The damaging effects of organisational stressors – including psychological safety – on employees have long been acknowledged but recent research reveals an even more striking reality: these internal pressures may impact wellbeing more profoundly than the trauma routinely faced by frontline police officers.
Our new report, ‘NPWS 2025 Deep Dive: Improving Internal Trust and Confidence for Better Public Outcomes’, highlights one organisational stressor: the widespread lack of internal trust and confidence – otherwise known as psychological safety – within policing. Psychological safety is the feeling among employees that they can voice ideas, ask questions and take sensible risks without fear of retribution. This sense of safety is not only important for retention and team cohesion, it’s also essential to delivering an effective service for the public.
In this short blog, we give you a preview of the key findings from the report.
Three key insights
- Psychological safety (or internal trust and confidence) enables high performance and better retention
Psychological safety is essential for building a healthy workplace. It enables the workforce to communicate openly and raise or take risks to do their jobs. This environment of trust and confidence enables officers and staff to work effectively and with assurance. Research shows that psychological safety positively impacts performance and retention, as officers who feel safer are more likely to be engaged and committed to their roles.
2. Junior employees and those in frontline roles feel less psychologically safe than their colleagues
Our report reveals that much of the police workforce, particularly those in high-stakes frontline roles, experiences poor psychological safety.
For example, only 28% of those in visible frontline roles like local policing feel they would be supported if they make a genuine mistake. Junior employees also feel less psychologically safe compared to their counterparts, with just 26% of constables feeling they would be supported if they make mistakes versus 73% of superintendents and 87% of assistant chief constables or above.
3. Different individual, team and organisational factors drive psychological safety
Our report identifies a range of factors that drive psychological safety within policing. These include:
- Individual factors – those who feel they are trusted are more likely to experience psychological safety and male employees also report higher levels of psychological safety than females.
- Team factors – respect from colleagues and line managers is important, and teams that handle disagreements constructively are more likely to create a supportive environment.
- Organisational factors – those who have confidence that concerns about misconduct will be properly investigated, who know how to access health and wellbeing support, and trust their leaders’ actions align with organisational values report higher levels of psychological safety.
Improving psychological safety across policing
To improve psychological safety (or internal trust and confidence), forces need to address all these individual, team, and organisational factors. That means prioritising fair treatment and respect, open communication, and inclusive leadership styles. Our report sets out a list of detailed actions that will help leaders to improve psychological safety and build a resilient police workforce.
You can read the full report on the College of Policing website here.
If you’re interested in learning more from the NPWS 2025 survey results or want to hear how Leapwise can support your work around people and culture, please reach out via the button below.