Guiding police decisions or falling short? A critical theoretical review of the national decision model
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21372515 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Laura Boulton (0000-0001-5623-8884, Liverpool John Moores University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 99 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 202-216 |
| Publication date | 2026-06-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Police Journal Theory Practice and Principles (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0032-258X • E-ISSN: 1740-5599 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258x251352756 |
| OpenAlex | W4411367194 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 44 |
Police decision-making is complex, marked by risk, high stakes, uncertainty, and time pressure. The National Decision Model (NDM), developed by the College of Policing, aims to standardise and improve decision-making within UK police forces. While its ethical framework has received some academic attention, the NDM’s effectiveness in supporting decision-making across varied policing roles is largely unexamined. This article critically reviews the NDM’s foundations, evolution, and practical application, highlighting key limitations and the need for further research to determine its real-world efficacy. Without robust empirical validation, the NDM risks falling short in guiding officers through the demanding realities of modern policing
Falling (accident) · Operations research · Criminal Law and Evidence · Engineering · Policing Practices and Perceptions · Psychology · Regulation and Compliance Studies
Evidence-Based Policing
Public Satisfaction With Police
Bounded Rationality and Organizational Learning
Naturalistic Decision Making
Rational Choice and the Framing of Decisions
A multidimensional model of police legitimacy
On narrow norms and vague heuristics
The Framing of Decisions and the Psychology of Choice
Rational choice and the structure of the environment.
Psychological and sociological factors influencing police officers' decisions to use force
Have you considered the opposite? A debiasing strategy for judgment in criminal investigation
Blackstone’s Senior Investigating Officers’ Handbook
On the decision-making framework for policing
Analysing Police Decision‐Making
How Uncertainty and Accountability can Derail Strategic ‘Save Life’ Decisions in Counter‐Terrorism Simulations
The Rise of Evidence-Based Policing
Taking stock of naturalistic decision making
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |