Utilising police knowledge and skills: Experiences from police practitioners studying a police specific degree
| Author | Jenny Norman,Jenny Fleming |
| Date | 01 June 2022 |
| Published date | 01 June 2022 |
| DOI | 10.1177/14613557211064051 |
| Subject Matter | Original Research Articles |
Utilising police knowledge and skills:
Experiences from police practitioners
studying a police specific degree
Jenny Norman
The Open University, UK
Jenny Fleming
University of Southampton, UK
Abstract
This article presents preliminary findings from a longitudinal study contributing to the current debate about police edu-
cation and professionalising the police in England and Wales. The findings in this article are taken from a survey adminis-
tered in 2016 to third-year students enrolled in a policing degree. Surveys were distributed to police officer students in
the last year of their degree programme asking for their perceptions of the degree, their organisation’s support for their
learning and how they felt that learning was utilised in their workplace. Supplementary to the survey, interviews were
conducted with the students after their graduation in 2018. The research findings suggest that students perceived the
benefits of obtaining a degree-level qualification as fundamentally important to their professional development and per-
sonal decision-making at work. Early support initially received for study leave purposes, rarely extended beyond this prac-
tical provision. The extent to which police organisations valued the learning from the degree was perceived to be lacking.
Senior-ranked students were more likely to be able to use and promote their newly acquired skills and knowledge in the
workplace compared with lower-ranked students. Such findings may inform scholars’and practitioners’continued evalu-
ation of police education reforms in England and Wales.
Keywords
Police education, police, professionalisation, organisational value
Submitted 8 Feb 2021, Revise received 30 Sep 2021, accepted 29 Oct 2021
Introduction
In December 2011, the then Home Secretary, Theresa May
announced that she intended to establish a Professional
Police Body
1
. Its function would be to develop a body of
knowledge, standards of conduct, ethical values, skills
and leadership, and professional standards for police offi-
cers and police staff in England and Wales to, ‘provide
those working in policing with the skills and knowledge
necessary to prevent crime, protect the public and secure
public trust’(College of Policing, 2013). The long-term
vision was to enrol police officers and staff as members
of a professional body. The ‘College of Policing’(the
College) would, over time, provide a system of continuous
professional development and training for all ranks and
positions, with authorised professional standards at the
core of professional practice. The College’s remit would
Corresponding author:
Jenny Norman, Policing Organisation and Practice, The Open University,
B2 Wing, Michael Young Building, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA,
UK.
Email: Jennifer.norman@open.ac.uk
Original Research Article
International Journal of
Police Science & Management
2022, Vol. 24(2) 162–174
© The Author(s) 2021
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DOI: 10.1177/14613557211064051
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