Across our conversations at the summit with forces, PCCs, justice partners and other stakeholders, several workforce-related themes came sharply into focus:

  • A workforce under pressure and in need of rethinking: The challenges facing policing are not just about numbers: they involve changing demand, evolving threat types , administration of justice reforms, increasing complexity, and growing expectations around technology, prevention, and community safety. As the NPCC Chair highlighted, policing can no longer solely rely on traditional structures; both officers and staff, supported by technology, need to be ready for modern demands.
  • Rapidly shifting capability and skills needs: Digital, analytical and technological roles are rising in importance. At the same time historic policing functions are evolving, creating new demand for data-savvy staff and technical capability. Organisations need improved use of digital tools to drive efficiency and effectiveness, along with more flexible workforce models.
  • Strengthening preparedness and resilience: Rising cyber incidents and other adverse events are putting organisations under pressure. They need a workforce that can anticipate, prepare for, and respond effectively to disruption, ensuring continuity of services and quick recovery.
  • System-wide interconnectedness: Many of the pressures described aren’t unique to policing, they ripple across the entire justice landscape. Workforce challenges are increasingly cross-agency, affecting multiple stakeholders.
  • The need for evidence-led, strategic workforce planning: With tight budgets and complex demands, reactive planning is no longer sufficient. What stakeholders are looking for is clarity about future demand, the capabilities required, and how to align resources intelligently, adapting as demands evolve.

These themes resonated strongly with the work we presented at our stand: the national strategic workforce planning pilot currently underway in partnership with NPCC. This pilot is designed to address exactly these challenges, bringing structure, consistency, and data-led thinking to workforce planning at a national level, while remaining adaptable to local force or partner organisation needs.

The pilot offers a number of potential benefits that align directly with what we heard at the summit:

  • A structured framework to help forecast and model future workforce demand and capability – giving organisations greater confidence when making long-term resource decisions.
  • A shared, evidence-based approach that supports both operational policing and the wider justice ecosystem – enabling better collaboration and more consistent workforce alignment.
  • A foundation for responding to changing workforce needs by supporting the integration of digital expertise, technological capability and specialist roles that complement and enhance frontline policing.

What was especially striking at the summit was how many attendees recognised that the workforce challenges are now a system-wide issue, not confined to individual organisations or forces. Implementing a robust, intelligence-driven planning approach, like the pilot we are working on, could offer benefits beyond policing, supporting greater resilience and alignment across the wider justice system.

In short: strategic workforce planning is no longer a nice to have. It is fast becoming an essential enabler of long-term viability, operational effectiveness and system resilience across policing. The path forward involves not just reconsidering workforce size, but rethinking how we define roles, capabilities and structures, ensuring the workforce is fit for evolving demands, technology and system complexity.

As our national pilot progresses, we remain committed to sharing emerging themes and exploring how insights could benefit partners across policing and justice. If you’d like to engage, contribute or explore how this work could support your organisation’s workforce challenges, get in touch.

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