Structure
Chief Constable Gavin Stephens chairs the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC). Chief Constables Jeremy Vaughan and Rachel Swann support him as Vice Chairs, in addition to their day jobs as chief officers within forces.
The NPCC brings together and is funded by police forces in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as well as the armed services and some British Overseas Territories.
Every police force is represented in the work of the NPCC through Chief Constables’ Council. The NPCC draws on the efforts and expertise of chief officers around the country - those at the rank of Assistant Chief Constable and above, or Commander and above in Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) and City of London Police, and senior police staff equivalents. While all chief officers will have the opportunity to be involved in and shape the work of the NPCC, it is not a membership body in the traditional sense.
Chief Constables’ Council is the primary decision-making forum for the NPCC. Every two months Chief Constables (and equivalents) meet to discuss operational policing issues and agree action. Working with the College of Policing, the council takes decisions on national standards and common approaches with the aim of protecting the public from the most serious and strategic threats.
In addition to their day jobs, individual chief officers support the work of the NPCC by taking responsibility for specific crime and policing issues from a national operational perspective.
- Counter Terrorism Policing Coordination Committee
- Crime Operations Coordination Committee
- Criminal Justice Coordination Committee
- Digital, Data and Technology Coordination Committee
- Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Coordination Committee
- Finance Coordination Committee
- International Coordination Committee
- Local Policing Coordination Committee
- Operations Coordination Committee
- Performance Management Coordination Committee
- Prevention Coordination Committee
- Science and Innovation Committee
- Workforce Coordination Committee
Underneath these broad categories chief officers take the lead on specific issues. For example, under the Crime Operations Committee there are individual leads for domestic abuse, rape, drugs, and cyber-crime.
The NPCC is underpinned by a legal agreement between relevant parties under Section 22A of the Police Act 1996, signed by Chief Constables, PCCs and non-Home Office Force equivalents. The NPCC is hosted by the MPS but is independent of it.
In addition, from 2019-20 following a letter of agreement with NPCC, the Police Service of Scotland contributes to the funding of the NPCC, and the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Scotland has the same involvement in the governance and arrangements of the NPCC as any other Chief Officer or Police and Crime Commissioner who is a signatory to the Section 22a agreement.
In 2021/22 the NPCC began to introduce a new operating model that seeks to strengthen the NPCC so it is better able to deliver its mission and contribute to reducing crime and protecting the public.
This saw the creation of a new Strategic Hub expanding the central support to Chief Constables and NPCC leads and boosting the NPCC’s coordination of critical national policing issues.
Changes as a result of the Strategic Hub include: dedicated, NPCC funded support to committee chairs working collaboratively across the NPCC, a new strategy, performance and planning team supporting strategy and business planning; and improved collaboration with partners.
These changes have been support by a grant from the Home Office.
Teams in the hub:
Strategy Planning and Performance Team (SPP) is the gatekeeper for NPCC managing the workflow and tracking delivery. The investment in this new capability provides a business structure that is better equipped to deal with national pressures which are cross cutting and require a coordinated response across multiple agencies.
Business Support Team maintains the logistics for the delivery of strategic meetings including Chief Constables' Council, Regional Chiefs and the newly formed Strategic Planning and Coordination Board. The team also provide the support to the remote workforce for all IT and equipment, HR support, finance, governance assurance, information management and data protection protocols, and host force management duties.
Communications Team communicate the collective professional expertise, views and actions of UK police chief officers to the public, government and stakeholders. This includes strategic communication, press office (24/7 out of hours service), issues and crisis management, parliamentary and stakeholder engagement and digital.
Organisational Development and Change (ODC) team combine project skills with benefits and business analysis skills to provide a structured approach to delivering business change for short, medium, and long-term pieces of work. The team works to support NPCC to deliver against the strategic objectives by building a centre of excellence approach to business development, change and innovation. The team also contains an expertise in complying with governance processes across the sector.
The Committee Coordinators are an integral part of the Strategic Hub and contribute towards the delivery of the NPCC objectives and annual plan. Each coordinator provides a conduit between their respective Coordination Committees and the Strategic Hub, building consistent working practices to inform and support key decision-making, the identification of priorities and performance management.