Nepotism: Police leadership requires urgent overhaul

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06/07/2026

Nepotism: Police leadership requires urgent overhaul

Policing is ‘likely to be woefully underinvesting in its leadership development’ and needs an urgent overhaul, an independent report has found.

Published today by the Police Leadership Commission, the report has been described as the most comprehensive examination of police leadership in England and Wales in a generation.

The College of Policing established the independent commission, co-chaired by former home secretary Lord David Blunkett and former policing minister Lord Nick Herbert, with the support of the Home Office in October 2025.

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The report explains how, without a clear and agreed understanding of what effective police leadership looks like, talent identification and promotions decisions in policing are often shaped in the image of the leaders responsible for them at a local level.

“This has created fertile ground for nepotism and bias to influence progression and development,” said the report.

“This is particularly acute for promotion decisions at chief inspector and the superintending ranks where there is no standard process or framework for local forces to follow.”

Recommendations in the police leadership report include:

Root and branch modernisation of police recruitment, training and development, promotion, monitoring and appraisal
Adoption of a clear definition and set of principles of leadership which reflect present and future policing challenges
Delivery of the comprehensive workforce strategy led by the proposed National Police Service
A complete rethink of how police workforce data is collected, collated and analysed, and applied in real time
A systematic, centrally supported evaluation framework and programme for analysing the value and effectiveness of leadership training and development across policing.

The review, Professionalism and performance: Police leadership for the future, also recommended that a mandatory and standardised approach to annual performance reviews should be introduced to provide national consistency for appraisal.

Chief officer because their face ‘fits’

Rachel Watson, director general of the Independent Office for Police Conduct, welcomed the report, describing it as an important, necessary area of work aimed at strengthening the ethos in policing.

“The IOPC was asked to contribute evidence and suggestions towards the report, including data relating to our investigations into chief officers. I understand it has helped underpin anecdotal evidence the Commission has heard,” she said.

“Police leaders set the culture for police forces so it’s vital the right people occupy chief officer positions, people with effective leadership skills and who come from diverse backgrounds, including experience away from policing. People should not reach chief officer ranks simply because their face ‘fits’.”

The review highlighted how the IOPC has received 107 referrals involving chief officers since it was established in 2018, leading to 78 investigations. Forty-seven investigations relate to chief constables (or equivalent); 10 relate to deputy chief constables (or equivalent); and 21 relate to assistant chief constables (or equivalent).

Several officers feature in more than one case. The referrals involve many different factors, but the IOPC told the commission that common themes in their investigations involve cronyism, nepotism, abuse of position for a sexual purpose, and corruption.

Independent oversight

Watson added that she believes most chief officers do a good job, but that too often, IOPC investigations into senior policing leaders uncover longstanding, unreported concerns about their behaviour.

“Concerns need to be raised and heard long before someone is considered suitable for appointment to the chief officer rank,” she said. “In order for this to happen, I believe forces need to improve protections for whistleblowers, so they feel able to speak out and be listened to. We should not underestimate the challenges some offices and staff may feel in raising concerns. Building in additional protections and/or independence in the processes through which they raise their concerns may be useful.

“I also believe there needs to be more independent oversight of the appointment process for senior leaders, with consideration given for community representatives and people from outside policing to play a part in the recruitment process. And for candidates to gain experience in non-policing roles, which would make them better-rounded candidates for the top positions.”

Policing minister Sarah Jones said: “We know that police leaders face significant challenges and that current structures do not allow them to realise the full potential of their workforce.

“We have also seen too many examples where leadership has failed to meet the standards that officers and the public rightly expect. Every officer deserves access to high-quality training, development and leadership throughout their career, and we know this is not being delivered consistently.”

The Home Office said it will consider the recommendations and respond in the autumn.

‘Not new’

The Police Federation of England and Wales, which represents 145,000 rank-and-file officers, described the review as a “watershed moment”, urging the government to fund reforms.

Deputy national secretary Mel Warnes said: “Many of these recommendations aren’t new; they’re simply the product of finally listening to those at the sharp end of policing.

“If police bosses now accept the report’s recommendations, they must also accept responsibility for creating the conditions that made them necessary.

“We have lost too many outstanding leaders and future leaders because they’ve been overworked, underpaid and unsupported. The home secretary must now fund this vital change and require chief constables to implement it.”

Chief Constable Sir Andy Marsh, CEO of the College of Policing said: “I vehemently agree with the commission that seeing leadership development as an abstraction rather than an investment is holding policing back. Developing leaders improves how we police, avoids mistakes and saves money long term.

“The work now begins to replace the current postcode lottery of training and development so that the best talent from any background can rise to the top of the service on merit.”