Last week, the government dropped the bombshell of the biggest reforms to policing in 200 years. Massive changes are scheduled, including to the very structure and fabric of UK policing. Regionalisation of 43 forces, a ‘British FBI’, licence to practise, performance frameworks, abolition of PCCs, and direct entry are just some of the seismic shifts to come.
While compiled by the Home Secretary, the White Paper proposals have been heavily driven or influenced by the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC), key ‘think tanks’, and the College of Policing. But to most others in policing and the public, it seems many of the sweeping reforms are highly controversial.
Despite this, nobody seems interested in what the majority of those working in policing nor even the public think about the biggest changes to British Policing since before Queen Victoria was crowned.
Until now…
Police Reforms Survey: Have Your Say!
What proposals are good or terrible for UK policing? Will they work? What do those on the front line think? Agree or disagree? Why? Is there a difference in views between senior leaders and more junior/specialist folk?
Given no one else is gathering such views in a simple, objective and structured manner, I’ve decided to do it myself. Be assured, it will be done properly. It’s a structured, simple survey asking the most important questions about the changes and is open to everyone.
It’s really quick. Just 9 questions, 2 of which give you the opportunity to give further rationale, ideas or context, if you have time. You can spend 2 minutes or 10, depending on whether you want to share brief thoughts in the free text boxes.
All responses are completely anonymous. Using a simple Microsoft Forms format, no personally-identifiable information is gathered or accessible to me from any of the submissions. Rank Success is completely independent of police forces, government and other organisations relating to policing. None of the data gathered will be shared with anyone else, all processing and reporting of results will be done in-house.
This is worth your time. Your response counts and won’t be filtered out or end up in the bin like many ‘consultations’! I’m here primarily to serve officers and so am genuinely interested in your views and promoting them.
Of course, I can’t guarantee the Home Office, NPCC, the College, or others will change their plans depending on what you say. But I do know they will notice and read the results when I publish on my blog (they tend to be aware of content published by Rank Success). And the more of you who respond, the harder it will be to dismiss the results, so please share with colleagues.
In any case, wouldn’t it at least be interesting to see what people in all levels of policing think, not just the most vocal or influential perspectives, before these massive changes are enforced?
Please share with as many people as you can. The more who complete this one opportunity to give objective feedback, the more likely your voices will be heard and considered. Feel free to share the link to the survey directly via your channels.
For transparency, here’s a preview of the questions I’m asking:
- ABOUT YOU: Four broad multiple-choice questions on your role in policing, your leadership level, whether you are in front line policing, and your level of confidence in high-profile policing organisations.
- POLICE REFORMS: Four questions. First, I ask you to rate the plans overall, then rate your level of agreement with each main proposal. There’s also an optional free text box to share your reasoning for those issues you feel strongest about, should you wish. Finally here, I ask a multiple choice about why you think this is happening.
- ANYTHING ELSE: Type, rant, or ignore, there’s just one more optional question before submitting, to allow you to share any other thoughts about these reforms.
I’m genuinely interested in what people have to say. Thank you in advance if you’re going to share your views and share this survey link with others.
I’ll report findings back here at policepromotion.blog when there’s been enough responses to do so. Watch this space!
Kind Regards, Steve
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