Curriculum and training

National police public order public safety training curriculum

The College of Policing’s national police public order public safety training curriculum (NPPOPSTC) provides a framework to all forces for public order public safety (POPS) training and associated standards. Forces should ensure that all POPS officers are trained in accordance with the NPPOPSTC requirements, licensing requirements and associated standards.

NPPOPSTC provides the relevant detail for initial POPS training, refresher training and accreditation or reaccreditation, to ensure that all POPS officers satisfy national requirements. 

The NPPOPSTC provides detail on all POPS specialisations and roles, and is governed by relevant licenses issued by the College of Policing. Force POPS chief officer leads – minimum rank of assistant chief constable or equivalent, such as Metropolitan Police Service commander rank – are responsible for ensuring that POPS training is delivered as per NPPOPSTC standards. POPS training delivered by their force should be fully compliant with their associated licenses.

Accreditation, reaccreditation and entry routes to command

Chief officers are responsible for ensuring that individuals who pass the relevant POPS courses are subject to a continuing professional development (CPD) programme. Commanders must demonstrate they are operationally competent by performing the role. Their operational competence should be assessed by their force. 

Officers seeking accreditation in a relevant POPS role must be assessed by operationally competent peers in the relevant role and who also satisfy the relevant POPS assessor standard (you will need to log in to College Learn).

The portfolios must also be reviewed by an internal verifier (who must satisfy the relevant standards of an internal verifier) before the portfolio is reviewed by the force strategic lead for POPS. The assessor, internal verifier and force chief officer lead for POPS, who review and sign initial POPS accreditation portfolios must all be different people to ensure transparency.

Bronze POPS commanders and public order public safety advisers (POPSAs) must complete first aid training, public and personal safety training, a multistage fitness test (or approved alternative) to level 6.3 and Level 2 public order training annually. Gold and silver POPS commanders must observe Level 2 tactics at least once annually as part of their annual reaccreditation.

Individual forces may provide further supplementary local training to support the local and regional issues identified in their respective POPS strategic risk assessments.

Forces should retain auditable records of any command accreditation and reaccreditation to evidence and support the CPD of commanders, in addition to compliance with the relevant role profiles and associated mandatory requirements.