Standards of
Professional Behaviour
Every police misconduct case in England & Wales is judged against a single statutory framework. They are not guidance. They are legal benchmarks embedded within the Police (Conduct) Regulations 2020.
Trust Notice: Based on Schedule 2 to the Police (Conduct) Regulations 2020 (as amended to 30 June 2026), Home Office statutory guidance and College of Policing outcomes guidance. Not legal advice. Updated: 30 September 2026.
What Are the Standards?
The Standards of Professional Behaviour are the legal expectations that define how police officers must act. Home Office guidance says officers are subject to them even when off duty (paragraph 2.18), although the fitness for duty standard only applies on duty or when presenting for duty.
Panels do not ask: “Was this inappropriate?”
They ask: “Did this breach a Standard?”
How Panels Apply the Standards
Before examining each standard, it is important to understand how misconduct panels think. They assess:
- Which standard applies
- Whether behaviour breached it
- Whether the breach is misconduct or gross misconduct
- Whether dismissal would be justified
They do not simply assess whether a mistake occurred. They assess seriousness, intent, context, and public confidence.
Honesty and Integrity
"Police officers are honest, act with integrity and do not compromise or abuse their position."
In practice that covers being truthful, not misleading colleagues, courts or supervisors, not falsifying records and not abusing your position for personal gain.
Why Integrity Cases Are Different
The College of Policing's outcomes guidance (2022) calls honesty and integrity fundamental requirements and treats operational dishonesty, meaning dishonesty connected with a police operation such as tampering with evidence, as especially serious. Following Salter v Chief Constable of Dorset [2012] EWCA Civ 1047, dismissal is almost inevitable where operational dishonesty is proven, with a very small number of exceptions (guidance, section 5).
Off-Duty Impact: The same guidance says some off-duty dishonesty may be of limited relevance in context, but dishonesty in an official or solemn document, such as a mortgage application or tax declaration, or using police status to act dishonestly, is at the more serious end (paragraphs 4.31 and 4.32).
Authority, Respect & Courtesy
Requires officers to act with self-control and tolerance, treat the public and colleagues with respect and courtesy, not abuse their powers or authority, and respect the rights of all individuals. Examples can include abusive language during an arrest or inappropriate messaging.
The College of Policing's outcomes guidance lists aggravating factors that make a breach more serious, including repeated conduct, a vulnerable victim and abuse of trust or powers.
Equality and Diversity
Officers must treat all people fairly and avoid discrimination. Frequently cited contexts include social media posts, cultural comments, and workplace discrimination allegations. Panels assess intent, impact, and public perception.
Use of Force
From 30 June 2026 the standard reads: "Police officers only use force when they honestly believe this to be necessary. The force used should be necessary, proportionate and reasonable." (Police (Conduct) (Amendment) Regulations 2026, SI 2026/597.) The previous wording, "only use force to the extent that it is necessary, proportionate and reasonable in all the circumstances", still applies to allegations that came to attention before 30 June 2026, and to later linked allegations about the same matter while the earlier one is being handled (SI 2026/597, regulation 3).
Important Distinction: Operational errors do not automatically equal misconduct. Panels differentiate between poor judgment, reckless disregard, and intentional excessive force.
Orders & Instructions
Compliance with lawful directions. Breaches include ignoring supervisor instructions or safety protocols. Intentional defiance escalates seriousness.
Duties & Responsibilities
Being diligent in your duties, for example proper investigation, accurate record keeping and timely safeguarding. It also includes giving appropriate cooperation in investigations, inquiries and formal proceedings when you are a witness; Home Office guidance says that duty does not override your right to silence when you are the subject (paragraphs 2.24 and 2.25). Failures may overlap with performance.
Confidentiality & Data
Officers treat information with respect and access or disclose it only in the proper course of police duties. Breaches include accessing police systems without a policing purpose, sharing operational details, or disclosing personal data.
College of Policing guidance says personal reasons such as general curiosity are never a legitimate reason to access police information, and that access without a legitimate policing purpose "may merit dismissal in serious cases". Accidental access will not (paragraphs 4.35 and 4.36).
