Wave 2 (2023) acts as the transitional survey between the original baseline (Wave 1) and the most recent Wave 3 findings.
Unlike Wave 1, which established the initial baseline for workforce experience, and Wave 3, which reflects the current position, Wave 2 captures a singular period of expectation. It reflects early organisational responses following the publication of the Police Race Action Plan and a heightened national awareness of internal workforce inequality.
This wave is particularly important because it captures the first wave of responses after the Race Action Plan’s launch. It highlights which issues showed signs of early movement and which remained unchanged despite increased corporate focus. This guide explains the Wave 2 findings in full, focusing on what had begun to change, what remained static, and which new risks emerged during this midpoint period.
Explore the full Our Black Workforce Survey Hub, or compare this data against Wave 1 and the Trend Analysis (coming soon).
Methodology & Demographics
Sample Size
National Reach
Analysis Basis
Workforce Profile
17% Sergeants, 10% Insp+
Highly capturing the 'Uplift' generation experience.
Analytical Foundations
Midpoint Stability
Wave 2 retained core question structures from Wave 1, enabling direct longitudinal comparison of progress (or stagnation).
Consistency Check
While participation was voluntary, the consistency of responses across all regions strengthens the validity of identified national trends.
Note on Representation: Findings are comparable across Waves 1-3 due to consistent demographic participation from both officers and police staff, ensuring that changes in data reflect changes in experience rather than changes in the respondent group.
Workplace Culture
Pride in policing remained high in Wave 2, but feelings of belonging and internal inclusion showed no significant improvement from the baseline.
Wave 2 data highlights a critical distinction between professional commitment and cultural integration. While respondents expressed high levels of dedication to the policing mission, their experience within the "internal workforce" often remained one of social and structural distance. Culture in Wave 2 was experienced not through formal policy, but through the cumulative weight of daily interactions, informal norms, and team dynamics.
The "Canteen Gap"
-
Social Isolation
Feeling professionally respected during operations, but socially excluded during downtime or informal gatherings.
-
Decision Micro-Networks
Key information and decisions frequently circulating within informal "in-groups," leaving Black officers at a deficit.
-
Values Disconnect
A sharp contrast between high-level organisational EDI messaging and the daily reality of the locker room or parade floor.
The Belonging Gap
Wave 2 reinforced a recurring pattern: respondents often report intense pride in their role while simultaneously reporting a total lack of belonging within the organisation. This "Belonging Gap" is a critical indicator of long-term retention risk.
Pride vs Belonging
Pride is driven by the vocation (serving the public, catching criminals). Belonging is driven by the institution (feeling safe, seen, and valued by colleagues). In Wave 2, many officers remained "vocationally locked" but "institutionally excluded."
Predicting Retention
Research suggests that belonging is a more significant predictor of retention than pride. An officer can be proud of their badge but still leave the force because they are weary of the daily friction required to "fit in."
Organisationally, this gap matters because it masks deep-seated cultural problems. If leaders only measure "pride in service," they may miss the underlying exhaustion and isolation that drives Black officers and staff to reconsider their futures in policing.
Concealing Identity
Wave 2 provided clearer evidence that identity concealment is a widespread coping strategy, adopted to navigate personal and professional risk.
A significant finding in Wave 2 was the extent to which respondents felt the need to "moderate" their authentic selves to succeed or safely navigate their roles. Crucially, the data suggests that concealment is not a personal preference for privacy, but a strategic response to avoid scrutiny, stereotyping, or social exclusion.
Altering accent, language use, or cultural expression to match the dominant "norm." This requires constant mental effort and leads to significant cognitive fatigue.
Moderating appearance, including hair styles or religious markers, to avoid being perceived as "unprofessional" or "radical" by colleagues or supervisors.
Respondents reported that the decision to conceal identity often felt mandatory for career progression or to prevent "being watched more closely" than their peers.
Discrimination & Bullying
Wave 2 findings indicate that discrimination often manifests in subtle, cumulative forms rather than overt, single incidents.
While overt racist incidents were reported, the majority of respondents described a more complex environment of repeated microaggressions and stereotyping. This type of behaviour is significantly harder to report formally, as individual incidents may seem minor, yet their cumulative weight creates a hostile work environment.
The Burden of Cumulative Bias
"It’s not often a single shouting match. It’s the missed invites, the 'helpful' comments about my hair, and the constant feeling of being 'the first' to be blamed when a team goal is missed."
Public-Facing Hostility
Discrimination from members of the public remained a constant external pressure for Wave 2 respondents. For Black officers, this primary stressor is often exacerbated by a perceived lack of internal support when such incidents occur.
Operational Impact
Exposure to racial abuse during arrests or public interaction increases the cognitive load and "threat scanning" required by officers.
Wellbeing Conflict
Repeated public-facing hostility compounds internal stressors, leading to accelerated burnout and a sense of "defending an institution that doesn't defend me."
Training Environments
Wave 2 identified training environments as a critical emerging risk area, particularly affecting those in the earliest stages of their careers.
Training represents a unique vulnerability point in the police lifecycle. For new recruits, the instructor or assessor holds significant power over their future career. Wave 2 data suggests that this power imbalance often prevents Black officers from challenging discriminatory behaviour or comments.
Officers with <5 years’ service were most affected.
Discriminatory comments from instructors/peers.
Fear of reprisal affecting assessment outcomes.
