Have Your Say On How Police Are Led

Police officers are being urged to have their say as a new Police Leadership Commission opens a national call for evidence on the future of leadership in policing.

Set up by the College of Policing with the support of the Home Office, the commission is carrying out a wide-ranging review to examine how police leadership needs to change to meet growing demands and rising public expectations.

The commission is chaired by former home secretary David Blunkett and former Policing Minister Nick Herbert; and brings together senior figures from policing, the military, the private sector and academia to identify what effective leadership looks like and what can be learned from other fields.

Officers, staff, former colleagues, partner organisations and members of the public are all being invited to contribute. The commission says it wants a broad range of views to help shape a blueprint for police leadership that supports the workforce, cuts crime and strengthens public trust.

South Yorkshire Police Federation has encouraged members to make their opinions known.

Steve Kent, Federation Chair, said: “We need to have a conversation about police leadership in terms of the way that things drip down, because particularly in upper middle management, we see leadership focus on performance and wellbeing of staff, rather than actually trying to motivate staff to do things right.

“We have got some cracking leaders in South Yorkshire Police, but there’s always room for improvement. The promotion processes within policing are based on the ability to pass a process rather than the ability to do a role. So that needs to be looked at as well, because we don’t always see the right people promoted, and we see some great people overlooked because they struggle with the process.

“We need to look at identifying talent, and we need more officer and staff-centric leadership styles rather than those that think of performance as the only issue.”

The consultation will remain open until Thursday 12 February 2026. All submissions will be analysed alongside other evidence, with findings and recommendations due to be presented to the home secretary in May 2026.

Find out how to have your say at: https://www.college.police.uk/article/police-leadership-commission-what-matters.