Police leadership system 'too weak' to meet future challenges, new review warns
A review by the Police Leadership Commission has found that a 'cultural reset' within the force is needed.
A report by the Police Leadership Commission has highlighted the need for a cultural change within the force to improve the standard of service the public receives.
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The commission, which was established with the aid of the Home Office, recognised examples of excellent leadership but found the overall approach to identifying, developing and supporting senior officers is too inconsistent to face the demands facing modern policing.
Launched in October 2025, the commission gathered evidence from a survey of nearly 2,000 sergeants and inspectors, held expert roundtable discussions and received more than 400 submissions through an open call for evidence.
The review was led by Lord Blunkett and Lord Herbert of South Downs.
Calls for a change in culture comes after the review has revealed that more than one in 10 constables and sergeants have little confidence in the leadership above them.
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It also found that over one in five newly promoted sergeants and inspectors had still not received formal leadership training within two years of taking on their new roles.
The report identifies several major concerns, including a lack of leadership support for frontline officers, nepotism, and favouritism.
To tackle these issues, the commissioners have recommended restoring dedicated central funding for leadership development, bringing the police into line with services such as the military and the NHS.
Speaking to the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg, Lord Blunkett said that eight of the 43 police forces currently have a former or serving chief constable who is either facing disciplinary action or awaiting the outcome of an investigation.
He said: “Staggeringly 16% of constables and 55% of superintendents were not comfortable with challenging behaviour above them, so right through the service there’s a need for a reset, and the recommendations will address that.”
He added that “at the moment the service isn’t good enough”.
Among the report's recommendations are reforms to police recruitment, the introduction of nationally accredited leadership training for every new constable and the creation of a National Academy of Police Leadership to deliver consistent training across all forces while improving the future leadership pipeline.
Asked whether he believed there was an issue with what some people describe as two-tier policing, Lord Blunkett said: “I think there’s a perception. We’ve moved the pendulum, it swung from the Macpherson report about outright racism in the force, in particularly the reflections in the Met, all the way through to people saying, ‘oh, it’s woke’, and we make it clear in the report that there’s no room for culture wars or woke."
“The idea that people should be diverted onto other issues is entirely wrong.”
“It’s the job of the police to deliver.”
Chief Constable Sir Andy Marsh, chief executive of the College of Policing, welcomed the findings, saying: “Today’s report is the most comprehensive examination of police leadership in a generation.
“We will seize this opportunity to invest in officers and staff with time and resources so that they can do what they joined policing to do, protect the public and catch criminals.”