Authorised Professional Practice at your fingertips

The College of Policing, the professional body for policing, today launched online policing guidance to the public, making it available from smartphones and tablets for the first time.

Called Authorised Professional Practice (APP), the consolidated guidance significantly reduces the amount of national guidance in circulation.

The guidance is available via www.app.college.police.uk

College of Policing chief operating officer, Deputy Chief Constable Rob Beckley, said APP streamlines existing knowledge products and guidance into a simpler online format giving officers and staff instant access to authorised practice and the ability to see how it links to other policing business areas.

“The feedback from officers and staff was that there were too many manuals and getting quick and easy access to them was not always simple. APP has been designed for use on smartphones and tablets so the latest content is available at the touch of a button while on the frontline.

“Content is easily searchable and all identified APP areas complement and are consistent with each other.

“The College of Policing APP team has been working with forces on an awareness raising exercise to ensure that previous documents are decommissioned and forces are using direct links to the APP site so they have access to the most up-to-date national policing guidance.”

The APP website currently covers the following policing areas:

• Armed policing
• Detention and custody
• Intelligence management
• Operations
• Risk
• Civil contingencies
• Engagement and communication
• Investigation
• Prosecution and case management
• Road policing
• Critical incident management
• Information management
• National Decision Model
• Public order

APP, which is authorised by the College of Policing, will continue to develop and consolidate other pieces of policing guidance into 2014.

Some material marked restricted and covering operationally sensitive policing areas will not be available in the public domain including covert policing, counter-terrorism and protected persons policing guidance.

As professional practice is reviewed and new material is developed it will draw on the best available evidence, identified by working with forces, academics and other partners.