Leadership and management training is highly relevant for law enforcement in upcoming years, says new CEPOL report

The European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL) has just released its first Operational Training Needs Analysis (OTNA) on Leadership and Management, highlighting the importance of EU-level training in this area behind successful law enforcement operations.

Management and leadership training has been a central area of the CEPOL training portfolio and learning resources. Nevertheless, according to the findings of the European Union (EU) Strategic Training Needs Assessment (EU-STNA) for 2022-2025, a continuing lon-term investment in the topic of leadership and management is still ranked as the highest training priority among other areas where training for law enforcement professionals is needed.

Following up on this strategic training priority, CEPOL launched an Operational Training Needs Analysis (OTNA) in December 2022, with a view to using the outcomes of the research to define its training portfolio in the upcoming years. Based on the survey results, leadership and management, including executive decision-making during crisis, crisis management, crisis communication (e.g. COVID-19, the war in Ukraine, etc.), English language (specific language on mediation, negotiation, motivation and leadership), EU funding and EU project management should all be priorities for EU-level training.

Overall, the OTNA results confirm the already recognised importance of maintaining leadership training as one of the strategic training priorities to promote knowledge of available EU tools such as the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats (EMPACT), the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS), the Entry/Exit System (EES) and the system for Passenger Name Record data (PNR). Altogether, these support coordination, cooperation and information exchange, as well as the advanced development of a common European culture.

This OTNA can facilitate the curricula development of national or European level training providers engaged in upskilling law enforcement professionals on the topics of leadership and management. It is also expected to foster discussions for the development of targeted, innovative approaches and flexible learning solutions, designed to help law enforcement officials across the EU in building their leadership and managerial skills.

Furthermore, as per the recommendations of the CEPOL strategy 2024-2027, the OTNA survey was used also for mapping potential regional training needs and providers of law enforcement leadership and management training. The training needs indicated certain topics that could be addressed at regional, sub-regional and/or national levels. Some of the topics, such as leadership and management of international teams, could also be considered for additional subtopics or further training suggestions, relevant in today’s global environment which embraces cultural diversity, as employees and colleagues come from different backgrounds and work environments.

Read the full OTNA report on Leadership and Management here.

Visit our online learning platform LEEd for EU law enforcement officials for more information on our currently available training resources covering relevant topics.