The 2025 National Police Wellbeing Survey, conducted by Leapwise for Oscar Kilo - The National Police Wellbeing Service (NPWS), revealed a wide range of issues across policing. As forces and national policing leaders start to digest results and take action, Leapwise and Oscar Kilo are exploring some of the findings in more detail through a series of ‘deep dive’ articles and reports. The aim is for these reports to be rigorous but accessible – and delivered in time for them to inform reforms to improve police performance and workplace wellbeing and engagement.
Introduction: Diving into a critical issue for police effectiveness
One of the key issues highlighted in the 2025 NPWS survey is a lack of internal trust and confidence, also known as psychological safety, which refers to the feeling of being able to voice ideas, ask questions and take sensible risks without fear of retribution. The survey revealed that this concern is particularly prevalent among frontline officers who operate in the most challenging environments. This article will examine the survey results, unpack the key drivers of psychological safety, and explore practical actions police forces can take to build a more resilient workplace where individuals feel they can speak up and remain engaged.
Internal trust and confidence: How psychological safety impacts police performance and wellbeing
In today’s dynamic work environments, the success of any organisation often hinges on the quality of interactions between its employees. It is essential to create a healthy workplace where employees feel psychologically safe and can bring their full selves to their roles, enabling teams to collaborate effectively and innovate without fear of being judged or reprimanded. Google’s Project Aristotle identified psychological safety as a key driver of team success. In its absence, the risk of serious failures rises, as seen in the Chernobyl disaster, where fear of speaking up contributed to catastrophic outcomes.
This is especially true in fields like policing, where officers must make quick decisions and work cohesively to adapt to rapidly changing situations. Trust and confidence in teams and leadership, essentially a sense of psychological safety, is crucial for effective policing and the service victims and witnesses ultimately receive. When officers feel psychologically safe, they are more likely to share critical information, leading to better decision-making and improved outcomes for the community they serve. Additionally, psychologically safe officers are more likely to develop a stronger sense of identity with their organisation and engage in continuous learning resulting in improved performance.
Psychological safety is not only linked to performance and improvement – it also plays a critical role in reducing employee turnover intentions. Studies across sectors, including among federal employees in the U.S. and lawyers in New Zealand, show that higher psychological safety predicts lower intent to leave. In policing, one study found that feeling psychological safe mediates the relationship between operational stress and intention to leave, suggesting it can buffer the negative effects of job stress on retention.
A recent study in public safety and frontline healthcare found three main drivers of psychological safety: inclusive and transformational leadership styles, which encourage leader accessibility, open communication and diverse perspectives; perceptions of fair treatment and just processes under a hierarchical structure, though overly rigid hierarchies can reduce psychological safety under intense workload pressures; and a ‘caring climate’ that promotes trust, open communication and respect.
High-performing teams are both psychologically safe and committed to excellence. By building trust and confidence within teams and organisations, police forces can enhance their effectiveness and deliver better outcomes for the public.
Survey insights: How safe do our police officers and staff feel?
The latest National Police Wellbeing Survey 2025 reveals that the policing workforce are fairly divided on psychological safety, specifically when looking at the levels of trust that their force would support them if they made a mistake at work. Overall, 40% of respondents feel they would be supported if they made a genuine mistake, while 37% disagreed. This level of perceived support is notably lower than in other public sector organisations, such as the NHS, where 46% agree, and the Armed Forces, where agreement rises to 55%. Additionally, there is significant disparity between officers and staff: only 29% of officers feel they would be supported if they made a mistake, compared to 57% of staff.
On the other hand, confidence in disagreeing with or speaking up against colleagues is slightly lower for staff than officers, with 65% of officers and 54% of staff sharing they feel confident to challenge colleagues. However, both officers and staff feel far less confident in disagreeing with senior leaders, with only 18% of officers and 21% of staff feeling comfortable speaking up when they feel it is needed.
The survey also highlights a stark difference in rank. Constables and sergeants feel significantly less psychologically safe compared to their more senior colleagues. Only 26% of constables and 30% of sergeants feel they would be supported if they made a mistake, whereas 73% of superintendents and 87% of ACCs feel the same. This suggests that policing’s hierarchical structure may be too rigid, negatively impacting psychological safety.
