Educating the recruited and recruiting the educated: Can the new Police Education Qualifications Framework in England and Wales succeed where others have faltered
| Author | Sarah Soppitt,Pauline Ramshaw |
| Date | 01 December 2018 |
| DOI | 10.1177/1461355718814850 |
| Published date | 01 December 2018 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
International Journal of
Police Science & Management
Educating the recruited and recruiting
2018, Vol. 20(4) 243–250
ª The Author(s) 2018
the educated: Can the new Police
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Education Qualifications Framework
DOI: 10.1177/1461355718814850
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in England and Wales succeed where
others have faltered
Pauline Ramshaw
Northumbria University, UK
Sarah Soppitt
Northumbria University, UK
Abstract
The complex and changing nature of policing and police work have become firmly embedded in police studies discourse,
and reflected in ongoing discussion about contemporary police training and education programmes. Although much public
policy debate on the desirability and necessity of higher education qualifications for police officers in England and Wales
has intensified of late, the programmes themselves have consistently stalled when faced with challenge. This article
provides some historical background to initial police training in England and Wales, and reflects on the College of
Policing’s announcement of the new Police Education Qualifications Framework and accompanying entry routes into
policing. The article presents a case for grounding initial police training within a university context, but with several key
caveats identified towards the end of the article.
Keywords
Police training, England, Wales, higher education, Police Education Qualifications Framework
Submitted 31 Aug 2018, accepted 02 Oct 2018
Introduction
mutating crime markets, policing cyberspace and the grow-
ing significance of protecting the online community (Wall
The start of the new millennium witnessed policing in Eng-
and Williams, 2013).
land and Wales undergo a wave of reform and modernisa-
The pressing need for police to ‘upskill’ and adopt new
tion. Community policing transitioned into the
policies and practices to meet contemporary policing chal-
neighbourhood policing model (Millie and Herrington,
lenges has not gone unnoticed [Association of Police Crime
2006); and greater focus has been placed upon
Commissioners and National Police Chiefs Council (APCC
intelligence-led policing (Ratcliffe, 2016), leadership and
and NPCC), 2018]. Dealing with an expanding and com-
management (Neyroud, 2011), evidence-based policing
peting occupational mandate encompassing reassurance,
(Goode and Lumsden, 2018) and embedding ethical codes
within all areas of operational practice (Miller and Black-
ler, 2017). The complexity of modern policing is defined by
the importance of not only the local, but also the global
Corresponding author:
Pauline Ramshaw, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne,
challenges that have become enduring themes of contem-
NE1 8ST, UK.
porary society. Challenges include responding to new and
Email: pauline.ramshaw@northumbria.ac.uk
244
International Journal of Police Science & Management 20(4)
community engagement, crime control (Savage, 2007) and
This innovative approach to probationer training was
the extreme pressures of terrorism (Spalek, 2010) has been
short lived, stalling in its formative years largely as a result
compounded by the pains of austerity (Innes, 2010). The
of wider socio-economic factors and the impact of the glo-
global economic downturn and resultant fiscal constraints
bal economic recession. The tangible effects of the com-
have necessitated a rethink of policing and police work
prehensive spending review of 2010 were evident in
(Millie, 2013), and the most recent wave of reform and
dwindling police officer numbers and as a consequence
modernisation has been inextricably driven by political dis-
of the temporary national suspension of police recruitment,
course around professionalisation (Helsop, 2011a).
delivery of the IPLDP faltered. Fourteen years after the
Although debate around police professionalisation has a
IPLDP was piloted, a substantially revised and updated
long history (Vollmer, 1922), contemporary views differ
approach to the recruitment and training of those joining
between academics, practitioners, policy-makers and poli-
the police service at constable level was launched in 2018.
ticians, rendering the term somewhat equivocal (Norman
Embedded within the PEQF, developed by the CoP, is a
and Williams, 2017). Holdaway (2017) suggests the police
new standardised national framework that sets minimum
themselves have long professed their professional standing,
qualification levels by rank or level of practice for all
and uses the term re-professionalisation to articulate and
police officers and staff (CoP, 2018). The PEQF incorpo-
explore the current social and political context underpin-
rates three new national entry routes into policing: a Police
ning a renewed emphasis upon modernisation, reform and
Constable Degree Apprenticeship, an undergraduate degree
professional status. Holdaway cites the Neyroud Review of
in professional policing, and a 2-year conversion pro-
Police Leadership and Training (2011) as the catalyst
gramme for those whose first degree is not the aligned
professional policing degree.
underpinning the current ‘re-professionalisation’ agenda,
The requirements embodied within the PEQF elevate
which called for a fundamental shift in the police service
policing to the status of a profession (Bryant et al., 2014)
away from one that ‘acts professionally’ to one that has
and signal a departure from previous attempts at reform and
become a ‘professional service’.
modernisation. In light of this, the article begins with a
By contrast to police practitioner notions of profession-
discussion of the recent history and development of police
alism expressed in common-sense approaches to policing
training in England and Wales before exploring introduc-
(Norman and Williams, 2017), Neyroud’s (2011) proposi-
tion of the IPLDP over a decade ago. On the basis of this
tion was grounded in the characteristics and traits of a
evidence, the article considers the implications for new
profession, including codes of ethics, accredited qualifica-
routes into policing presented within the PEQF. The article
tions and evidence-based practice. His recommendation for
advocates a position that situates the development of newly
the creation of a professional body led to the introduction of
recruited police officers within an education rather than a
the College of Policing (CoP) in 2012. Enjoying a great
training environment to produce officers equipped to chal-
deal of autonomy as the professional body for all those
lenge the complexity of modern criminality, and be leaders
working in the police service, the CoP has constitutional
in a period of heightened risk and uncertainty. It concludes
responsibility for setting standards across key areas in poli-
by arguing for a need to strengthen evidence-based
cing (Holdaway, 2017), including launch of the Police Edu-
research partnerships between police organisations and
cation Qualifications Framework (PEQF) which embeds
academic institutions. In particular, there is a need to pro-
evidence-based policing throughout (Brown et al., 2018).
mote and foster research agendas that will enable policing
The current professionalisation programme and accom-
and academia to learn from previous experience, and
panying calls to revisit recruitment, education and training
inform the eagerly anticipated education and training pro-
(APCC and NPCC, 2018; Neyroud, 2011) need to be under-
grammes aimed at newly recruited police officers, and
stood against the backdrop of a similar attempt some 14
those wishing to enter the police service.
years ago. Policing transitioned into the 21st century amidst
a growing awareness that the changing nature of crime
A recent history of initial police training in
would require new methods of working, and the training
provided to newly recruited police officers must reflect and
England and Wales
support these challenges (Peace, 2006). The first decade of
The earliest models of police training were grounded in a
the new millennium brought unprecedented change in so
style synonymous with military preparation, dependent
far that all police forces in England and Wales had to
upon the memorising of police powers and procedures,
assume responsibility for localised delivery of the training
supplemented with ‘on the job’ shadowing of existing offi-
provided to their probationary police officers through
cers (Wood and Tong, 2009). Academics and police practi-
phased introduction of the Initial Police Learning and
tioners alike had long called for the upgrading of what was
Development Programme (IPLDP) 2004–2006.
perceived to be an outdated and inadequate system of
Ramshaw and Soppitt
245
training (Punch, 1979). National initiatives such as the
Padavic, 2002). Localised delivery was anticipated to
short-lived Trenchard scheme of the 1930s, and specialist
reduce and interrupt the opportunity for transference of
courses delivered at the Police Staff College and Bramshill,
undesirable aspects of police occupational culture (Blake-
evidence a tentative...
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