Home Affairs CommitteeWritten evidence submitted by the Department of Law, Policing and Investigation and the Centre for Forensic Investigation, Teesside University [LSP 04]
Executive Summary
As an education and training team working within higher education and delivering programmes in partnership with a number of police forces. Our view is that the instigation of the College of Policing is a positive step forward for the police service as a whole.
The college should be ambitious in its outlook, regulate professional practice, and possess the ability to sanction poor and/or inappropriate practice. It should maintain and develop education and training products for the service in partnership with higher education and further education, with these products reflecting the professional nature of the service at the minimum level of four on the QCF/FHEQ educational frameworks.
Response to Terms of Reference
1. What powers, responsibilities and resources should be given to the College of Policing?
1.1 The college should set standards for recruitment, training, promotion, professional practice and identify/sponsor evidence based research in partnership with other organisations.
1.2 The development and/or accreditation of appropriate continuous professional development (CPD) should be a college responsibility, as is the need for the CPD to be kept track of in order for individual practitioners to maintain any future registration as a suitable practitioner.
1.3 The college needs to deal with complaints of professional practice and be in a position to sanction poor and/inappropriate practice.
2. What lessons can be learnt from other professional bodies within the UK and from police professional bodies in other countries?
2.1 The college should follow other national professional bodies, such as the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), who set the standards for education and training within their profession, ensuring that the skills and knowledge of members are kept up to date (NMC. 2011). Other professional bodies, such as the Forensic Science Society, also support the development of professional practice, therefore future affiliation to such organisations should be considered.
2.2 The development of knowledge and skills to support professional practice should be at an appropriate educational level. We would suggest that the minimum level of qualification should be established at level four on the QCF/FHEQ educational frameworks. This supports the ideals of Neyroud (2011). It should also be considered, that if the college is setting the standards for professional practice, then should the college provide liability insurance for members?
2.3 The independence for research exercised by The Royal United Services Institute allows them free thought and careful reflection, such independence has provided unique insights in to defence and security. As such, the new college of policing should be in a position to set the strategy and initiate research themes to inform evidence based practice, but not conduct the research itself, instead partner with independent agencies to do so.
2.4 The correct nationally agreed funding model for the college is essential, to avoid repeating the challenges faced by individual practitioners wishing to be registered with the now defunct Council for the Registration of Forensic Practitioners (CRFP), a number of whom paid for their individual registration, some were supported financially by their police force for registration, others did not register at all. Any funding model which is not supported financially by its member’s deviates from current practice across the UK for the funding of professional bodies.
3. Is it possible for one institution to balance responsibilities for: representing police services; setting and upholding standards; testing and rewarding; training; and guarding public interests?
3.1 Yes, it is possible for one body to do this. However, there should be an organising committee (or similar) with not only members from all of the stakeholders involved, but also lay members.
4. Would it be preferable to create two separate institutions to provide delivery functions and professional representation?
4.1 No, there should be a joined up approach to both functions.
5. How will the professional body interact with HMIC; the IPCC; ACPO; and other institutions in providing leadership and setting standards for police forces?
5.1 The college needs to work closely with these bodies, but the detail needs to be set by the college in consultation with such agencies.
5.2 Interaction should take place between all professional bodies involved in the setting of standards for law enforcement including those for specific professions such as the Forensic Science Society and the Fingerprint Society.
6. What role should the College of Policing have in recruitment and training?
6.1 The creation of a new professional body must be a positive move forward in terms of providing vision and guidance to the service, although the approach to the education and training of future police officers currently seems both disjointed and confusing.
6.2 The college needs to mandate education and training which recognises the professional standing of police officers, who in order to perform their core role, require undergraduate skills such as problem solving, decision making and independent working, which is also linked with the aspirations for the professional standing of police officers identified by Winsor (2012) and would move away from the “what is currently a craft- based operation, where experience and/or habit is the driving force for action—not evidence-based knowledge and practice” (HMIC. 2012 p18).
