Introduced in 2016, the College of Policing’s Competency and Values Framework (CVF) has been under review for several years. Last month they announced a new version of the CVF for 2024, refreshing the original (and currently used for the time being) version launched in 2016. In this blog I outline the new CVF, what’s changed, how frameworks have generally changed (or not so) over the years, and what it means for you as an aspiring police promotion candidate.
Update March 2025: My eGuides and CVF Explainer videos now cover BOTH the original 2016 CVF and this “new” 2024 CVF. Download your exclusive copy to have every competency and value explained in plain English and help connect it to your evidence.
Police Behavioural Frameworks – A Potted History
“Change is the only constant.” – Marcus Aurelius
Behavioural frameworks in policing have been changing for decades. But they’ve all had the same core purpose: Providing consistent guidelines towards improving the quality of performance and behaviours at all levels in policing.
Below is a quick rundown of those in place (predominantly in England and Wales forces) since I’ve been supporting officers:
- Integrated Competency Framework (ICF): This stood throughout the ‘noughties’ and was maintained by the NGO ‘Skills for Justice’. It described an array of ‘behaviours’ under four themes: Leading People, Leading the Organisation, Leading the Way, and Personal Qualities / Values.
- Policing Professional Framework (PPF): The PPF was designed specifically for policing and again published by Skills for Justice. It had seven behaviours, with differing descriptions of each depending on the rank. It overlapped with the ICF on its phase in, and did similar with the CVF upon its phasing out. Some forces still use it in Police Staff role profiles / promotions.
- Competency and Values Framework 2016 (CVF): The CVF was introduced by the College of Policing in 2016, but it took forces several years to adopt, with Police Scotland and the Met Police being later than most. It created three ‘clusters’ of six ‘competencies’, plus added in four values. While all forces have adopted the CVF for promotion assessment, many use their own values at the centre. Most cops I’ve encountered were far more confused with its structure and nebulous language than other frameworks.
- CVF 2024: Launched by the College in May 2024, this updated version of the CVF ditched the clusters, kept the competencies largely the same, and replaced the four values with three to match the new Code of Ethics. While the College suggest forces adopt the new CVF by May 2025, given the history of changing frameworks, it’ll likely be several years before forces start using it for assessment of in-force promotion processes!
“There’s three letters to strike fear into every officer: C.V.F.” – Promotion Candidate
In addition, other large forces were using their own frameworks before the Met Police, PSNI, and Police Scotland got on board with the CVF. The Met Police for example had their own ‘Metropolitan Performance Framework’ and then a ‘Metropolitan Leadership Framework’.
I’ve summarised the main national frameworks in the below graphic. While some academics have clearly been busying themselves with moving pieces around the chessboard, it’s easy for most to see the overall game remains the same for aspiring police leaders. The importance of making decisions, respect, and interpersonal skills (to name a few) haven’t really changed over the decades.
Whatever framework has been in place, and however it has described the perennial traits of great police leadership, Rank Success has been here throughout, helping aspiring officers make sense of it all with a simplified ‘Rank Success Framework’; RSF you might say!
The core role of an effective Sergeant and that of the Inspector / Chief Inspector ranks has remained fairly constant over time. Connecting my clients with this core function and secret way of understanding the roles has proved successful time and again over more than a decade of Rank Success operations. That’s why my guides contain multifaceted examples of what works when it comes to promotion evidence.
“Your material put me in a good position going into the process, from the application form through to interview… I found the range of what you offer to be excellent, I couldn’t see anything else out there that was on the same level in terms of quality, range and depth of support… Your mnemonics, particularly the ones for interview responses and the role of Inspector, were invaluable. The outcome being I was successful at my first attempt in a very competitive process, I am currently waiting for my posting and looking forward to a new challenge.” – Lee, Passed Inspector Promotion Board
The themes of great police leadership are so constant, it’s easy to come up with alternative behavioural frameworks. Indeed, I recently facilitated a number of Sussex Police officers to do just that, as I describe in my previous blog! This one would surely give the CVF a run for its money…
New CVF? Plus ça Change…
“Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose” – The more things change, the more they stay the same.
