The College of Policing recently published the Sergeant’s legal exam results from March 2024. Nearly 4,300 police officers took part in this now twice-yearly promotion step. Just under half (2,000 PCs) attained the 55% required pass mark standard. In this blog I highlight how officers fared this time around, how the England and Wales police forces compare over time, and demonstrate the persistent gaps between men/women and white/minority ethnic candidates.
When it comes to the cost of living, promotion to Sergeant remains an effective way to leapfrog below-inflation pay increases for those already at the top of the police officer pay scale for PCs. The step up to Sergeant is even more valuable for PCs who are 4-5 years in service, with a £15-17k jump and around 40% increase in one go! That’s over £1,000 in your hand each month. This is one aspect of the value of promotion and why many choose to invest in themselves to succeed and gain a competitive advantage.
However, it’s clearly unrealistic to expect the Sergeant stripes to simply be handed over without some form of competition. Whether for ‘good behaviour’, a favourable PDR from your manager, or even for doing the job as Acting Sergeant. Indeed, the NPPF was introduced to reduce the risk of favouritism and nepotism swaying decisions of the more senior ranks.
“Nothing of value comes without being earned.” – Michael Jordan
Everything of value must be earned. Especially when competition (demand) outstrips available posts (supply), by at least fourfold. Like promotion opportunities anywhere else in the private or public sectors, there must be some sort of objective whittling down of the numbers to fill the available positions. In policing, the first meaningful step for this is the legal exam…
NPPF Legal Exam – A Step Too Far?
Despite murmurs from the College of Policing for a new promotion process in late 2023, the four-step National Policing Promotion Framework (NPPF) remains the current show in town. So if you’re an aspiring police officer seeking to advance your career through promotion in England and Wales or the British Transport Police (BTP), it’s NPPF all the way.
The NPPF consists of four steps. I liken these as akin to the 400M hurdles and something I support officers to get ‘match-fit’ for. Yet everyone knows the important and most challenging steps are 2 and 3 (which forces nor other policing bodies support officers with, hence why Rank Success exists, see below). It’s almost unheard of for temporary promotion (Step 4) to be rescinded through an officer’s failure to demonstrate competence after promotion in a ‘work-based assessment’.
The NPPF four steps are simply as follows:
- Step 1: Achieve competence in current rank.
- Step 2: Examination of law and procedure (where support is available via e.g. Checkmate Training).
- Step 3: Local force competitive selection process (where Rank Success helps you!).
- Step 4: Temporary promotion (12 months) and a work-based assessment.
For many years, officers have bemoaned the exam, with some pointing to disparities in success rates as a source of unfairness. In a classic case of ‘be careful what you wish for’ when it comes to promotion, the College responded. Instead of a 400M hurdles competitive race, in 2023 they outlined detailed plans for a 3000M steeplechase. Though following my reporting of the proposed scheme and the widespread adverse reactions it provoked, these new proposals (despite apparently being developed in consultation with the Police Federation, forces, and Chief Officers) were quickly kicked into the long grass.
So while the NPPF remains ‘the only show in town’, any PC wanting to progress to Sergeant must pass the exam. My own daughter did this recently, seeking increased responsibility, career progression and the privilege of leading others. I’m proud to say she passed the March 2024 Step 2 legal exam with flying colours (thanks in no small part to bespoke resources and support via Checkmate training)
So how did the 4,268 police officer candidates fare this time round? Here’s the headlines…
- Overall pass rate of 47%, continuing the slight slump in success rates since the Autumn 2023 Sergeant’s exam.
- 7% of officers achieved a ‘high pass’ by getting 75% or more of the multiple-choice questions right.
- 2% were graded as a ‘low fail’, achieving less than 30% on the exam.
So let’s drill down a little and compare the diversity and equality of results…
Diversity of Police Exam Succes by Race and Sex
The College publish success rates comparing the protected characteristics of Race and Sex. For Race they breakdown results into two ethnicities, ‘Minority Ethnic’ and ‘White’, while for Sex there’s male and female. I’ve excluded the small cohort who preferred not to state their gender or ethnicity given the small numbers involved and for more focused comparison.