6.3 The college then needs to identify the opportunities for individuals to progress as lifelong learners as their career progresses. The facts reported by Winsor (2012) that just under 80% of chief police officers hold a level four qualification or above (such as a degree), in itself implies that in order to achieve the most senior ranks within the police service, the likelihood is that at some point an individual will most likely have to study for a such a higher education qualification.
6.4 Neyroud (2011) makes an interesting observation on the education and training of police officers which is “largely delivered in house with relatively little delivered by external providers, from Higher Education (HE), Further Education (FE) or the private sector” (Ibid. p.78). A number of higher education qualifications have been successfully delivered in the UK and other countries in partnerships between police forces and providers. For example, Chan and Dixon (2007) detail a successful partnership between the New South Wales Police Academy and Charles Sturt University in Australia delivering a Diploma of Policing Practice. Successful partnerships to deliver educational programmes have also been achieved in the UK, such as a short programme delivered in a partnership between Cleveland Police and Teesside University (Pepper and McGrath. 2010). The college should be in a position to accredit and promote such professional education and training.
6.5 The college should identify and maintain an approved register of CPD and providers. It is imperative that the college maintains the education and training frameworks developed by the service, such as the Initial Police Learning and Development Programme (IPLDP) and other frameworks.
7. What role could the College have in recruiting non-police officers to senior roles within the police service?
7.1 The role of the college should be to identify the minimum requirements for recruitment and then the education and training requirements for their development based on meeting the needs of the National Occupational Standards (NOS).
8. Are police recruitment processes fair and open and how could they be improved?
8.1 The standardised national recruitment process (SEARCH) is open and transparent though some forces also undertake formal second recruit interviews. There are similar fair processes for the recruitment of Police Community Support Officers (PCSO’s) and Special Constables (SC).
8.2 The roles of the SC and PCSO are considered by many volunteers and employees as a means through which they may eventually gain employment as a regular police officer. However, there is no account taken of the successful completion of an assessment centre to be PCSO or SC if one then applies to be a regular police officer. For example, the pool of over 19,000 volunteer part-time SC’s (Dhani. 2012) is an ideal potential recruiting ground for regular officers, but no credit is currently provided within the recruitment process for their already successful application and assessment.
8.3 There is also huge uncertainty amongst educational providers in terms of the acceptance by the police service, or otherwise, of so termed “pre-join” qualifications. Students studying in HE and FE need to understand what the relative benefits are of undertaking a self-funded pre join programme and what, if any, guarantees it can bring for future employment.
9. Is the Metropolitan Police Force over-represented in senior positions?
9.1 This question would require greater clarity in order to formulate a response.
10. Are there specific challenges facing the leaders of the Metropolitan Police Force, which the College of Policing should address?
10.1 There is no doubt that the MPS has a greater level of involvement with counter-terrorism and national security. However, they are also the largest force in the country with greater resources available, not to mention the facilities of both mutual aid and information sharing.
10.2 The more important issue, is the ability of the new college to continue the good work of the National Police Improvement Agency (NPIA) in sharing good practice throughout the workforce.
11. Should the professional body be responsible for civilian police employees?
11.1 Most definitely. The police service of the future must demonstrate a common set of professional standards whether the individual is customer facing or in the back room. The police service should be one family. This could be achieved by establishing categories of membership such as “sworn roles” and “unsworn roles”.
12. How should the College of Policing be funded?
12.1 The college should be funded centrally through public funding, top slicing from all the police forces (including the non-Home Office forces, all of whom should support the college), although such funding, indirectly from the tax payer, will need to be justified. Funding should be supported by subscription from members as occurs with other professional bodies who provide professional development and networking, such as the International Association of Chiefs of Police in the USA (IACP. 2012).