The College recently announced an “updated” CVF… did you notice? Many forces are oblivious, and in any case won’t be changing their promotion assessment processes anytime soon. The CoP say forces have until mid-2025 to adapt; but then again, SIPP got kicked into the long grass for a couple of years, and prior framework changeovers have taken years to change.
So why did the CVF get updated? The College rationale seems to revolve around the following factors:
- The 2016 CVF was needing a spring clean, as times have changed since then, as has the workforce.
- Plus, they say they wanted to remove a lot of the excessive confusing content (e.g. the ‘clusters’ I’ve always advised clients to ignore).
- They say they’ve made the language clearer, while removing overlaps/duplication
- They’ve also used the opportunity to align the values to the 2024 Code of Ethics.
But the changes to competencies are minor tweaks rather than a wholesale new framework. Below is an example from one, where I lay out and compare the detailed ‘descriptors’ of each version at Level 2 for ‘We Are Innovative and Open Minded’. I’ve used simple lines to connect the concepts and demonstrate where things are the same, albeit using different words…
While the changes are minor and forces will take years to adapt, be assured my unique Rank Success materials remain relevant and current. Whether that’s my bespoke interview response structures like ©ENAMEL, my tried and tested ‘RSF’ framework aligned to each rank, or my plain-English explainers of the CVF.
While I keep things updated and refreshed for you, these core techniques have provided an anchor through a multitude of changing frameworks across the UK (and beyond!). As and when forces begin to adopt the new framework for local promotions over coming years, I’ll provide more materials to clearly explain the CVF for you.
Coming back to the CVF 2016 vs CVF 2024 differences, I cover the College rationale and do a detailed comparison in the summary video below, completely free for your enjoyment:
But here’s my summary of the three main differences between the 2016 and 2024 CVF:
VALUES: Swapping out the prior 4 values with the new 3 Code of Ethics (see my blog) principles as the central ‘values’.
CLUSTERS: Removal of the ‘clusters’. I’ve previously critiqued these as confusing and intangible, and as such never featuring in any force promotion assessment approach. The College now concedes this was adding unnecessary complexity, hence why Rank Success materials have always focused simply on the more tangible ‘competencies’.
COMPETENCIES: The competencies remain mostly the same, but the detailed descriptors within each have been slightly reworded, amended, or switched around in places. Interestingly, this now includes many of the themes my Rank Success promotion materials encourage candidates to work on for more rounded leadership skills and understanding of the enduring core role aspects of Sergeant, Inspector and Chief Inspector (e.g. delegation, emotional intelligence, challenges, etc.).
Further, in my bespoke toolkits I’ve always simplified the myriad of terminology used in the CVF (such as ‘values’, ‘competencies’, and ‘descriptors’) as being simply behaviours. The College appear to now be mirroring this approach, emphasising that they are all behaviours.
Over the coming months, I’ll be covering this announcement in more detail, with premium podcasts and other content. But for now, be assured it’s more “plus ca change” than “change” for your promotion ambitions.
For the foreseeable future, your force will continue using the existing CVF (albeit often with locally-tailored values) for your upcoming promotion process. As and when things on this front change (likely 2025), I’ll provide updated materials to simplify (again) the latest CVF, as forces start to adopt and roll out within their promotion assessment processes.
Just for fun, here’s some CVF memes I created to summarise the key issues relating to this “new” CVF and how forces will likely respond…
No doubt in 2025 (and beyond) they’ll be two versions of the CVF in use for promotion assessment across different forces around the UK; both 2016 and 2024. Not to mention when forces have locally-tailored values on top. Plus potentially some entirely locally-tailored leadership frameworks, as forces realise they are free to bypass the CVF entirely should they wish (or dare!).
“So basically the old 4 values are now embedded in 3, two with different names but covering the old ones anyway? All aligned to the “new” not so new Code of Ethics! Nothing else changes. That’s simple then.” – @ACQ91 Andrea Q on Twitter
All this variation in frameworks is just one facet of the rich tapestry of the police promotion postcode lottery you must contend with. Fear not, as help is always at hand to guide you each step of the way.
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. Contact me to arrange personal coaching support, or why not also try my podcast for ongoing police leadership CPD.
