Welcome back to your first Leapwise blog of 2026! We hope you had a good break – especially readers working hard in public services where December often means higher demand, rather than slowing down.
In our most recent blog – published just before Christmas – we reflected on all the ways in which Leapwise has changed over the past year, with new service lines and team members, as well as our Advisory Council and brand new website.
As we look ahead to 2026, we’re thinking about whether this will be the year that everything changes for policing and whether promised justice reforms start to come into force.
A Big Bang on police reform?
Throughout 2025, policing moved ever closer to what could be a transformative set of national reforms.
Leapwise is working with the Home Office (and key partners across the system) on various reforms, so we can’t say too much about specific plans. But it’s been widely-reported that the Policing White Paper is set to come out imminently – with scope for huge changes.
In recent months, we’ve heard policing leaders float a huge range of different ideas. Some favour a National Centre of Policing that would take on wide-ranging operational roles. Force mergers have returned to discussion after two decades (when then Home Secretary Charles Clarke found they were hard going!) And the abolition of Police and Crime Commissioners – albeit on a longer timescale – has already shaken things up.
Few of the bigger changes being discussed could realistically be completed in 2026. Major reforms will take years to be implemented, but the debate following the Police White Paper will be enormously important. This wave of reform could indeed be the most significant since the 1960s.
Things are no less quiet across the justice system. The Ministry of Justice is digesting a series of high profile reviews – including the Independent Sentencing Review and the Independent Review of Criminal Courts (led by Sir Brian Leveson and reporting imminently). Every part of the criminal justice system is under huge strain – but will bold legislation survive the pushback that will come its way?
In our Policy and Partnerships work – led by our Managing Director Tom Gash and supported by Scott McPherson on our Advisory Council – we’ll be keeping a close eye on all these changes in the year ahead.
A year of productivity improvement – or more salami-slicing?
In 2025, the Government launched a drive for greater efficiency and cost-cutting in the public sector, while largely protecting many frontline budgets. This included ambitious productivity targets for the NHS and adult social care funding rises linked to improved outcomes. In policing, we also saw funding increase, but with demands for more efficiency too.
The 2026–27 financial settlement will boost overall policing funding to £19.5 billion (a 4.2% cash increase), including more cash for counter-terrorism and allowing PCCs to increase council tax contributions. But despite this funding rise, many forces still face budget challenges due to wage pressures (pay makes up 77% of policing’s cost base) and restrictions on the money the Home Office gives to individual forces.
All this is well-known to us. The big question is whether the Policing White Paper (and following reforms) will look at some of the key productivity issues such as funding that is constantly tied to officer numbers. Will forces be prepared enough (and bold enough) to resist the temptation to ‘salami-slice’ in ways that reduce service quality?
In courts, prisons and probation, meanwhile, it’s all about reducing demand. Court dockets, probation officer caseloads, and prison cell capacities have all been unmanageable for some time. It really is a case of reform or limp on for these critical services that are so often hidden from public view.
In our Strategy and Transformation work – led by Senior Manager Valeria Ilies – we’ll continue supporting organisations across policing and criminal justice to identify savings, improve services, and build effective operating models and teams. Look out for our upcoming series on police productivity to find out more about what individual forces can do to change things.
Policing’s cultural reckoning – a turning point or just more inquiries?
Across 2025, policing continued to confront how leadership, culture and conduct, and workforce pressure shape the day-to-day experience of those working in the service. That focus is likely to continue into 2026.
The forthcoming Police Leadership Commission (chaired by Lord Blunkett and Lord Herbert) is expected to recommend changes in mid-2026, with implications for how leaders are developed and held to account. At the same time, scrutiny of culture and misconduct in the Metropolitan Police has continued – from the Baroness Casey Review through to the independent progress review led by Dr Gillian Fairfield. The reports from the Angiolini Inquiry continue to crystallise wider lessons on professional standards, vetting, and public trust across the sector.
The White Paper and associated legislation will again be pivotal. In this case, in shaping new national expectations around workforce standards and leadership. The plans for a new Police Performance Framework (backed by a dedicated Performance Unit) are also expected to firm up this year, with the possibility of greater weight to leadership quality and cultural health alongside operational outcomes.
In our People and Culture work – led by Manager Tanvi Bhatkal and supported by former Merseyside Chief Constable Serena Kennedy on our Advisory Council – we’ll continue supporting policing organisations to better understand their workforce (building on our record-breaking National Police Wellbeing Survey) and to tackle the complex challenges of leadership and culture.
How Leapwise can help you navigate uncertainty with confidence
2026 really could be the year everything changes for policing. With transformative national reform potentially coming down the tracks, we might just see the whole system reshaped before our eyes. But, for now, we know that police forces and other public sector organisations still face considerable uncertainty.
If your organisation’s struggling to keep pace with change across the system, we’re always happy to share our thoughts. To speak to us about any issue you’re facing, just click the button below.