As well as developing and maintaining standards in the subject areas below, we also offer support to help forces achieve these standards. For more information, see Sharing knowledge and enabling its use.

Ethics and integrity

The College is taking a proactive role in relation to the current debate around leadership and ethics in the police service. We will play a significant role in future developments, due to be announced shortly.

Professional practice standards

Authorised Professional Practice is the body of consolidated guidance for policing. It has significantly reduced the volume of national guidance in circulation, bringing consistency and encouraging the use of professional discretion.

Recruitment standards

The College maintains the eligibility standards and vetting standards for those wishing to join the Police Service of England and Wales as police constables, special constables and Police Community Support Officers.

Additionally, we set out standardised, rigorous processes (known as our Recruit Assessment Centres) for the recruitment of:

• Police constables (the Police SEARCH® Recruit Assessment Centre)
• Special constables - forces adopting the National Specials Recruit Assessment Process are provided with two training courses (assessor training and Quality Assurance training) and other support free of charge
• Police Community Support Officers

We also provide guidance and resources for:

• developing volunteer programmes and recruiting Police Support Volunteers
• selecting and appointing chief officers

Promotion standards

Officers from police forces in England and Wales and PSNI can be assessed for their suitability for promotion to sergeant and inspector through two processes:

• the Objective Structured Performance Related Examination (OSPRE®); or
• the National Police Promotion Framework. The College of Policing Board will soon make a decision on the national roll-out of the NPPF.

The National Investigators' Examination is a two-hour exam to test candidates' knowledge of law and procedure relevant to a trainee investigator.

Specialist role standards

We manage the accreditation process for Public Order Commanders and Tactical Advisors, which includes maintaining a national database.

We support and manage the Firearms Licensing process, helping forces to achieve and maintain compliance with the Code of Practice for the police use of firearms and less lethal weapons. Critical Friend support is provided where required as part of this process.

Fitness standards

Fitness standards have been developed for:

• people who are applying as police constables and special constables
• 13 specialist posts (including firearms officers, dog handlers and police cyclists); these standards are based on training exercises that replicate the 'real-life' physical demands of each role and are based on operational scenarios.

Leadership standards

The Senior Police National Assessment Centre (Senior PNAC) is a process to identify those who are capable of being an effective chief officer. Superintending officers are eligible to apply.

The Senior Police Staff Assessment Process identifies individuals who would benefit from attending the Strategic Command Course (SCC), with a view to undertaking the most senior police staff positions.

The High Potential Development Scheme Assessment Process identifies suitable candidates for the HPDS - a scheme designed to develop the most talented individuals to become the police leaders of the future.

The same leadership standards are applied in the College's leadership courses, including the SCC and the HPDS.

Learning and development standards

The College sets standards for learning and development through the National Policing Curriculum, National Learning Programmes, accreditation and qualifications in critical areas.

As well as delivering some learning courses ourselves (particularly in high-cost, low-volume areas), we develop learning programmes for delivery by police forces and we ensure that courses offered by forces and external providers meet the required standards:

• We act as stewards, on behalf of the police service, for the Police Service Quality Assurance Scheme - a system to assure the quality of training, learning and development designed and/or implemented by police forces. Each force self-assesses its training provision, and we subject this self-assessment to peer review which allows forces to share best practice.
• We license and support forces to deliver a range of courses meeting the National Policing Curriculum, including initial learning and Public Order, Custody, Investigation and Intelligence courses.
• We develop, offer and support internal accreditation, reaccreditation  and development of qualifications in all policing areas, working in conjunction with awarding organisations and Skills for Justice.
• We develop and enable forces to deliver Authorised Firearms Training and Silver Firearms Command
• We have created the Approved Provider Scheme for police pre-join learning (which is accredited through the Certificate in Knowledge of Policing). This scheme assures forces of the quality of pre-join learning provided by approved bodies.

Equality standard

Setting out an improvement journey across 22 areas of operational and organisational delivery, the Equality Standard for the Police Service provides a framework for improved delivery of equality through a proactive approach to diversity.

Occupational health, safety and welfare

We provide access to guidance documents produced by us and other bodies on a range of health, safety and welfare issues in policing.