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The Strategic Policing Requirement (SPR) was first issued in July 2012, in accordance with section 77 of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011. The previous Strategic Policing Requirement was last updated in 2015.
Police and crime commissioners and chief constables must consider the SPR when carrying out their functions.
National threats
The 2023 version introduces violence against women and girls as an additional national threat, and reaffirms the validity of the existing threats.
The national threats set out in the SPR are:
- violence against women and girls
- terrorism
- serious and organised crime
- a national cyber incident
- child sexual abuse
- public order
- civil emergencies
The inclusion of violence against women and girls as a national threat sets clear expectations for:
- local and regional police capabilities to tackle violence against women and girls
- how local forces work with others, including collaborating with other agencies
Other updates
Other changes include:
- a more detailed description of how threats should be tackled by police forces
- strengthened governance and assurance arrangements, including a requirement for more distinct references to SPR in police and crime plans
- an enhanced serious and organised crime section, to ensure prominence for crime types such as fraud and organised immigration crime
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