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All new police officers in England and Wales to have degrees All new police officers in England and Wales to have degrees
(about 3 hours later)
All new police officers in England and Wales will have to be educated to degree level from 2020, the College of Policing has announced.All new police officers in England and Wales will have to be educated to degree level from 2020, the College of Policing has announced.
It said the training would help police address changes in crime-fighting. It said the training would help address changes in crime-fighting.
Prospective officers can either complete a three-year "degree apprenticeship", a postgraduate conversion course or a degree.Prospective officers can either complete a three-year "degree apprenticeship", a postgraduate conversion course or a degree.
The National Police Chiefs' Council said the changes would "help modernise the service".The National Police Chiefs' Council said the changes would "help modernise the service".
Recruitment requirements currently vary from force to force, with some insisting that applicants have A-levels or a certificate in policing and others demanding experience in a policing role. 'Patrolling online'
The College of Policing, which is responsible for setting standards of ethics and training for the police service, said about a third (38%) of those currently going into policing have a degree or post-graduate qualification. The college's Chief Constable Alex Marshall said the nature of police work has changed significantly.
'Very lopsided' "Cyber-enabled crime has increased," he said, "So has the need for officers and staff to investigate and gather intelligence online and via information technology."
But the college's Chief Constable Alex Marshall said the current workforce was not getting the same investment in training and development as people in other professions, such as medicine or the military. He also said protecting vulnerable people has become a "high priority", with officers now spending more of their time working to prevent domestic abuse, monitor high-risk sex offenders and protect at-risk children.
Mr Marshall said: "The nature of police work is getting quite complex and it is quite contentious, and the public expectation is that you'll be patrolling in my street and, by the way, you'll be patrolling online."
Even investigating a pub fight - which used to mean interviewing the victim, perpetrator and the bar staff - now also extends to researching videos, pictures and comments published online.
Policing degree: the changes
The College of Policing, which is responsible for setting standards of ethics and training for the police service, is in talks with 12 universities about running the degree courses.
The syllabus is likely to cover the law, safeguarding the vulnerable, understanding how an officer behaves on the street and how to build trust by interacting well with communities.
There will be three options at entry level:
Other changes to be introduced include:
The college plans to publish a directory of education qualifications for officers and staff next summer, with guidance as to how their on-the-job experience counts and what funding might be available to support them.
'Lopsided' training
There are currently no standard recruitment requirements for officers across the 43 forces in England and Wales.
Some forces accept officers with Level 2 qualifications (A-C grade GCSEs), while others insist on Level 5 (diplomas or foundation degrees).
The College of Policing said about a third (38%) of those currently going into policing have a degree or post-graduate qualification - which is classed as a Level 6 qualification.
Mr Marshall said the current workforce was not getting the same investment in training and development as people in other professions, such as medicine or the military.
"It is very lopsided and we don't do a lot of professional development training," he said."It is very lopsided and we don't do a lot of professional development training," he said.
"The nature of police work is getting quite complex and it is quite contentious, and the public expectation is that you'll be patrolling in my street and, by the way, you'll be patrolling online."
"We don't think the investment has been made in policing in terms of professional development and this is one of the ways that we start to address that."
The money for the apprenticeships, due to be introduced next year, is expected to come from a new 0.5% apprenticeship levy on all employers with a wage bill of more than £3m.The money for the apprenticeships, due to be introduced next year, is expected to come from a new 0.5% apprenticeship levy on all employers with a wage bill of more than £3m.
Under the apprenticeship, due to be introduced next year, new recruits will undertake a three-year course, spending 80% of their time on the frontline, and the rest completing their degree while receiving a salary. 'Fair and right'
A six-month postgraduate conversion course would also be funded by the police. The announcement follows a two-month public consultation which received more than 3,000 responses, almost 80% of which were from police officers.
In contrast, the policing degree would be self-funded and the student would need to apply for a police job once qualified. The majority were keen to gain accreditation for their existing skills, Mr Marshall said.
The syllabus is likely to cover the law, safeguarding the vulnerable, understanding how an officer behaves on the street and how an officer builds trust by interacting well with communities, Chief Constable Marshall said. Police officers of all ranks account for 124,066 of the 200,922 people employed by police forces in England and Wales, official statistics show. Some 4,735 officers joined the forces last year, accounting for 4% of all officers.
The College of Policing is in talks with 12 universities about running the courses. The new qualification rules will not impact on current officers, unless they apply for a promotion to assistant chief constable or above.
Master's degree
The announcement follows a two-month public consultation which received more than 3,000 responses.
Almost 80% of the responses were from police officers, with the majority keen to gain accreditation for their existing skills, Mr Marshall said.
Other changes to be introduced include:
Andy Fittes, general secretary of the Police Federation of England and Wales, welcomed the move to accredit qualifications to serving officers, and supported the idea of a framework that might standardise courses.Andy Fittes, general secretary of the Police Federation of England and Wales, welcomed the move to accredit qualifications to serving officers, and supported the idea of a framework that might standardise courses.
He added that the federation was glad to see a move away from requiring minimum education requirements for those joining the service. However he questioned the implementation of the training, given the "immense demands" being placed on the service.
"There is a balance to be struck around encouraging people to have a certain level of education before joining the force, and marginalising and excluding good quality candidates from all communities by limiting the pool of potential candidates if they are unable to afford it," he said. Chief Constable Giles York, the National Police Chiefs Council lead for workforce, said the scheme would "improve our ability to attract and retain really good people"
Chief Constable Giles York, the National Police Chiefs Council lead for workforce, said police need the right skills and knowledge to keep people safe in the 21st century. He added that it was "fair and right" that officers receive the recognition and accreditation they deserve as professionals.
He said: "It is also fair and right that police officers, as professionals, receive the recognition and accreditation they deserve, meaning the public will continue to get the high quality service they need."