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Policing guidance

Our guidance to support policing to provide consistency and a better service for the public.

Authorised professional practice (APP)

The official source of professional practice for policing, with operational guidance across different crime and incident types.

Browse all APP topics

Operational guidelines

Our operational guidelines, based on the best available evidence.

Conflict management

How to use de-escalation, communication and negotiation to safely resolve conflict

Investigations

How to conduct investigations effectively for any offence

Initial accounts

How to get good quality information from witnesses and victims before formal interview

Neighbourhood policing

How to understand communities, build trust and work together

Problem-oriented policing

How to use a problem-oriented policing approach, effectively and sustainably

Supervision

How supervisors can support the wellbeing, learning and performance of everyone in the police service

How to recognise and respond to risks when working with vulnerable people

Anti-social behaviour powers

Legislation and policing powers to address anti-social behaviour (ASB).

ASB powers

Codes of Practice

Our statutory guidance for chief officers to maintain national standards.

Armed policing

Use of firearms, specialist munitions and less lethal weapons

Information and records management

Creation, use, retention, appraisal and disposal of police information and records

Ethical policing

How to promote and support ethical and professional behaviour within your force

PNC and LEDS

Processing and managing data using the Police National Computer (PNC) and the Law Enforcement Data Service (LEDS)

Vetting 

Assessing someone's suitability to work in policing

Evidence briefings

Summaries of the best available evidence on specific crime types.

Drug crimes

Strategies and interventions for addressing drug crimes

Neighbourhood crime

Situational interventions to reduce neighbourhood crime

Knife crime

Strategies and interventions for addressing knife crime

Restorative justice

About the process of repairing harm caused by criminal behaviour and how it can be used by police

Violence against women and girls in public spaces

Strategies for reducing violence against women and girls in public spaces

Problem-solving guides

How to use the SARA (scanning, analysis, response, assessment) model to address specific crime types.

Homicide

Preventing homicide and the crimes that may lead to it

Knife crime

Reducing local knife crime, building on our knife crime evidence briefing

Serious violence hotspots

Using hot spots policing to reduce serious violence

Problem solving violent crime: a guide for analysts

Problem solving and analysing violent crime

Other practical guidance

Burglary

Investigating and preventing residential burglary

Sexism and misogyny in policing

The behaviour change process to challenge and address sexism and misogyny within policing

Violence against women and girls

How to protect women and girls from misogyny and bring criminals to justice

Retail crime investigation

Improve retail and business crime investigations

Sharing photographs or film of people in an intimate state

Understanding amendments to the Sexual Offences Act as part of the Online Safety Act

Vulnerability – Right Care Right Person (RCRP)

How to implement the RCRP approach to ensure vulnerable people get support from the right services
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