Devon and Cornwall Promotion Board Preparation
If you’re preparing for a Sergeant, Inspector or Chief Inspector board at Devon and Cornwall, your panel already knows your force’s inspection picture. Here’s what that means for you, and how State6 builds it into your preparation.
Devon and Cornwall HMICFRS snapshot
Most recent PEEL inspection: 2025-27 PEEL assessment
Devon and Cornwall Police has made improvements since the previous inspection, particularly in its financial management, control room performance, and crime prevention work.
PEEL grades
- Workforce: requires improvement
- Leadership: requires improvement
- Police powers: adequate
- Managing fraud: requires improvement
- Preventing crime: adequate
- Investigating crime: inadequate
- Responding to public: requires improvement
- Protecting vulnerable: inadequate
Causes of concern
- The force hasn't made enough progress in improving the standard of its investigations since the 2023-25 PEEL inspection. Investigation plans were not followed in a significant number of cases, too many victims had not received an adequate service, not all investigative opportunities had been taken, and supervisors did not have sufficient time to complete all required supervisory tasks.
- The force is failing to effectively safeguard adults and children who are at risk of harm. Public protection notices were of inconsistent quality, over 8,000 domestic abuse PPNs dating from October to December 2025 had not been reviewed, secondary Domestic Abuse Risk Assessment processes had not been fully implemented, and the force could not show it understood the risks of serious harm to victims while no secondary risk assessments were taking place.
Areas for improvement
- The force needs to show it considers, analyses and evaluates changes to its processes, policies and procedures.
- The force needs to improve its leadership standards, behaviour and culture to make sure its workforce feels valued.
- The force needs to improve its operating model to make sure it uses resources effectively and promotes collaborative working.
- The force needs to improve its understanding of how continuing professional development supports its workforce by developing an effective evaluation process.
- The force needs to invest in its professional development review process to make sure that its workforce understands the value of recording personal development.
- The force needs to communicate better with members of its workforce and act on information and feedback to improve their well-being.
Plus 14 more areas identified in the full inspection. Inside State6, each is mapped to the CVF competencies it affects, so you know exactly what to evidence.
Recent inspection activity
Inspections published since the last full PEEL assessment. These are often the most current picture of Devon and Cornwall, and the areas your panel is most likely to be conscious of right now.
Integrity inspection · 29 October 2025
A report into the effectiveness of integrity arrangements in Devon and Cornwall Police
Devon and Cornwall Police was graded 'Requires improvement' in all three areas assessed: vetting police officers and staff, upholding the standards of professional behaviour, and tackling potential corruption.
What this means for your board
A promotion board at Devon and Cornwall isn’t only assessing whether you can lead a team. It’s assessing whether you understand the force you’re asking to lead in, and where your leadership fits its priorities. Officers who connect their examples to what Devon and Cornwall is actually focused on stand out. Officers who stay inside their own team don’t.
You don’t do this by quoting the inspection report. You do it by letting your force’s priorities shape the decisions in your answers. If you want the full method, read our guide on what HMICFRS grades mean for your promotion board.
How State6 prepares you for Devon and Cornwall
You don’t have to research any of this yourself. Devon and Cornwall’s real HMICFRS picture is built into State6. The Question Bank shapes practice questions around it, and every AI Board Review weaves your force’s context into the feedback on your answers. You’re preparing for the board you’ll actually sit, at the force you’ll actually sit it in.
You can also sit a full voiced AI mock board calibrated to Devon and Cornwall’s inspection picture, answering out loud while the panel listens, probes and scores you against the CVF 2024.
Calibrated to your target rank, too. See what panels look for at sergeant, inspector and chief inspector level.
Prepare for your Devon and Cornwall board
Practice questions, AI board reviews and your force’s inspection picture, all in one place. Choose a plan and start building today.
Get started with State6 →State6 is an independent preparation platform and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Devon and Cornwall, the College of Policing or HMICFRS. Inspection findings are summarised from the publicly available HMICFRS PEEL reports.