Blackstone's Police Manuals 2027: What They Cover and How to Use Them

The Blackstone's Police Manuals 2027 are the only syllabus for the 2027 sergeants' and inspectors' legal exams. Published by Oxford University Press, they come as three volumes, and the College of Policing draws every exam question from them. This guide explains what each volume covers, why only the 2027 edition counts, how to get the officer discount, and how the manuals fit with Q&A books and online question practice. It doesn't reproduce any manual content: the manuals are copyright, and you need your own set.

This site is an independent revision aid. It is not affiliated with the College of Policing or Oxford University Press.

What the Blackstone's Police Manuals 2027 contain

The NPPF syllabus is split across three volumes. Since the College's 2022 syllabus review, road policing has sat inside the General Police Duties volume rather than in a separate book. Here is what each covers in broad terms. Your manual's contents page is the definitive list.

Volume	Broad coverage	Typical exam focus
1. Crime	Criminal law principles, incomplete offences, homicide, offences against the person, sexual offences, child protection, theft and fraud, criminal damage, drugs, modern slavery, offences against justice	Elements of offences, mental states, defences
2. Evidence and Procedure	Detention and custody, interviews, identification, search and seizure, disclosure, evidence, bail, charging, courts and youth justice, with the PACE Codes	Authorisations, time limits, rights, Code provisions
3. General Police Duties	Police powers, standards and ethics, public order, harassment and communications, weapons, civil orders, mental health, terrorism and computer misuse, road policing	Powers, offence wording, where and when a power applies

The PACE Codes inside the manuals

The PACE Codes of Practice run through the Evidence and Procedure volume. The College's candidate handbook says that where the manual refers directly to a paragraph of a PACE Code, you are expected to know it. The Codes themselves are free on gov.uk, but you should revise the version the 2027 manual reflects.

What you won't be tested on

The handbook says the exam isn't meant to test pure recall of material that appears only in the manuals' tables. That doesn't make tables irrelevant: they often summarise rules the text explains in full. Learn the rule from the text and use the tables to check yourself.

Key fact: The College endorses only the Blackstone's Police Manuals for the NPPF exams. Every other product, including the Blackstone's Q&A books and this site, is independent of the College.

Why only the 2027 Blackstone's manuals count

Each year's NPPF exams are cross-referenced to one edition of the manuals. The College's handbook states that questions are drawn solely from that edition and that candidates are examined on the law only as it appears there. It advises candidates not to rely on earlier editions.

What changes between editions

The law moves every year: new offences, amended powers, revised PACE Codes and new appeal decisions. Recent years have brought, for example, the non-fatal strangulation offence in section 75A of the Serious Crime Act 2015 and new protest offences in the Public Order Act 2023. An older manual can give you an answer that was right last year and is wrong now.

Syllabus updates during the year

The College normally issues no updates once the syllabus is published. In exceptional cases, such as a major change that makes a key part of the syllabus obsolete, it may issue a supplement through its NPPF pages and force examinations officers, well before the exam. Unless it does, everything in the 2027 edition stays examinable, even if the law changes after publication. So revise the manual as written, and keep an eye on the College's NPPF step two page for notices.

Exam tip: If a colleague offers you last year's set, take it for early reading only. Switch to the 2027 edition before you start making flashcards, or you will learn some rules twice.

The Blackstone's discount for officers and staff

The College's candidate handbook has described a 30% discount on the NPPF manuals for police officers and staff in England and Wales, with the discount code available by signing in to College Learn. Offers can change from year to year, so check the current handbook or ask your force examinations officer before you buy. Some forces also hold library copies or buy sets for candidates.

We don't quote retail prices here; they vary by retailer and change through the year.

How to use the manuals with question practice

The manuals are where you learn the law. Questions are how you find out whether you have. Use both, in that order.

1. Take a diagnostic first. The free 20-question sergeants' diagnostic shows which volume needs most work.
2. Read one chapter at a time. Don't read a volume cover to cover in a week. A chapter, or part of a long chapter, per session is enough.
3. Recall before you reread. Close the manual and write down the offence or power, its elements, ranks and time limits. Then check.
4. Do the topic quiz the same week. For example, after the custody chapters, do the detention and custody quiz; after theft, the theft offences quiz.
5. Go back to the manual for every error. The explanation tells you the rule; the manual gives you its context and neighbouring rules.
6. Move to full mocks in the last five weeks. Start with the free mock 1.

