• Read more about Introducing our case studies

The IOPC oversees the police complaints system, reviewing police complaint handling and investigating the most serious and sensitive matters involving the police. We also share learning from our work to improve police policy and practice, to improve trust and confidence in policing.

The ten case studies included in this magazine are based on real investigations and reviews the IOPC has completed. We have carefully selected these cases because they highlight key themes we see in our work and because of the opportunities they represent to spark discussion and reflective thinking.

Many of the case studies demonstrate the range of situations that those in frontline policing can be confronted by. Officers can often be the first responders to incidents involving vulnerable individuals, having to make decisions in dynamic and fast-moving situations. We share these case studies to ask readers to reflect on existing training, guidance and resources to help prevent adverse incidents in the future.

Some case studies explore wider themes that might be seen in frontline policing, including risk assessment and communication with other emergency services or members of the public. These case studies might reflect scenarios you have or could imagine encountering and are designed to help you consider your own knowledge and confidence.

While this issue discusses more recent IOPC cases, previous issues of the magazine – covering areas such as roads policing, call handling, custody, and mental health – contain case studies that are still very relevant to frontline policing. We encourage you to continue to consider the learning raised in these issues to identify opportunities to improve policy and practice.

We include symbols at the beginning of each case study so you can quickly identify cases involving themes relevant to your role. All our case studies include reflective questions, designed to unpack key learning. If you are a frontline officer or member of staff, we ask you to consider your own answers to these questions. We hope this can help you to think about how you might approach future incidents that you attend to make sure you are in the best position to support yourself, your colleagues, and members of the public. By doing so you can help everyone to have trust and confidence in policing.

To read previous issues of the Learning the Lessons magazine, please visit:

Learning the Lessons | Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC)

David Lee is the Learning and Improvement Lead at the IOPC
 

• Read more about More than just increasing numbers: rebuilding the connection between police and communities

Catherine Akehurst and Dennis Murray discuss the impact of the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee to strengthen public trust and confidence in policing. 

 Trust and confidence are fundamental to effective policing, community engagement and legitimacy, and over recent years we have seen a decrease in this nationally. 

Many factors play a part in building and maintaining trust and confidence, however we know neighbourhood policing and officers on the street are crucial for us to connect with communities. 

Visibility and engagement with communities has always been central to the British policing model and must remain at the heart of what we do. 

Through the implementation of its Safer Streets Mission, the Government has made a commitment to support forces in rebuilding neighbourhood policing, with the delivery of its Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee (NPG). 

The guarantee, which was announced by the Prime Minister in April, aims to increase public confidence in policing and enhance the capability and capacity of the neighbourhood policing workforce by 13,000 police constables, police community support officers (PCSOs) and special constables to address anti-social behaviour (ASB) and focus on crime prevention. 

Delivering the NPG is more than just increasing numbers though; it is about rebuilding the vital connection between the public and the police. 

Since the announcement, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) has been working closely with forces to ensure specific commitments set out to be delivered by July have been met and are now being successfully delivered across all forces in England and Wales. 

Every community now has named and contactable officers dedicated to addressing local issues, with neighbourhood policing teams spending the majority of their time in communities, providing visible patrols, engaging with residents and businesses, and offering regular opportunities for the public to raise concerns through community meetings. 

A further commitment was made to provide a response to neighbourhood queries such as concerns about ASB, or local issues, within 72 hours. Every force now has a dedicated ASB lead to work with communities to develop action plans that tackle concerns seen on streets every day. 

These achievements lay the foundation for the next phase of the guarantee, and the progress sets a national minimum standard that communities can expect. 

The next focus is to support forces with achieving a further milestone over this Parliament: having an additional 13,000 neighbourhood policing resources in place to spend time on visible patrol and which are not deployed to plug shortages elsewhere. The first phase of this commitment is to have 3,000 officers, PCSOs and specials in place by the end of March 2026. 

The NPCC has also been working with the College of Policing to launch a neighbourhood policing career pathway to provide new training for neighbourhood officers that equips them with the skills and knowledge they need to deliver a trusted and effective service to the public. It also sets out standards for professional excellence to ensure neighbourhood policing is developed as a specialist policing capability. 

