Dr Michel Funicelli explores whether the the Government’s White Paper proposal that all UK police officers should hold a Licence to Practice is a necessary scheme to aid raising professional standards.

In January 2026, the Labour government released its White Paper on police reform in the UK, entitled: From Local to National: A New Model for Policing. Among the many recommendations the government intends to implement is one that is likely to generate a lot of discussion in the police community. It is the introduction of a Licence to Practise for all UK police officers.

As it stands now all UK police officers are issued a warrant card following a formal attestation ceremony. A warrant card is an official document that serves as proof of identity and authority and which entitles a police officer to execute the various policing functions and associated legal powers (e.g., stop, search, seize, arrest, etc.). This is the current situation. The Labour government intends to introduce a licensing scheme aimed at raising professionalism standards to stem police misconduct.

Recent survey data suggests that this recommendation will be met with a lot of opposition from the constabulary. Among the main concerns are that 1) the bureaucratic headaches of this scheme will outweigh its benefits, 2) officers worry they may have to bear the cost of maintaining their licence, 3) officers will not be afforded the time for the training to obtain this licence, and 4) some fear their licence will be weaponised as a disguised disciplinary measure.

Is this scheme necessary? Before answering this question it could be useful to know that many other professionals, working in the UK, need a licence to practice their craft in this country, namely doctors, nurses & midwives, dentists, dental hygienists, dental therapists, pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, solicitors, barristers, notaries public, security personnel, aircraft maintenance, motorcycle instructors, teachers, social workers, architects, and gangmasters, etc. The space here does not permit me to answer each issue, raised above by police officers, for every profession where a licence to practice is currently mandatory. However, it would be a safe bet that most of these points have likely been raised before and adequately addressed. This apprehension from police officers is probably attributable to a fear of the unknown more than anything else. But, in fairness, I have no idea what the licence to practice scheme for police officers will look like.

Maintaining adequate levels of professional standards in the police is at the heart of the discourse. It is noteworthy to mention that UK police officers are already answerable to a Code of Ethics, as per the College of Policing (CoP), and subject to investigations by the respective police services’ professional standards branch and the Independent Office for Police Conduct, with dismissal and incarceration as the most severe sanctions. It is a legitimate question, then, to ask what more would a licence scheme add to the level of oversight placed on UK police officers.

Finally, what is the role of higher education institutions (HEI), such as CCCU, and licensed by the CoP to deliver a variety of policing programmes? I argue that HEIs play a vital and important function in preparing prospective police officers towards the high demands placed on them in their future employment. Sadly, the White paper is silent on the contribution of HEIs in this matter.

Dr Michel Funicelli is Course Director for the University’s BSc (Hons) Professional Policing, in the School of Business, Law, and Policing.