New strategy aims to transform police culture and rebuild public trust

Recent high-profile reviews into policing have identified systemic issues rooted in police culture, leading to a loss of trust and confidence by both the public and our own workforce.

During last week’s Culture and Inclusion conference, a new five-year strategy by the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) and College of Policing was announced. It sets the vision for policing to have a representative workforce that is a trusted profession, demonstrating the highest levels of integrity, fairness and respect towards each other and the public we serve.

The strategy is available for forces to implement from 1 April 2025. It establishes new standards focusing on two interconnected priorities: evolving police organisations and improved working with the public. As part of the strategy there will be practical guidance and tools available to support forces to create lasting cultural change.

Chief Constable, Rachel Swann QPM of Derbyshire Constabulary, who chairs the NPCC Diversity, Equality and Inclusion coordination committee, presented the five-year strategy alongside Ama Dixon, Diversity Equality and Inclusion manager at the College of Policing.

We know that fostering a culture of inclusion within policing is not just a nice to have. We have a legal and moral responsibility to change.

Having a positive and inclusive culture is at the heart of everything we do. It’s good, basic policing and we need to create a system where this is properly embedded across law enforcement.

This strategy sets the framework for us to do that. We must now drive forward the improvements and outcomes we want to make to reform our service, and build confidence in policing across every community.”

Chief Constable Rachel Swann QPM

While chief officers will lead the implementation, the strategy emphasises that cultural transformation is everyone's responsibility. From frontline officers to police staff and volunteers, all members of the police service have a crucial role in building a more equitable and trusted police force.

Cutting crime is a priority and one of the ways policing does this is by increasing trust which can lead to better cooperation with police appeals, more effective crime reporting and a greater sense of safety among residents.

To increase trust we must reflect the communities we serve and this can be achieved through our newly published culture and inclusion strategy. I want to see officers and staff from all communities being attracted to policing as a career where they are motivated and trained to protect people and bring criminals to justice. 

Our plan to develop officers throughout their career will bring better consistency across the country so officers will meet the same high standards regardless of where they work or how they join.  

Police culture is strengthened by having a diverse workforce where officers can focus on tackling antisocial behaviour, protecting vulnerable people and having some of the best investigators anywhere in the world.” 

Jo Noakes, Interim Deputy CEO of the College of Policing 

Culture and inclusion strategy

The culture and inclusion strategy is available now ahead of its official launch. Implementation guidance and supporting tools with be available to support the strategy on 1 April. 

• Read the culture and inclusion strategy 2025–2030