ACPO Post-employment Restrictions
Leveson Inquiry · An Inquiry into the Culture, Practices and Ethics of the Press · Issued 29 November 2012 · Addressed to: National Police Chiefs Council, Police
Source — verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation
Consideration should be given to the terms upon which ACPO rank officers are appointed and, in particular, whether these terms should include some limitation upon the nature of any employment within or by the media that can be undertaken without the approval of the relevant authority for a period of 12 months following the cessation of the appointment.
Leveson Inquiry, An Inquiry into the Culture, Practices and Ethics of the Press · 29 Nov 2012 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:
- The Policing and Crime Act 2017 strengthened the disciplinary framework for senior officers and introduced the power for the Home Secretary to make regulations about former police officers' conduct (Policing and Crime Act 2017, legislation.gov.uk).
- No published evidence of specific post-service employment restrictions limiting ACPO/NPCC-rank officers from taking employment with media organisations for a defined period has been identified in legislation or published guidance to March 2026.
Response — verbatim from government
●UK Government
The Prime Minister stated on 29 November 2012: "Lord Justice Leveson makes a number of recommendations that are designed to break the perception of an excessively cosy relationship between the press and the police and we support these recommendations." The College of Policing published Authorised Professional Practice on Media Relations in May 2013 implementing the police recommendations. Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/david-cameron-statement-in-response-to-the-leveson-inquiry-report
UK Government · 29 Nov 2012 Written response →
Evidence trail — what's actually happened since
- 27 Feb 2025 · Police / Home Office Post-employment restrictions for senior police officers have been considered and some forces have introduced cooling-off periods. However there is no universal 12-month restriction on media employment for departing chief officers. View source → Good Progress
Each entry above links to a primary source — gov.uk written statement, consultation response document, or inspection report. The Index does not characterise government intent; it tracks what has been published.
How this page is built
Source and Response are verbatim from primary documents. The Evidence trail records published activity since — written statements, consultation outcomes, inspection findings, parliamentary references. The Index does not paraphrase or characterise intent; it tracks what has been published. Where the evidence is the absence of action (a missed deadline, a slipped timetable), that absence is documented from primary sources rather than inferred.
This recommendation's data is verified periodically against primary sources. The Index is monitored for staleness weekly.