We’re consulting on updated guidance for operations and response
Operations and response – have your say
Published on
Consultation
3 mins read
We're seeking views on updated guidance that will help police forces across the country respond to emergencies and major incidents in the most effective way possible – working together seamlessly to keep people safe.
Operations and response guidance
Our operations and response authorised professional practice (APP) focuses on helping police respond to the most serious situations that can happen without warning – including those which are complex, large-scale, or likely to become major or critical incidents. This includes:
- terrorist attacks
- severe weather emergencies
- commercial or industrial accidents
- major public events where something has gone wrong
The guidance ensures that when these serious incidents occur, police forces have a clear, structured approach to managing the response. It can adapt to different types and scales of incident whilst supporting effective collaboration between all agencies involved. It also supports forces in their initial response to recognise and declare major or critical incidents, and explains how to set up proper command and control structures during the response.
Approach
Through our mission of Leadership, Standards and Performance, the College is ensuring that policing learns from major incidents like the Manchester Arena bombing and Grenfell Tower disaster. This approach to learning from major incidents supports our Code of Ethics, which helps people in policing do the right things, in the right way, for the right reasons.
By developing comprehensive guidance, training commanders through courses like the Multi Agency Gold Incident Command programme, and embedding structured debriefing processes that capture lessons and share them across the service, we're supporting policing so the public can have confidence that future responses to such incidents will be coordinated, efficient and delivered to the highest professional standards.
What's changed
We've strengthened the operations and response guidance to make it:
- easier to navigate
- less repetitive
- better targeted to officers at different ranks and roles
Who needs to know
Our operations and response guidance covers all stages of an incident, from when police first become aware of them right through to reviewing what was learned. It contains important information for:
- First responders – such as response officers, 999 call handlers, and force incident managers – including what they need to do when they arrive at the scene and are working out how to respond.
- Operational and tactical leaders – who work together to decide which tactics will be used in the initial stages of an incident and ensure the right resources are sent to the scene.
- Chief officers and strategic leaders – who need to ensure their forces have plans, policies and procedures in place to provide an effective response to complex incidents and events.
- Emergency planning teams – who develop plans for responding to different types of major incidents within their force, working alongside other emergency services and partners.
Have your say
We want to hear your views on whether the updated APP is clear, easy to use, as well as the impact it will have on your force. To have your say, read the consultation document, then complete the online questionnaire.
Our consultation is open from Tuesday 5 August to Tuesday 14 October 2025.
