Police Professional Development: Sporadic or Continuous? |

Policing has a culture problem when it comes to Continuous Professional Development. Many people ignore the CONTINUOUS bit and there doesn’t appear to be a ‘learning culture’ in place.

Instead, CPD is mostly seen as a chore, something to do perhaps when you have to, or are told to. When people do take the initiative; they do so sporadically, such as only for upcoming promotion board opportunities.

In this blog I’ll explore this unfortunate aspect of policing culture and how to overcome it, giving you the best chance of success both for promotion AND your ongoing leadership career. I expand on many of these points too in my latest epic and free podcast, linked below.

What is CPD and Why is CPD Important?

“When you stop learning, you start dying.” – Albert Einstein

First off, what exactly is CPD? Put simply, CPD stands for Continuous Professional (and Personal) Development. The best and most simple definition I can give you of what CPD entails is as follows:

“CPD is a lifelong learning practice, encompassing a range of regular activities contributing to both personal and professional growth, ensuring ongoing competence and relevance in one’s field.”

Note some key words here: Lifelong. Regular. Learning. Relevance. Competence.

So why is CPD so important?

Is it true that “when you stop learning, you start dying?”. Consider this, many who do little after retiring from the police (and other professions for that matter) die sooner than those who keep on doing something or retire later. It’s called the ‘healthy worker effect’.

But aside from benefits to your health and cognitive capabilities, CPD ‘suddenly’ becomes critically important when seeking to progress your career. Consider for example in your police promotion interview being faced with a simple ‘rear-facing’ question like this one:

“What have you done to develop yourself or others in the last 12 months?”

Indeed in many industries, CPD is an essential component of the profession. Healthcare professionals, social workers, solicitors, accountants, vets, and engineers are just some of the sectors in which CPD is mandated to remain accredited to do the job. Some specialist aspects of policing (e.g. Firearms) also have mandatory CPD elements.

The College of Policing (under its ‘professionalisation’ agenda) and the Police Foundation have floated the idea to create such a ‘licence to practice’ in policing, including associated ‘membership fees’ to officers. Such notions have been robustly resisted by the Federation and cops themselves, with added scepticism such a scheme should be operated by the College, an organisation with a poor reputation among most cops.

In a ‘fundamental review’ (of itself, so not independent), the College accepted it is not currently seen as a credible voice, nor is it recognised as a centre of expertise.

“We are seen as too remote and as serving only policing leaders and academics.” – College of Policing

This stark feedback caused the College to publish an ambitious new vision as a 4 year remedy. In terms of supporting CPD, the College Review states: “We will ensure world class learning and development across police forces.”

A Culture of Sporadic Professional Development

“The value of continuing professional development (CPD) is not recognised, nor is the need to develop leadership skills at all levels of the service.” – Fundamental Review of the College of Policing

As it stands, too many people at all ranks and grades in policing see CPD as a chore, if they do it at all. It may be a more accurate description to say the reality is a culture of Sporadic Professional Development (SPD), not continuous.

Consider some of the following common scenarios. Any sound familiar?

“Urgh, I’ve got to do XYZ training next week, what’s the point?”
“It’s PDR time, I guess I best take a glance at the CVF and review what I’ve been doing the past year.”
“It’s PDR time, I hope my manager has kept track of my good evidence.”
“I failed my promotion board, I’ll work on my leadership skills again once next year’s process is announced.”
“I passed my board, hopefully now I can just get on with the job and stop learning about leadership, policing issues and the CVF.”
“I’ve got a promotion board coming up, now I’ve got to familiarise myself with what that CVF stuff is all about!”
“I’m happy doing the job, I know it well, I don’t need to learn anything new, why don’t they just promote me?”

Aside from views about the relevance of materials and training provided, the College of Policing and forces themselves clearly have a challenge on their hands. The College even acknowledge…

“There is a lack of CPD in policing, with deep rooted cultural issues causing it to be deprioritised and over bureaucratised. Development is seen as an abstraction of a resource, not an investment in future capability.”

