Mobilisation
Mobilisation — Authorised Professional Practice
Summary
Mobilisation refers to the process of coordinating and managing police assets during complex operations that require additional resources beyond a force's own capacity, enabling mutual aid at local, regional, or national levels. The National Police Coordination Centre (NPoCC) is tasked with the mobilisation of these police assets, which include general policing and crime business areas. This aspect of operation, particularly in terms of mobilising crime assets, is evolving, as it differs from traditional uniformed interventions. The lead force in a nationally-led crime enquiry will manage the resources needed, and the NPoCC serves as the first point of contact for mobilisation needs, offering guidance and national coordination. Mobilisation efforts exceeding 90 days are generally classified as a secondment rather than mutual aid, although each case will be evaluated individually.
Key principles
- 1Mobilisation supports mutual aid for operations exceeding local force capacity.
- 2NPoCC is responsible for the coordination of police assets.
- 3Mobilisation of crime assets is a developing area.
- 4Lead forces manage resourcing for nationally-led crime enquiries.
- 5NPoCC is the initial contact for mobilisation needs.
- 6Mobilisation exceeding 90 days is classified as a secondment.
Defined terms
- Mobilisation
- The process that supports mutual aid at the local, regional or national level.
- National Police Coordination Centre (NPoCC)
- Responsible for the mobilisation of police assets, including general policing, operations, and crime business areas.
- Secondment
- A term used for mobilisation lasting more than 90 days, classified differently from mutual aid.
Full guidance
This page is from APP, the official source of professional practice for policing.
The police service is required to respond to complex policing operations. Some of these may require resources that exceed a force’s own capacity, ie, mutual aid. These types of operations or incidents require people and/or equipment to be coordinated and managed. Mobilisation is the process that supports mutual aid, at the local, regional or national level.
The National Police Coordination Centre (NPoCC)(opens an external website in the same tab) is responsible for the mobilisation of police assets, including general policing, operations and crime business areas.
The mobilisation of crime assets is a new and emerging area in terms of mutual aid and differs considerably from the more traditional uniformed roles.
This business area can be challenging, particularly when the length of an investigation is not known from the outset.
A lead force will be responsible for resourcing nationally-led crime enquiries. The NPoCC should be the initial point of contact for any mobilisation requirements as it can provide advice and national coordination.
Following agreement with the National Crime Operations Coordination Committee, any mobilisation lasting more than 90 days would normally be classed as a secondment and not mutual aid. Cases will, however, be assessed on an individual basis.
Do not provide personal information such as your name or email address in the feedback form. Read our privacy policy for more information on how we use this data
What is the reason for your answer?
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 guidanceSource: College of Policing — Authorised Professional Practice · Crown copyright, licensed under Open Government Licence v3.0. Summary fetched 2026-06-27.