President of the PSA, Nick Smart, has commented following the publication of the report into police leadership:
"We welcome these recommendations, many of which align with the evidence and proposals we shared within our response to the call for evidence and in formal consultation events.
"It is right that the commission has overtly recognised the exceptional leadership demonstrated in many areas of policing, and the difficult context in which police officers work. We are in austerity and face a lack of funding, chronic under-resourcing, and rising demand.
"Senior leaders and politicians have allowed policing to become the service of last resort, picking up other agencies' demand and taking vital resources away from the core role of policing. This leads to criticisms of leadership and the wider workforce when we don't have the people to deal with the core policing that communities expect. Time and time again we have called for an urgent definition of the police mission to stop this from happening.
"Brilliant people are delivering excellent policing day in, day out, but for too long have been hampered by bureaucracy, inadequate and inconsistent training and development and most concerningly, toxic workplace cultures that leave officers at all ranks, including superintendents, unable to speak out or to challenge the actions of others. We have consistently raised these issues, but these 'red flags' have been ignored. We hope that through these recommendations and the clear evidence reinforcing our views, that they no longer will be.
"Many of our members do not have faith in promotion or appraisal processes. They tell us repeatedly that they lack transparency, and they speak of vast inconsistencies in the training and development on offer. Alongside this, superintendents, and their colleagues, are working dangerously long hours to keep up with the excessive demand placed upon them.
"This is recognised within the report, and many of the recommendations seek to address this, such as new standardised promotion processes and ongoing performance reviews for chief constables. We urge caution here however, that these changes must be mandated, overseen and subject to governance to ensure they are truly meaningful.
"For too long we have seen examples of excellent improvements being brought into areas of policing as guidance or best practice, but when they are not mandated, they are not adhered to by all forces, resulting in a postcode lottery of unfairness and inconsistency for officers.
"At present, the fear of making genuine operational mistakes, at all ranks, makes colleagues risk averse, which hampers innovation. We work in a blame culture. When mistakes are made, colleagues feel that the default position is punishment rather than learning. We need to follow the example of the NHS and become more of a learning culture, driven from the top. Only then will the service to the public improve.
"We welcomed the opportunity to engage with the commission as their review progressed, but this was slow to take place. The workforce deserves a voice in this throughout efforts to implement recommendations so that changes are based on the reality experienced by police officers and staff. This is of utmost importance when developing the recommended workforce strategy.
"We also urge government to listen to the clear recommendation to fund these changes adequately. As with the proposals we have seen outlined in the White Paper - this positive change costs. Our people want things to be better, they want to deliver even more, and they want to improve policing for the public. This takes investment, in money, people and time. We must turn the tide on the continued lack of funding into the police service to make these changes a reality. It is what our people, and the public deserve."
The Leadership Commission's report can be viewed on the College of Policing website here.