Previous academic findings allude to a ‘spoon-fed’ culture in policing, whereby if CPD is required, the clear expectation is it will or should be provided by the organisation. The world famous management and leadership guru Peter Drucker shared his view on this issue:

“Development is always self-development. Nothing could be more absurd than for an enterprise to assume responsibility for the development of an individual. The responsibility rests with the individual’s abilities and efforts.”

The sporadic approach is very obvious when it comes to police promotion processes. Most people try to kick start their engines with a cough and splutter only on the announcement of a clear deadline. Meanwhile, they’ve already been lapped several times by those already running smoothly and with momentum.

If you are an aspiring police leader, don’t let this be you. That’s because CPD is a killer question, not just for excelling in your career but especially for police promotion interviews! Many officers are simply unaware of the expectation; it’s even the number one recommendation of the College of Policing’s Leadership Review, that all leaders will take responsibility for driving their own development.

Yet whether it’s online learning materials, authorised professional practice (APP), behavioural frameworks, or training, there seems a general lack of appetite among cops to develop themselves.

And from my own experience, this apathy seems to have always been there in policing. Why is this?

Why Do Officers Avoid CPD?

To be fair, the demands of policing and those placed on officers themselves creates a disincentive to CPD. There are 7 key reasons why people tend to avoid engaging in proper CPD:

Time Constraints: Most cops are overworked and trying to juggle work and life already; CPD often comes down the priority order. Listening to meaningful podcasts on the go can help!
Perceived Value: The benefits and relevance of CPD aren’t always apparent (e.g. NCALT [now rebranded] vs. officer safety training). Mandatory training is often done as checkbox ‘legal cover’ for the senior leaders and forces, rather than an opportunity for growth for the individual.
Cost: The personal cost of courses, materials and travel can be a barrier for some (though the new rank salary benefits far outweigh the costs of any promotion preparation).
Lack of Motivation: With no clear incentive or motivation, pursuing CPD gets pushed down the priority list.
Fear of Change: Engaging in CPD often means stepping out of comfort zones, which can be daunting or intimidating.
Inadequate Support: A lack of support from managers and forces (e.g. no effective PDRs) can make it harder to pursue learning and development opportunities.
Overwhelming Options: The sheer number of options available can make it difficult to choose what to pursue, a kind of decision inertia, especially around what constitutes effective promotion preparation.

At Rank Success, I’ve curated a raft of options to suit every budget, using a variety of learning styles, making the experience feel less like a chore. Whether you want to go all out and invest in your future with structured support for an upcoming board, or maintain your CPD via regular podcasts and blogs, there’s something for you. With this in mind, let’s explore the different ways you can keep learning…

A Wealth of Options

“Not every reader is a leader, but every leader is a reader.” – Harry. S. Truman

So how do you keep developing yourself exactly? What counts as ‘CPD’, towards maintaining and developing your skills, knowledge and experience? Well there’s such a cornucopia of options, it’s easy to become overwhelmed as alluded to above, or not know where to start.

So how are you improving? Well, if you’re regularly doing any of the following, you’re ‘doing’ CPD:

