The Police
Federation
Structure, Leadership and Legal Accountability (2026 Guide)
Official Explainer Resource
What Is the Police Federation?
The Police Federation of England and Wales is the statutory staff association representing police officers from the rank of constable up to chief inspector. Created by Parliament following the police strikes of 1918 and 1919, it provides a formal mechanism for officers to raise concerns about pay, conditions and welfare — without the right to strike. Unlike a trade union, it operates under statutory rules governed by the Police Act 1919 and Police Regulations.
Police Federation Explained (Quick Answer)
The Police Federation of England and Wales is the statutory staff association representing police officers from constable to chief inspector. Created under the Police Act 1919 following the police strikes of 1918 and 1919, it provides representation on pay, conditions and welfare. It is not a trade union and cannot organise strike action. Leadership includes elected police officers and civilian professionals.
Why This Topic Is Being Searched
Public interest in the Police Federation increased significantly in March 2026 following media reporting concerning the arrest of the organisation's Chief Executive. While the circumstances of any investigation are matters for the police and courts, the reporting prompted widespread questions about how the Federation operates and how its police federation leadership is governed under UK law. This guide explains the structure, legal framework and accountability mechanisms of the organisation.
Chapter 01
Why the Federation
Exists
In August 1918, members of the National Union of Police and Prison Officers (NUPPO) called a strike in London. Thousands of officers walked out in protest over pay and the dismissal of a union representative. The government of the day, under Lloyd George, conceded a pay rise — but resolutely refused to recognise the union.
A second strike followed in 1919, this time in London, Liverpool and Birmingham. The government's response was swift and firm: strikers were dismissed without pension, NUPPO was disbanded, and the Police Act 1919 was passed. This legislation created the Police Federation as a permanent, statutory alternative to union membership — providing representation through dialogue, not industrial action.
"The events of 1918 and 1919 established a constitutional settlement that persists today: police officers represent one of the few professions in England and Wales for whom trade union membership and strike action remain prohibited by statute."
Police Act 1919 — Statutory Foundation
Chapter 02
Legal Foundation
Police Act 1919
The primary legislation that brought the Federation into existence. It mandated the creation of a staff association for officers and prohibited them from joining any trade union or body affiliated to a trade union. Section 3 of the Act gave the Federation statutory standing to make representations on pay and conditions.
Police Regulations 2003
These define conditions of service, duties and entitlements for police officers. The Federation is consulted as a statutory consultee in any changes to police regulations, giving it a formal role in the machinery of government that is separate from and more than an ordinary lobbying organisation.
Important Distinction The Police Federation is not a government body. It does not exercise state authority. It is a statutory representative organisation funded by member subscriptions rather than public funds. Its decisions do not have the force of law, and its officers do not act on behalf of the Crown in any executive capacity.
Chapter 03
Who Can Be Members?
Membership of the Police Federation is defined by rank and is restricted by statute to operational officers below the superintendent tier.
Eligible Ranks
Not Eligible
The rationale is operational: ranks above chief inspector exercise supervisory and disciplinary authority over Federation members. Representing both parties would create an irreconcilable conflict of interest. Superintendents have their own Association; chief officers are represented by CPOSA.
Chapter 04
Governance
Structure
The Federation operates a layered governance structure. At the national level, a National Board oversees policy and strategy, chaired by an elected National Chair who must be a serving officer. The National Chair is the primary representative voice of the Federation in public discourse and in negotiations with the Home Office.
Below the national tier, each police force area has a Branch Board responsible for local member support, case representation and engagement with force management. Members of Branch Boards are elected by the workforce in their respective forces and serve on a time-limited basis alongside their normal duties.
Elected representatives from across England & Wales. Sets national policy.
Elected serving officer. Public face of the Federation on policy matters.
43 force-level boards. Handle individual representation and local issues.
Governance Overview
How the Police Federation Is Organised
The organisation operates across three distinct tiers. Understanding these layers is key to understanding how police federation law UK applies to different roles.
National Leadership
Operational Management
Local Representation
Chapter 05
The Chief Executive
A Civilian Role
The Chief Executive of the Police Federation is a civilian employee, not a serving police officer. They are recruited through the open market and appointed by the National Board. Their responsibilities encompass day-to-day management of the Federation's headquarters, oversight of its employed staff, management of its finances, and ensuring compliance with its constitutional and governance obligations.
