The Future of Initial Police Training: A University Perspective

Abstract

A recurring issue in the initial training of police recruits in England and Wales concerns the status of student police officers. This position paper engages with debates concerning this aspect of initial police training from a university perspective by reflecting on the experiences gained over a three and a half year period of delivering a Student Officer Programme (SOP), a joint collaboration between a University Department and a UK police service. As such it should be read as a comment piece that aims primarily to stimulate debate. Although not an empirical research piece, the paper nonetheless engages with the experiences that have been borne out of the collaborative running of the SOP. The paper presents a philosophical analysis of one particular aspect of that experience, namely the tension that arises from the contradictory status of student police officers.

Educating, legitimising or accessorising? Alternative conceptions of professional training in UK higher education: a comparative study of teacher, nurse and police officer educators

“…Our project to compare education, nursing and policing seems most relevant in terms of inter-institutional relationships (Bradley & Nixon, 2009;Wood & Tong, 2009). Teacher and nurse education are funded through the professions (Teacher development agency; Nursing and midwifery council), whilst the police studies Foundation degree in Arts (FdA -equivalent to two-thirds of a Bachelor degree) is supported through general HE funding (HE Funding Council for England).…”

Can higher education reduce the negative consequences of police occupational culture amongst new recruits?

“…Commentators have argued police recruits do not come as a blank canvas -it also appears from this study that neither do police undergraduates who have not yet been recruited into the service. Wood & Tong (2009) exposed the contradictory status of student police officers. Heslop (2011) found that student police recruits suffered the double indignity of not being viewed as students or professionals.…”

International Cooperation in Educating and Training Police: Forwarding ASEAN’s Vision 2020 to Combat Non-Traditional Crimes

“…Besides that, with the short-term model, the flexible requirements of curriculum are higher due to practical scenario and changeable circumstances often not stable. In other words, textbook and material providing this model as well as changes to program, the rebalancing of skills and knowledge where student officers are taught, have to update frequently to fix up with real needs of police force (Wood & Stephen, 2009). …”