect victims and tackle perpetrators, but we cannot move the needle alone.

Domestic abuse can no longer be a crime that happens in secret, behind closed doors where a perpetrator can hide.

There is a role for us all to play, and one of the most effective things we can do to help is prevent young people from developing the harmful behaviours that trigger a cycle of abuse in adulthood.

We can’t shy away from asking uncomfortable questions as a society, silence and passivity allows violence against women and girls to perpetuate. The United Nation’s 16 days of activism against gender-based violence is a time to shine a light on the reality faced by women and girls everywhere, and ask ourselves what part we can play in ending this epidemic.

Let’s keep the momentum for change alive and do everything we can together to end domestic abuse.