No Police Powers
Because the Chief Executive is a civilian, they hold no warranted police powers and are not constables. They cannot stop and search, arrest, or otherwise exercise statutory police authority. They are not subject to Police Regulations or the misconduct framework that applies to warranted officers. Their legal accountability is instead governed by employment law and the ordinary criminal law applicable to all citizens.
Key Distinction The separation between the elected National Chair (a serving officer, subject to police regulations) and the appointed Chief Executive (a civilian, subject only to employment and criminal law) reflects the deliberate constitutional design of the organisation. This dual structure ensures that policy authority remains with elected officer members, while professional administration is managed independently.
Chapter 06
Are Leaders
Police Officers?
The Federation's leadership is a mix of warranted officers and civilian professionals. The distinction matters significantly when it comes to legal accountability.
Elected officer representatives — including Branch Board members, the National Chair and other national elected posts — are serving, warranted police officers. While performing Federation duties, they remain constables and therefore retain both their police powers and their liability under police misconduct regulations.
Civilian staff, including the Chief Executive, solicitors, communications officers and administrative personnel, hold no police warrant and are not subject to police conduct regulations. They are employees in the ordinary sense.
Subject to Police Regulations. Retain police powers. Governed by misconduct procedures under the Police (Conduct) Regulations 2020.
Subject to employment law and criminal law. Not governed by police conduct regulations. Employed under standard contracts.
Chapter 07
How Investigations Work
Criminal Allegations
If credible allegations of criminal conduct arise involving any Federation official — elected officer or civilian — the standard criminal investigative process applies. Police will gather and review evidence. If there is sufficient evidence to meet the referral threshold, the matter will be passed to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). The CPS then applies its Full Code Test: an evidential stage and a public interest stage. Only if both stages are satisfied will a charging decision be made.
Parallel Misconduct
Where the subject of a criminal investigation is a serving police officer performing Federation duties, their force may also open a separate misconduct investigation in parallel under the Police (Conduct) Regulations 2020. The criminal and misconduct processes are legally distinct. A misconduct finding does not require a criminal conviction, and vice versa. Both can proceed simultaneously or sequentially.
Chapter 08
Criminal vs Misconduct Law
Police Officers (Criminal + Misconduct)
- → Subject to Police Regulations 2003
- → Subject to Police (Conduct) Regulations 2020
- → Can face disciplinary panels, warnings, dismissal
- → Subject to IOPC oversight if applicable
- → Criminal allegations handled in parallel
Civilian Federation Staff (Criminal Only)
- → Not subject to Police Regulations
- → Governed by employment law and contract
- → Disciplinary matters resolved internally
- → Criminal allegations investigated by police in the normal way
- → Subject to CPS Full Code Test for charges
Chapter 09
Why Governance Matters
Transparency
The Federation represents a powerful constituency of 130,000+ officers. The public interest requires that its own governance operates with openness and accountability.
Public Confidence
If the body tasked with supporting officers' welfare and integrity lacks clear governance, it undermines confidence in policing as an institution by association.
Rule of Law
No organisation operating within the UK policing ecosystem — including those that represent officers — sits above the criminal law or is exempt from investigation.
Chapter 10
Is the Federation Part of the Police?
A common question, particularly for members of the public, is whether the Police Federation of England and Wales is itself a part of the police service. The answer is unambiguous: it is not.
The Federation does not exercise operational authority. Its officials cannot investigate crimes, make arrests, or direct policing operations. It holds no executive function in the name of the Crown and does not sit within the Home Office's policing structure. It is a self-funding, member-led statutory body created by Parliament to serve a representative function — distinct from both the police service and from government.
What it IS
- → A statutory representative body
- → Created by the Police Act 1919
- → Funded by member subscriptions
- → Organisationally independent
What it IS NOT
- × Part of any police force
- × A government department
- × A trade union
- × An operational policing body
Chapter 11
Common Misconceptions
Three persistent misunderstandings about the Police Federation, addressed directly.
Misconception
The Federation is a trade union
The Reality
It is not. Police officers are legally prohibited from joining a trade union or taking strike action. The Federation is a statutory staff association with a fundamentally different legal basis, operating through statutory consultation rather than collective bargaining.