Our sergeants' exam revision plan maps all three volumes onto a 14-week timetable, and the law guides on the guides page, such as PACE Code C and the Theft Act 1968, give you a structured way into the hardest chapters.

Exam tip: Mark each manual chapter red, amber or green after its topic quiz. Spend the final month only on red and amber.

Studying each Blackstone's volume

Each volume rewards a slightly different approach. These suggestions are about how to study, not what the manuals say.

Crime

Most offences break down the same way: the conduct, the circumstances, the result and the mental element. For every offence, write those four headings and fill them in from memory. Then add the defences and any special rules on attempts or secondary liability. When two offences sit next to each other, such as different levels of assault, put them in a comparison table so the one element that separates them stands out. Our guide to the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 shows the method.

Evidence and Procedure

This volume is about who may do what, when and for how long. Build a single sheet of authorisations: the rank needed, the time limit and the condition for each. Keep the official PACE Codes open beside the manual when you reach the Code chapters, and read the Code paragraph the manual refers to. Custody and interview chapters link to each other, so revise them in the same fortnight.

General Police Duties

Powers and public order offences are tested on their exact wording: where the power applies, what the officer must reasonably suspect or believe, and what the officer can do next. Practise saying each power in one sentence. Road policing is now in this volume and is often left until last; give it a full week, because definitions such as "driving", "in charge" and "road or other public place" carry across many offences.

Exam tip: Treat definitions as their own topic. A single definition, learned well, can unlock questions across several chapters.

Manuals vs Blackstone's Q&A vs online question banks

Candidates often ask whether they need the Blackstone's Q&A books, an online question bank, or both. Here is an honest comparison.

	Blackstone's Police Manuals 2027	Blackstone's Q&A books	Online question banks (including ours)
Role	The syllabus itself	Practice questions keyed to the manuals	Practice questions, mocks and tracking
Endorsed by the College	Yes, the only endorsed resource	No	No
Needed to pass	Yes	No	No
Full timed mocks	No	Depends on the product	Usually
Score by area and topic	No	No	Usually
Explains each answer	n/a	Yes	Usually; ours cites the Act and section
Works on paper	Yes	Yes	Some offer printable sets; see our question sheet

When the Blackstone's Q&A books help

The Q&A books are written to follow the structure of the manuals, so they are convenient for checking a chapter straight after you read it. They suit candidates who prefer paper. They are not College questions and are not endorsed by the College.

When an online question bank helps

Online banks are strongest at what books can't do: timed full-length mocks, mixing topics randomly, and tracking your score by area over weeks. Look for questions that cite their source, so you can check any answer you doubt. Our sergeants' mock exam guide explains how to get the most from full mocks. Free practice on this site needs no account; Pro unlocks every mock and explanation.

What to avoid

• Any product that claims to contain real College exam questions. The College does not publish its papers, and its rules forbid candidates from copying or sharing exam content.
• Notes or question sets written for an older edition, unless you check every point against the 2027 manual.
• Relying on questions alone. They show gaps; they don't fill them.

The manuals for the inspectors' exam and the NIE

Inspectors' exam

The inspectors' exam uses the same three 2027 volumes as the sergeants' exam. The College notes that the content is similar for both ranks but some areas are rank-specific, as shown in the manuals and the syllabus appendices of the candidate handbook. Check which chapters apply to inspectors before you plan your reading.

National Investigators' Exam

The National Investigators' Exam uses a different book: the Blackstone's Police Investigators' Manual for the year, with parts 1 to 4 examined. If you are moving into CID as well as studying for promotion, don't assume the NPPF set covers the NIE.

Before you buy: a checklist

1. Confirm which exam and which sitting you are taking: sergeants' exam in March or October 2027, or the inspectors' exam in May or November.
2. Make sure the books say 2027 on the cover.
3. Check the current candidate handbook or ask your force examinations officer about the discount.
4. Buy all three volumes; questions can come from any of them.
5. Leave enough time: order at least two weeks before your planned start date.

Sharing or reselling a set

Some candidates split the cost by sharing a set with a colleague sitting the same exam. That works if your revision schedules don't clash, but the active-recall method works best when you can annotate your own copy. After the exam, a 2027 set loses most of its resale value once the 2028 edition is out, because the next cohort needs the new edition for the same reason you did.

Your revision plan

1. Take the free sergeants' diagnostic while your manuals are on order.
2. Start week 1 of the revision plan as soon as they arrive.
3. Test each chapter with its topic quiz, starting with principles of criminal law.
4. Sit the free mock 1 once you have read all three volumes.

Check every point on this site against your 2027 manual.