Fitness for Duty
"Police officers when on duty or presenting themselves for duty are fit to carry out their responsibilities." This covers, for example, alcohol or drugs affecting you when you are on duty or reporting for duty. It does not extend to off-duty behaviour as such; off-duty conduct is dealt with under discreditable conduct.
Discreditable Conduct
This is the broadest standard. Officers behave in a manner which does not discredit the police service or undermine public confidence in it, whether on or off duty, and must report any action taken against them for a criminal offence, any court conditions and any penalty notice. Home Office guidance applies it to private online activity too (paragraph 2.19).
Test (Home Office guidance, paragraph 2.18): whether the conduct discredits the police as a whole, not whether the officer has discredited themselves. Paragraph 2.15 adds that it must be clearly articulated how the conduct discredits the police.
Challenging & Reporting
Officers must report wrongdoing and challenge inappropriate behaviour. Failure to report serious misconduct can itself become misconduct. This standard reinforces institutional accountability.
What Guidance Treats as Most Serious
There is no official ranking of the standards by dismissal rate, and we found no national figures that give one. The lists below come from the College of Policing's Guidance on outcomes in police misconduct proceedings (2022 edition, the latest we could read), which panels must have regard to. Every case turns on its own facts.
Treated as Especially Serious
- • Criminal convictions or cautions
- • Operational dishonesty, impropriety or corruption
- • Misuse of police data
- • Violence, intimidation, sexual impropriety, abuse of a position of trust, discrimination and violence against women and girls
Factors Pointing to Lower Seriousness
(Mitigating factors listed in the same guidance)
- A single episode or brief duration, or limited involvement
- Provocation, threat or disturbance affecting judgement, for example use of force in the heat of the moment
- Acting in good faith, or genuine errors, which may be better handled through performance procedures or reflective practice
Illustrative Examples
These are illustrative examples, not real cases, showing which standard would be engaged and what the guidance says. They do not predict the outcome of any case.
Illustrative example A: Integrity
An officer falsifies a notebook entry to cover a delay.
Guidance: dishonesty on duty is always serious; where it is operational dishonesty, dismissal is almost inevitableIllustrative example B: Force
Strikes used during a stressful arrest are alleged to be excessive.
Guidance: provocation or threat in the heat of the moment can mitigate; the outcome depends on the factsIllustrative example C: Off-Duty
An off-duty disturbance at home leads to police attendance.
Standard engaged: discreditable conduct, including the duty to report any criminal action takenIllustrative example D: Data
An officer checks a neighbour's vehicle details out of curiosity.
Guidance: curiosity is never a legitimate purpose; may merit dismissal in serious casesCommon Questions
What are the Standards of Professional Behaviour?
Ten statutory standards set out in Schedule 2 to the Police (Conduct) Regulations 2020: honesty and integrity; authority, respect and courtesy; equality and diversity; use of force; orders and instructions; duties and responsibilities; confidentiality; fitness for duty; discreditable conduct; and challenging and reporting improper conduct. Misconduct and gross misconduct are defined as breaches of them.
Do they apply off duty?
Yes. Home Office guidance says an officer is always subject to the standards, even when off duty (paragraph 2.18), and the discreditable conduct standard expressly applies on or off duty. The fitness for duty standard is narrower: it applies when you are on duty or presenting yourself for duty.
Which standard most often leads to dismissal?
We found no official figures ranking the standards by dismissals. The College of Policing's outcomes guidance treats certain types of misconduct as especially serious, including operational dishonesty or corruption, misuse of police data, criminal convictions, violence, intimidation or sexual impropriety, abuse of a position of trust, discrimination and violence against women and girls. Where operational dishonesty is proven, case law says dismissal is almost inevitable, with very few exceptions.
Is poor judgment always misconduct?
No. Panels distinguish error from serious breach.
Can social media breach standards?
Yes. Off-duty online conduct can trigger misconduct.