diff --git a/POLICIES.md b/POLICIES.md
index 663320d..26f6b61 100644
--- a/POLICIES.md
+++ b/POLICIES.md
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ When you need an infrastructure change:
   - **`privilegedescalation` namespace**: read-write (production — changes MUST go through Flux, not kubectl)
   - **`privilegedescalation-dev` namespace**: read-write (development — agents may use kubectl freely for testing, debugging, and iteration)
 - **Production (`privilegedescalation`)**: All changes go through the infra repo and Flux. Do not `kubectl apply` to production. Flux will revert manual changes.
-- **Development (`privilegedescalation-dev`)**: Agents may `kubectl apply`, `kubectl delete`, and use any mutating commands freely. This namespace is for testing and validation before committing to the infra repo.
+- **Development (`privilegedescalation-dev`)**: Prefer Flux-managed manifests in the infra repo even for dev workloads. Agents have read-write kubectl access for rapid iteration and debugging, but changes should be committed to the infra repo once validated.
 - **Headlamp**: Production Headlamp runs in `kube-system`. Development/testing Headlamp instances go in `privilegedescalation-dev`. Never deploy test plugins to the production Headlamp in `kube-system`.
 - If you need a production infrastructure change, create a PR against the infra repo (or create a Paperclip issue for the agent who owns infra).