Don’t call me Ma’am
| Published date | 01 December 2016 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X16647421 |
| Date | 01 December 2016 |
| Author | Richard Smith |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
Don’t call me Ma’am:
Direct entry into
leadership roles
in British policing
Richard Smith
University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK
Abstract
In the autumn of 2014, the inaugural cohort of direct entry superintendents commenced
an 18-month training course. They brought with them a breadth of leadership expertise
from previous careers elsewhere in the public and private sectors. All of the nine direct
entry superintendents were interviewed, to gauge their motivations for joining the
service and to understand more about their leadership credentials. The results show
these individuals have a strong bias towards public service and offer credible leadership
skills. The strategic picture in which they are operating is complex and not always
supportive.
Keywords
Talent management, police reform, direct entry, police leadership
Introduction
In June 2015, this journal published an article that considered the introduction of direct
entry into senior roles in British policing. Framed within the context of the wider sphere
of what human resource professionals describe as ‘talent management’, the article
explored the historical perspective, the political influencers that had catalysed this new
approach and the arguments for and against this new opportunity to bring fresh ideas and
new thinking into the police service. Much of the narrative suggested that these new
leaders, who had not experienced the traditional route to senior leadership roles, would
lack credibility and be devoid of the experience upon which sound operational decisions
Corresponding author:
Richard Smith, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK.
Email: RichardSmith100@hotmail.com
The Police Journal:
Theory, Practice and Principles
2016, Vol. 89(4) 311–326
ªThe Author(s) 2016
Reprints and permission:
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DOI: 10.1177/0032258X16647421
pjx.sagepub.com
could be made. The result, some argued, was that the community would be at risk. In an
attempt to move the narrative on to a more positive footing, the article concluded by
suggesting:
It has been the intention to look forward and not backwards and to encourage a positive
mood change, where the difference offered through direct entry into the superintendent
rank is the focus – rather than speaking in terms of better. Now that the first cohort of direct
entrants have been sworn in and are embarking on this new journey, the challenge for
interested stakeholders inside and outside the service is to observe and offer critical support.
The empirical research opportunities are significant and should now be embraced. This is
not a short-term venture. An initial research opportunity is now being explored, following
the direct entry superintendents through their 18 months of training, to secure early con-
clusions and insightful feedback. (Smith, 2015: 171)
Almost 12 months have now passed; the eight men and women who became the first
cohort of direct entry superintendents are nearing the end of their formal training (note;
nine became eight after one officer left the scheme for personal reasons in the first few
weeks of training). This article presents the findings of the first stage of an empirical
study, seeking to build an evidence base that can inform a more reasoned debate as to the
merits of this scheme and offer new insight into those who have undertaken this
challenge.
Policing in the UK is going through a step change in relation to the recruitment,
training and development of its officers (College of Policing, 2014; Neyroud, 2010;
Winsor, 2012). Direct entry into senior ranks and fast track promotions lie at the heart
of the drive to bring new perspectives into the service. Opinion is polarised as to how
new ‘talent’ should be recruited into the service. Some commentators hold a firm view
that development and progression along traditional routes, from the bottom up, is the
way to approach this challenge. Others present a view that transformational change can
only be brought about by injecting new ideas directly into more senior ranks, thereby
delivering much more fundamental change at a much quicker pace (Loveday, 2013;
Smith, 2015; Winsor, 2012). The superintendent direct entry scheme is new ground for
policing in England and Wales. Lack of diverse perspectives within chief officer ranks,
cultural blockages, under-representation of minority communities and a desire to bring
innovative thought into policing have all been articulated as reasons to look to other
organisations, within both the public and the private sector, to supply the next generation
of police superintendents.
It was left to the Chief Constables of the 43 forces in England and Wales to make
their own decision as to whether or not they wanted to recruit direct entrant(s) under
this scheme. To encourage participation, the Home Office agreed that the salary of
entrants, for the first three years of their employment, would be paid for out of central
Home Office budgets, rather than by the individual forces. Each force was invited to
develop and administer its own selection process, to identify suitable individuals who
were then required to take part in a national assessment centre at the College of
Policing. With the majority of forces decreeing that direct entry at the rank of super-
intendent was a step too far for their workforce modernisation agendas, only seven
312 The Police Journal: Theory, Practice and Principles 89(4)
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