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Civil emergencies

Civil emergencies — Authorised Professional Practice

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Summary

The Civil Emergencies APP module outlines the essential protocols for police forces to respond effectively to any emergency. Compliance with the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 necessitates flexible emergency planning arrangements that allow for a structured response. Key areas of focus include civil contingencies and disaster victim identification, consolidating various sources of guidance, legislation, and principles from relevant organizations. The module emphasizes the commitment of agencies, such as the National Policing Chiefs Council, to support the Charter for Families Bereaved through Public Tragedy, ensuring a professional and compassionate response in emergencies.

Key principles

  • 1Robust and flexible emergency planning
  • 2Compliance with the Civil Contingencies Act 2004
  • 3Structured response to emergencies
  • 4Commitment to the Charter for Families Bereaved through Public Tragedy
  • 5Collaboration with various organizations for effective response

Defined terms

Civil Contingencies Act 2004
Legislation that requires emergency planning arrangements for responding to emergencies.
Charter for Families Bereaved through Public Tragedy
A commitment by agencies to support families affected by public tragedies.
Joint Emergency Service Interoperability Principles (JESIP)
Guidelines to ensure effective communication and collaboration between emergency services.

Full guidance

This page is from APP, the official source of professional practice for policing.

Police forces require robust, yet flexible, emergency planning arrangements to meet the requirements of the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 , and to facilitate a professional, structured response to any emergency, regardless of the cause.

As such, many organisations including National Policing Chiefs Council and the College of Policing have committed to the principles of the Charter for Families Bereaved through Public Tragedy .

It consolidates information from a variety of sources including decommissioned guidance , relevant legislation(opens an external website in the same tab) , the Strategic Policing Requirement(opens an external website in the same tab) , the National Policing Requirement and Joint Emergency Service Interoperability Principles (JESIP)(opens an external website in the same tab) products.

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Reproduced from the College of Policing Authorised Professional Practice under the Open Government Licence v3.0, as captured on 2026-06-27. APP is amended over time — check the source link below for the current version. This is a reference, not operational authorisation.

APP is the authoritative source for UK policing practice and is updated over time. For the current, official version — including any operational detail not reproduced here — go direct.

Read the full APP guidance

Source: College of Policing — Authorised Professional Practice · Crown copyright, licensed under Open Government Licence v3.0. Summary fetched 2026-06-27.