Additionally, and particularly concerning, only 28% of the visible operational frontline, including local policing, operational support and road policing, feel they would be supported if they made a mistake. These insights underscore the urgent need to address psychological safety within policing.
Survey insights: What is driving psychological safety in policing?
To explore what drives psychological safety in policing, we conducted a multivariate regression analysis of the data from the National Police Wellbeing Survey 2025. This analysis reveals several key factors that are linked to higher levels of internal trust and confidence within the police workforce in England and Wales (see appendix for results):
Individual level factors
- Officers who believe they have the necessary skills and knowledge for their job, and feel trusted to do their job, are more likely to feel psychologically safe
- Junior employees (constables, staff practitioners and PCSOs), even when controlling for all other characteristics, are less likely to feel psychologically safe compared to their senior counterparts
- Male employees feel more psychologically safe than female employees
Team level factors
- Feeling respected by colleagues and line managers is associated with higher levels of psychological safety
- Handling disagreements constructively within teams correlates with higher levels of psychological safety
Organisational level factors
- Greater confidence that concerns about conduct will be properly investigated correlates with higher levels of psychological safety
- Knowing how to access health and wellbeing support is positively related to psychological safety
- Those who feel they can contribute views before decisions are made are more likely to feel psychologically safe
- Trusting that leaders’ actions align with organisational values is also associated with higher levels of psychological safety
These findings really drive home the point: fair treatment and respect, open communication, and supportive leadership are key to creating a workplace where employees feel psychologically safe. So, how can police forces create such an environment?
Taking action: Building a safer police workforce
Creating an environment in policing where individuals feel safe to ask questions, raise concerns and take sensible risks requires intentional and strategic efforts at all levels. Let’s explore practical actions that police forces can take to enable fair treatment, open communication and more supportive and inclusive leadership. These actions are based on a literature review of what might improve the drivers of psychological safety identified in this article.
Improving individual factors:
- Build self-efficacy: Ensure officers feel equipped for their roles through targeted training and mentoring
- Model vulnerability and openness: Encourage leaders and peers to share mistakes and learnings, potentially through mentoring schemes - this helps normalise sensible risk-taking and reduces fear
Improving team factors:
- Create team rituals for constructive feedback and reflection: Regular debriefs and peer-led discussions can build openness and trust
- Improve recognition and appreciation: Acknowledge contributions publicly to reinforce respect and value
Improving organisational factors:
- Promote and normalise access to wellbeing resources: Visibility and clarity around support services improve safety perceptions
- Embed inclusive leadership styles: Incorporate inclusive leadership training that encourages leaders to be accessible, open to feedback and respectful of diverse perspectives
- Improve transparent decision-making: Build processes that involve staff in shaping policies and decisions that affect them and allow them to challenge status quo
- Ensure fair processes: Ensure conduct investigations are transparent, impartial and consistent
- Flatten rigid hierarchy signals: Encourage feedback loops and cross-rank collaboration to counter the psychological safety risks associated with overly rigid hierarchies
Moving forward: Enhancing psychological safety in policing
The findings from the National Police Wellbeing Survey highlight a pressing need to build trust and confidence among the workforce within policing. It’s not just about creating a supportive work environment; it’s about enhancing the overall effectiveness and resilience of our police forces. By prioritising psychological safety, we can ensure that officers are better equipped to serve the public by making sound decisions and collaborating effectively in high-pressure situations.
At Leapwise, we specialise in supporting police forces and other public sector organisations to embed effective leadership styles and processes to enable high performance. If you’re interested in exploring the NPWS 2025 survey results further, such as through examining other organisational aspects in tailored deep dives, or if you want to learn more about how Leapwise can support your organisation, please reach out to us.
Authors
Annie Haswell, Senior Consultant, Leapwise
Matthew Drury, Data Scientist / Consultant, Leapwise
Dr Tanvi Bhatkal, Manager, Leapwise