As per the graph above, all groups faltered slightly for the last two Sergeant’s exams. Note that since 2023, the College have increased the frequency of the legal exam for both Sergeant and Inspector ranks, from one to two per year.
Female officers have consistently outshone their male counterparts, possibly continuing the higher academic achievement observed by women and girls in other settings. Meanwhile, ‘White’ (which includes Eastern European and other minority groups) fare better than ‘Minority Ethnic’ officers. This latter gap is a key reason why the College have previously proposed removing this front-end exam standard.
Now let’s explore how forces compare against one another, including some new bespoke charts comparing forces over time…
“Tests ain’t fair. Those that study have an unfair advantage. It’s always been that way.” – Allan Dare Pearce
Force Comparisons of Legal Exam Success Rates
For the first of the two 2024 Sergeant’s legal exams, Dorset Police and Dyfed Powys topped the tables, with over 80% of candidates attaining the 55% pass mark or more. Surrey, Thames Valley, Lincolnshire and Avon and Somerset followed closely behind with 70% success rate or more.
At the other end of the scale, the Met Police continue to prop up the deck and skew the overall pass rate down, given their officers made up a third of all candidates. Derbyshire Police also scored low this time, with Wiltshire, Hampshire and Humberside not much better.
In the following graph, I’ve tracked and compared how candidates from the larger forces have done in the last five Sergeant’s exams, going back to 2021. Merseyside and West Yorkshire seem to do consistently better, while Greater Manchester Police, West Midlands and Essex range around the 50-60% mark. Could this allude to differences in support and study time given to aspiring future police leaders? The Met police have deteriorated during this time, with under 30% of candidates achieving success in the last two attempts. What might be happening there?
Further, here’s the longer-term results for an array of the next largest forces. Thames Valley Police consistently come out on top, with Kent and Avon and Somerset not far behind. Devon and Cornwall, South Wales and BTP have deteriorated in pass rates over the years, while Hampshire’s results seem variable. I’m aware TVP do much to support their officers; is this something others (especially the Met) could learn from, rather than throwing the standard out altogether for all forces?
As a bonus and final compelling stat in this latest version of my regular examination of the NPPF Step 2 results, here’s the top and bottom eight forces in terms of average scores across the last five exams…
Is your force one of these outliers? Why do you think that is? You’re welcome to share your views in the comments below, or even share my platform with a guest blog sharing any experiences and/or good practice as a case study.
Next Steps, Pass or Fail…
If you passed your exam, congratulations and celebration is in order! But this is no time to rest on your laurels… you have bigger hurdles to come before substantive promotion, plus you’ll be in direct competition with others. So if you’re serious about promotion, now is the time to get to work on meaningful application, interview, and rank-specific leadership development.
Luckily, you need not spend £thousands on such support, as I recently learned aghast that some candidates do elsewhere. All this is laid out for you in my tried and tested, comprehensive, and structured toolkits. Your first month’s new salary will cover the investment you make in your own CPD today, should you choose to do so.
You could also join me for a whole day on one of my two exclusive market-leading Police Promotion Masterclasses in Birmingham this year. There are spaces available on my upcoming June and October masterclasses, so book now to avoid disappointment and get the early bird rate (saving £100).
“[the masterclass] cut through the fog of fear, confusion and nerves, and gave me clarity about what I had to do to succeed.” – Chris – passed Sergeant’s promotion board
If you weren’t successful this time, you’re not alone. Adopting a growth mindset will ensure you bounce back stronger next time; just don’t fail to better yourself. Use this time to the October 2024 Sergeant’s exam to study, but also be aware of the next steps for when you pass. That means recognising what good evidence looks like from your experiences now, while dipping into some meaningful and practical leadership CPD as part of your development. Many officers find the format of my police promotion and leadership podcasts and video series an enjoyable and easy way of doing this.
Kind Regards, Steve
Want to go further right now? Hit the ground running with your promotion preparation. Get your personal digital promotion toolkit, and/or my Police Promotion Masterclass. You can also contact me to arrange personal coaching support.