Part one of the Neighbourhood Policing Programme (NPP1) is exclusively online learning and covers engaging with communities, problem solving and tackling ASB. 

Upon completion of NPP1, participants will be able to apply community engagement strategies to build trust and gather intelligence, and use structured problem-solving techniques to address local issues. They will know how to implement appropriate interventions to tackle ASB, and contribute to creating safer communities through visible, effective neighbourhood policing. 

The complete programme will be made up of four parts and is expected to be available in full by 2027. To further support the Government’s Safer Streets Mission, earlier this year the NPCC established a new programme to specifically focus on “Trust and Confidence”. 

The work of the programme will coordinate national efforts to rebuild public trust, enhance police legitimacy, and strengthen community relationships across UK policing. By uniting stakeholders from policing, academia and government, the programme will develop a national Trust and Confidence Strategy – driven by evidence-based practice and community engagement – to ensure policing is fair, transparent and trusted by all. 

We are also taking forward initiatives including: 

• Developing a programme of national interventions, with the College of Policing and key stakeholders, to deliver the changes required to improve public confidence
• Developing a quarterly symposium, which has been running for over a year, bringing together strategic stakeholders to share information and share thinking on police legitimacy
• Agreeing joint commitments between the Home Office, the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, and the NPCC to develop a consistent, and sustainable approach to addressing trust and confidence 

Maintaining public trust and confidence is not a one-time achievement, but an ongoing responsibility which requires policing to demonstrate a deep commitment to serving with fairness, empathy and transparency. 

Temporary Deputy Chief Constable Catherine Akehurst is the NPCC programme lead for the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee 

Assistant Chief Constable Dennis Murray is the NPCC lead for the Trust and Confidence portfolio 

• Read more about Content warning

This issue contains descriptions of incidents involving death and serious injury, suicide, mental ill health, violence, and strip search. 

Reading this content can have a triggering impact. You can call Samaritans for free on 116 123 or visit www.samaritans.org if you would like support.

See page 48 for more organisations you can contact if you are affected by any of the issues in this publication. 

• Read more about Welcome

Frontline policing: a new challenge – and learning opportunity – every day. 

Welcome to this edition of Learning the Lessons, looking at frontline policing, where officers interact with the public and deal with difficult and unexpected situations on a daily basis. These interactions present an invaluable opportunity for officers to build the public’s respect and trust, but there is also the risk of damaging that fragile relationship if things go wrong.

Officers face daily challenges, usually being the first on the scene when there is a crime, serious incident or crisis. They have to make snap decisions under pressure, in fast-changing and difficult conditions. The IOPC hears the stories of when police contact with the public hasn’t gone well, and we are here to help officers, staff and forces learn from when things go wrong. We also get to see examples of first-class police work, practices and officer bravery, and it is important to share these stories too.

In this issue you can find out about work to transform local policing and increase confidence, via the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, and research on what people really want from the police. Officer wellbeing is also featured, including important information on suicide prevention, mental health, and how we at the IOPC safeguard police witnesses and subjects in our investigations. 

Two of our articles address interacting with young people: how to prevent falling into the trap of ‘adultifying’ the young, and how overlooking neurodiversity can lead to unnecessary escalation.

We look at important practicalities, such as how the Met are reforming their first aid training. Officers from Warwickshire Police share their reflections on a case demonstrating the importance of body-worn video: captured footage showed them going above and beyond to try to save a driver in a fatal incident. 

We also provide ten case studies from real-life incidents that we have investigated or reviewed, involving issues such as use of force, equipment, and encounters with young people. These provide an opportunity for learning, discussion and reflection: what would you have done in the same situation? We include the actual outcome of the cases, any recommendations made and what forces did to prevent the same problems occurring again.

I thank everyone who has contributed to this edition of the magazine. 

Every interaction between police and the public offers an opportunity to build trust and confidence in policing. To that end, I hope you find this magazine interesting, thought-provoking and, above all, useful. 

Rachel Watson 

Director General, IOPC