Training and Events: Attending conferences, participating in workshops or training is a learning approach which comes first to mind for most. Networking and meeting with peers is a valuable part of in-person events, but online offers greater flexibility in this modern age. My ‘What Works’ Promotion Masterclass has proved a successful resource to those in policing seeking promotion over the years, with attendees describing it as a ‘super-briefing’ or even the ‘most useful insight I’ve had in 25 years of policing’.
Formal Education: Further education, such as degrees, diplomas, or certifications is another approach. Though whether it’s business or criminology you’re interested in, this more intensive academic option is not for the faint-hearted!
Reading / Listening: Reading counts! Whether it’s books or blogs, you can grow personally and professionally as a result. I’ve got several short book reviews / summary YouTube videos and podcasts to make this even easier; many officers for example tell me they listen to my podcast on their commute or walking the dog. I also summarise important policing reports (e.g. Casey, PEEL, State of Policing reports) into short video and audio formats too. These distil the key points for busy cops on the go, who don’t always have time, patience or inclination to read in depth.
Coaching/Mentoring: For leaders, coaching and mentoring others can be valuable for your own personal and professional development. Further, being coached or mentored directly will close your development gaps and accelerate your career. This is why many executive level leaders include this in their CPD, and why organisations also provide it to develop talented individuals and support succession planning.
Work-Based Learning: On-the-job training, secondments, or engaging in new projects at work that allow for the application of new skills or knowledge and all count as CPD.
Presentations and Public Speaking: Delivering talks, presentations, or workshops all require research and preparation. These are core aspects of the role for police leadership ranks (e.g. delivering briefings). Some practice here will also boost your confidence for when you have presentation/briefing exercises as part of your promotion selection process (all covered in depth via my market-leading guides and masterclass).
Researching / Writing: If you’re researching on a subject (e.g. for determining good practice or evidence-based policing) or writing about it to inform others, this is helpful too. If you’ve got something interesting to say on a subject, I even offer people the opportunity to write guest blogs on my site. Why not give it a try?
Wellbeing: Whether you’re supporting the wellbeing of those you lead, or just doing tangible things to maintain your own wellbeing so you can work at your best, these are important yet often overlooked examples of CPD.

That should give you some ideas! Can you think of any more? And in my comprehensive and structured digital toolkits, you’ll find template CPD plans to help you focus your CPD activities aligned to your career goals. It’s also helpful in police promotion interviews to convey the fact you have a CPD plan!

Bucking the Trend

“He who dares wins, Rodney!” – Del Boy

Spookily, those who dare to take the continuous aspect of CPD seriously win success in promotions. I see this in the good news stories I receive directly from customers, including many repeated successes through the ranks in just a few years.

I feel privileged to have supported so many motivated enthusiastic individuals to convert their leadership aspirations into substantive promotion success. Over the last decade, I’ve helped people navigate the postcode lottery of evolving assessment frameworks across 50 force selection processes, making sense of things to help level the playing field to great operational cops.

Feedback from successful candidates who adopt a proactive attitude to CPD conveys an understanding of the link between CPD and results. So what does that look like? Sound like? Feel like? Here’s just a few examples:

“I used your product last year to pass my Sergeant board, just gone and passed my Inspector board first time after topping up my knowledge with the podcasts!”

“I’ve managed through hard work and changing roles regularly, to have been promoted twice in the last three and half years. I can recall revising for exams at 2 am whilst doing night feeds. I used to wake up at 5 am and revise for an hour whilst the house was quiet. As a dad to a two and four year old, I could never get 5 minutes. I had to do a 10 minute presentation, something I’d never done before, on a topic I wasn’t told about until the day of my board. My force also allowed me to attend a promotion workshop. I want to keep progressing to ensure the SLT is reflective of my community, to continue to help shape the service for the future and be a role model for others to follow me”

“I listened to your podcasts religiously for months on end and purchased your digital toolkit in preparation for the Inspector promotion process... found out I passed first time and scored full marks in interview!”

It’s particularly satisfying to support officers who may have previously set off in the wrong direction, but retained their self-belief and a growth-mindset. I can spot gaps quite easily now, so for individuals who dipped a board prior to contacting Rank Success, it is particularly pleasing when their ‘continuous’ momentum and positive attitude wins through:

“I failed two previous boards. Just like so many that subscribed to your services, I’ve been informed I’ve been successful. Feedback from previous interviews was two-fold, ‘Evidence limited in terms of wider thinking and consequence’ / ‘Answers would benefit from being delivered in a more structured way’ to help assessors follow your “story”’. Clearly ENAMEL fixed both of these issues for me this time. I just wished I had found it sooner. I genuinely can’t thank you enough Steve.”