Misconception
The Federation is a government department
The Reality
It operates entirely independently of both police forces and government departments. It is not funded by public money, does not exercise state authority, and does not report to any minister. It is accountable to its elected membership.
Misconception
Civilian staff hold police powers
The Reality
Civilian employees of the Federation — including the Chief Executive — are not warranted police officers and hold no police powers. They cannot arrest, stop and search, or exercise any statutory policing authority. They are employees in the ordinary legal sense.
Chapter 12
How the Federation Influences Police Pay
The Federation does not set police pay. Pay scales for warranted officers are determined by the Government following recommendations from the independent Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB). This body receives written evidence from multiple stakeholders — including the Police Federation — before making its annual recommendations to the Home Secretary.
The Federation's submission typically sets out the case for pay improvements on behalf of its members, drawing on cost of living data, officer survey results, recruitment and retention statistics, and comparisons with equivalent public sector roles. The Home Secretary is not legally bound to accept PRRB recommendations in full, and in recent years the Government has accepted recommendations below the level of inflation.
How Pay Is Set
Federation and other bodies submit evidence to the PRRB
PRRB reviews evidence and makes a formal recommendation
Home Secretary accepts, rejects or modifies the recommendation
New pay scales are applied through amended Police Regulations
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Police Federation?
The Police Federation of England and Wales is the statutory staff association representing police officers from the rank of constable up to chief inspector. It was established by Parliament under the Police Act 1919 following the police strikes of 1918 and 1919. It is not a trade union and cannot call a strike. Its primary function is to represent individual officers in misconduct proceedings, negotiate on conditions of service, and raise concerns about pay and welfare through constitutional channels.
Is the Police Federation a union?
No. The Police Federation is not a trade union and police officers are legally prohibited from joining a trade union or going on strike under the Police Act 1919 and Police Regulations 2003. The Federation operates under its own statutory framework and functions as a staff association rather than an industrial body. It can negotiate on pay and conditions through the Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB) but cannot take industrial action on behalf of its members.
Who runs the Police Federation?
The Police Federation is led by an elected National Chair, who must be a serving police officer, and a National Board composed of elected officer representatives from England and Wales. Day-to-day operations are managed by a Chief Executive, who is a civilian employee and is not a police officer. The National Chair is the public face of the Federation on policy matters, while the Chief Executive is responsible for professional administration, governance and staff management.
Is the CEO of the Police Federation a police officer?
No. The Chief Executive of the Police Federation is a civilian employee, not a serving police officer. They are appointed through a civilian recruitment process and are responsible for running the organisation's business operations, including governance, human resources, legal services and financial management. The Chief Executive does not hold warranted police powers and is not subject to police misconduct regulations. They are instead governed by employment law and ordinary criminal law in the same way as any other civilian professional.
Can Federation officials be investigated by police?
Yes. If allegations of criminal conduct arise involving a Federation official — whether they are a civilian employee or an elected officer representative — the matter can be investigated by police through standard criminal procedures. An elected officer who is a serving police officer would also be subject to police misconduct regulations in parallel. Civilian staff, including the Chief Executive, would be subject only to criminal law and employment law, not to police regulations.
Who represents police officers in England and Wales?
Most officers are represented by the Police Federation of England and Wales (constable to chief inspector). Superintendents and chief superintendents are represented by the Police Superintendents' Association. Chief officers (assistant chief constable and above) are represented by the Chief Police Officers' Staff Association (CPOSA). Each body operates independently under separate statutory arrangements. Officers may also be members of staff networks and associations such as the National Black Police Association.
Is the Police Federation part of the police?
No. The Police Federation is not part of any police force and does not exercise operational police authority. It is a statutory representative body created by the Police Act 1919 but operates organisationally independently from police forces and from government departments. It does not employ constables in their policing capacity, does not direct policing operations, and does not hold any executive function in the name of the Crown.
How does the Police Federation influence police pay?
The Police Federation does not set police pay. Pay for officers is determined following recommendations from the independent Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB). The Federation submits written evidence and representations to the PRRB during each annual review cycle, setting out the case for pay improvements on behalf of its members. The final decision on pay rests with the Home Secretary, who is not bound to accept PRRB recommendations in full.
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