This issue is particularly concerning as it occurs during the foundational period of an officer's career, potentially shaping their long-term perception of the organisation's culture and fairness before they have even completed their initial training.
Career Progression
Wave 2 revealed that career progression for Black officers and staff remains one of the most stagnant areas of workforce experience.
The data shows a persistent gap between organisational claims of meritocracy and the lived experience of Black personnel. Barriers to progression in Wave 2 were not just about overt bias in promotion boards, but about the unequal access to the "pre-requisites" for success: mentoring, high-profile projects, and development opportunities.
Structural Barriers
The Mentoring Deficit
Black officers reported significantly lower access to informal mentoring and "career sponsorship" from senior leaders compared to peers.
Gatekeeping & Visibility
Selection for "stretch" opportunities—often a prerequisite for promotion—was perceived as being controlled by informal networks that excluded Black staff.
Meritocracy Disconnect
A widespread belief that Black officers must perform at a significantly higher level than white peers to achieve the same career outcomes.
This stagnation creates a "progression ceiling," where talented individuals remain trapped in lower-level roles, leading to the retention risks explored in the following section.
Reporting & Confidence
Wave 2 reinforced a pervasive "reporting gap," where experiences of harm were frequently normalised rather than formalised.
The most common reason for not reporting incidents remained a belief that "nothing would happen." This sentiment reflects a deep-seated lack of trust in organisational justice systems. Among those who did report, many reported being moved or "informally managed" rather than seeing their issues addressed, further eroding confidence.
The Outcome Void
"Nothing would happen."
This single phrase captures the primary barrier to reporting for over half of all Black officers and staff in Wave 2.
Professional Standards (PSD)
Confidence in Professional Standards Departments remained critically low. For many respondents, PSDs were perceived as mechanisms of control rather than equity, leading to a "double-edged" fear of both the perpetrator and the reporting process itself.
Misconduct Bias
Of those who had faced misconduct proceedings, 65% believed race played a role in the decision to investigate or the severity of the outcome.
Transparency Gap
A common perception that investigations into Black officers were "over-escalated" while reports FROM Black officers were "under-investigated."
This "confidence gap" is critical because it prevents the organisation from capturing the true scale of internal friction. When officers believe the system is biased, they find alternative—often quiet—ways to survive, such as the identity concealment documented earlier.
Retention Dynamics
Retention in Wave 2 was influenced by a complex tension between vocational commitment, financial necessity, and increasing cultural weariness.
While "intent to leave" showed a slight numeric decrease from Wave 1, the underlying drivers of dissatisfaction remained high. Wave 2 data suggests that many respondents were staying not because of improved conditions, but because of the increased cost of living and financial dependency on their roles.
Primary Push Factors
These factors drive the desire to exit the organisation:
- Burnout & Wellbeing:
- Valuation Gap:
The cumulative weight of discrimination and high-stress operational roles.
Feeling that the unique challenges faced by Black officers are neither recognised nor compensated.
Primary Pull Factors
These factors currently keep personnel in post:
- Economic Necessity:
- Vocational Hope:
Financial constraints overriding the desire to leave for a more inclusive environment.
A belief that the Police Race Action Plan might still deliver meaningful change.
Organisations that rely on "financial necessity" for retention rather than "cultural inclusion" face a significant risk of a mass exodus should the external job market improve.
Support & Positive Action
While individual support exists, formal organizational mechanisms like Positive Action showed limited engagement and trust in Wave 2.
Highly variable support levels based on individual relationships.
Significantly under-used by those most in need.
High awareness but low active engagement reported.
Why Wave 2
Matters
Wave 2 is the critical midpoint of the survey series. It captures the "expectation gap"—the period where the organisation had publicly committed to change (via the Race Action Plan), but before those commitments had matured into felt improvements on the front line.
Without Wave 2, the transition from the 2022 baseline to the 2026 findings would appear as a sudden shift. Wave 2 provides the evidence of stagnation, confirming that cultural change in policing is a slow, iterative process that requires more than policy updates to succeed.
It also serves as a warning. The identification of Training Environments and Identity Concealment as systemic risks in Wave 2 allowed for earlier intervention strategies.
Wave 2 proves that awareness does not equal progress. It is the analytical bridge that helps us understand why certain issues persisted into Wave 3 and how new risks first emerged.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes Wave 2 different from the initial baseline?
While Wave 1 established the "as-is" state of policing for Black personnel, Wave 2 was the first to measure the impact of post-2022 reform efforts. It captured a workforce that was starting to monitor corporate promises against their daily reality, leading to a more critical assessment of leadership and culture.
Has anything actually improved since the baseline?
Wave 2 showed modest improvements in awareness of support networks and a slight numeric dip in intent to leave. However, core experiences of belonging, discrimination, and progression fairness remained largely static or declined in specific operational areas.
Why is "Training Risk" highlighted in this wave?
Wave 2 data uniquely isolated the experience of officers with under 5 years of service. It revealed that the training environment—usually the most controlled part of an officer's career—was actually a high-risk area for discriminatory comments and fear of reprisal from assessors.
Does this survey apply to all police forces?
Yes. Respondents came from all 43 Home Office forces and several specialist jurisdictions. While participation rates varied by force, the consistency of the findings suggests these are national trends rather than issues isolated to specific regions.
Officer Hub & Tools
Explore interactive tools designed to help serving officers navigate pay, pensions, and career rights.
View Officer Tools