“Finally passed my Inspector board at my 5th attempt! I can’t thank you enough for the content, ideas and information you provide in your Inspector digital toolkit in addition to your free blogs. I’ve never prepared for an interview like this but it definitely worked. My return on investment is significant, I’m definitely ‘all in’ on the concept. The cost is now insignificant when considering my pay rise and linked pension! No idea why I hadn’t come across your material prior! I found it specific, direct and easy to follow. For the first time in years I’m going to rest without boards, paper sifts or applications. I’ve achieved my goal and I want to enjoy this moment.”

“Steve, 12 months ago I failed my first Inspector’s board. A colleague told me about you and I started listening to your podcasts. Earlier this year I invested in your ‘digital Inspector’s toolkit’. I found out yesterday I passed my board... came top in the Force – I’m flabbergasted! I just wanted to say thank you for what you do. Your free content alone changed how I think about policing and my role within it. I watched your promotion masterclass video several times over – it really is excellent.”

What Next? Where to Focus Your CPD…

“Promote for attitude.”

The phrase ‘hire for attitude, train for skill’ is about finding candidates with a good mindset and approach to work and a ‘good fit’ with the desired culture. The specific technical skills can be developed in role. Should aspiring leaders be promoted in policing for their positive attitude and an evidenced approach to CPD?

I believe that is exactly what happens, as I allude to reasons in my blog: The Killer Question.

Here’s a quick precis of it. Imagine in your promotion board, you are asked one simple (on the face of it) role based question. It’s an absolute gift of a question for any well-prepared candidate. In your response, you proceed to demolish any prospect of you being promoted by demonstrating your lack of awareness of CPD and its wider importance in a leadership context. A rare occurrence? Far from it, happens a lot!

If you’re reading this far, I imagine you’re more motivated than most to do something about your leadership ambitions, possibly want some pointers to focus your efforts and limited free time.

So if you want the all-singing, all-dancing, neatly packaged, ‘covers everything’ solution, the first port of call would be my premium comprehensive, rank-specific toolkits and masterclass. This is especially helpful if time is of the essence, i.e. you have deadlines for an upcoming promotion process to meet.

But what if you’re just starting to think about leadership, or already in post and want to just keep your CPD continuous, without spending more than a fiver? Well, my regular premium podcasts (£4.99 / month) or even the free podcasts, blogs and videos will keep you in touch with a raft of topical police leadership and learning materials. Many have got promoted off the back of long-term listening to, watching or reading these resources alone.

“I have watched a number of your videos and listened to your free podcasts, they really helped me change my prep and I’m pleased to say I passed my board today. Thanks very much for providing such excellent material.”

Chief Officers also have some interesting insights. In my exclusive and free podcast interviews with Chief Officers, I often ask them what advice they have for aspiring officers. Here’s examples from some of what they have said:

Chief Constable Lee Freeman advises “..understand your force’s priorities and what it’s trying to achieve; what are the values and behaviours expected of you?”
ACC Katy Barrow Grint says “..really early on, working out where your gaps are compared to the Competency and Values Framework (CVF) used to assess you.”
Chief Constable Craig Guildford declares “First and foremost is operational. I’m looking for people who can do it operationally, because operational is the key ingredient on behalf of the public. Closely followed after that, is an ability to make sure staff are properly looked after, supported, nurtured, developed and brought along… it’s not just about getting a task done, it’s about how you approach your staff.”

If you want some free golden nuggets from me and my experience right now, I recommend three key areas of focus: Developing your emotional intelligence, skills in decision-making, and thinking how you might improve culture as a police leader. These are top priorities for policing currently, happen to feature in the CVF, but also translate into the local priorities/values of most forces. Of course, these and much more are all covered in my premium materials.

To finish, take a look at my blog ‘CPD – The Killer Question’ for more free guidance and on taking this forward into a tangible CPD plan. Knowing where you are now and your learning style will help too.

Kind Regards, Steve

Seeking police promotion? Want to get a massive head start right now? Hit the ground running with your personal digital promotion toolkit, and/or my market-leading Police Promotion Masterclass. There’s nothing else like it to effectively prepare you for success in your leadership aspirations. You can also contact me to arrange more personal coaching support. Or try my podcast for your ongoing police leadership CPD covering a range of fascinating subjects.