In July 2012, the Home Secretary issued the Strategic Policing Requirement (SPR) which both the Police and Crime Commissioner and the Chief Constables must take into account when carrying out their roles.
The SPR focuses on those areas where the Government has a responsibility for ensuring that enough resources are in place to respond to serious crime that crosses boundaries and to support the work of national agencies such as the National Crime Agency. It does not cover areas where chief constables and police and crime commissioners are able to make effective local risk assessments.
The SPR determines national threats that the police must address, and the appropriate national policing capabilities that are required to counter those threats. These threats – terrorism, organised crime, public disorder, civil emergencies and cyber threats – evolve from local to national issues, often very quickly. They require a response firstly from local policing, with local forces playing their part on the local, regional and national stages.