References
Chan. J & Dixon. D (2007). The politics of police reform: Ten years after the Royal Commission into the New South Wales Police Service. In. Criminology and Criminal Justice. 7 (4), pp 443–468
Dhani. A (2012). Police Service Strength in England and Wales. 30 September 2011. London: Home Office 03/12
HMIC. (2012). Taking Time for Crime: A study of how police offices prevent crime in the field. London: Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary
IACP. (2012). International Association of Chiefs of Police. Membership. [online]. Available from: http://www.theiacp.org/Membership/tabid/62/Default.aspxIACP [Accessed 25 September 2012]
Neyroud. P (2011). Review of Police Leadership and Training: Volume One. London: Home Office
NMC. (2011). Nursing and Midwifery Council: Our role. [online]. Available from: http://www.nmc-uk.org/About-us/Our-role/ [Accessed 26 September 2012]
Pepper. I & McGrath. R (2010). Pre-employment course: a partnership for success? In. Education and Training. 52 (3), pp 245–254
Winsor. T (2012). Independent Review of Police Officer and Staff Remuneration and Conditions: Final Report—Volume 1. London: HMSO
Biographical summary of team members reporting to the committee
Ian K. Pepper is the Principal Lecturer in Policing at Teesside University.
Ian is an advocate of lifelong learning within criminal justice and law enforcement. He is a graduate of Sunderland University and Durham University. Ian manages a range of specialist learning and development programmes in partnership with law enforcement agencies. He is a former Senior Lecturer in crime scene and forensic science, police trainer, crime scene investigator (CSI) and fingerprint officer.
Ian has designed and delivered education and training to crime scene investigators and police officers across the UK and the world. He has a number of publications and is a member of the International Association for Identification, the Fingerprint Society and the Higher Education Academy. His research interests include police education and training.
Brian Rankin is the Head of Centre for Forensic Investigation at Teesside University.
After completing an MSc in Forensic Science Brian started his career as an operational forensic chemist with the Home Office Forensic Science Service. He has also been a fire investigator and an authorised analyst for the purposes of the Road Traffic Act. He has also had a variety of roles within the management of teams of forensic scientists and has been involved in high profile projects and programmes of work within the Forensic Science Society, the Home Office and the Association of Chief Police Officers.
Brian has been involved in the training of police officers of all ranks, scenes of crime officers and members of the legal profession. He is an advocate of an integrated system to support the investigation of crime to court.
He is a past President of the Forensic Science Society and a member of the recently formed Home Office Forensic Science Advisory Council.
Christopher Blake is a Principal Lecturer at Teesside University responsible for the management and delivery of a collaborative policing programme for student police officers with West Mercia Police. Christopher worked for West Midlands Police for thirty years in uniformed operations specialising in roads policing and staff training and development. While seconded to the Central Police Training and Development Authority he worked both as a team leader and as a training manager. Christopher has also delivered investigative training to detectives in Rwanda.
Ruth McGrath is a Senior Lecturer in Law and Policing at Teesside University, teaching on a range of vocationally focused policing programmes with partner organisations. She is a former police sergeant with Cleveland Police and has experience across a broad range of policing specialisms, including roads policing, criminal investigation and police custody. As a former police trainer she had responsibility for training and development of staff at all levels of the organisation, and continues to be involved in the recruitment and assessment process for potential police and community support officers.
Helen Pepper is a Senior Lecturer in Police Studies at Teesside University leading the delivery of a “Skillsmark” endorsed Foundation Degree in Police Studies in partnership with Cleveland Police. Helen started her career with the Forensic Science Service as an assistant scientific officer. She later moved on to become a crime scene investigator (CSI) with West Yorkshire Police. She has been a senior scientific support officer with Durham Constabulary and the force forensic trainer. Helen has also been the acting Head of the Durham Constabulary Crime Scene Investigation Department.
Peter Williams is a Senior Lecturer with Teesside University teaching programmes in partnership with West Mercia Police and the military police, as well as delivering online programmes in counter-terrorism. Peter served thirty years with Merseyside Police and retired as a police Inspector, having also served as a custody officer and trainer in the force custody department along with performing a consultative role for custody matters with the police in Hungary. Prior to his operational police career Peter worked as a member of police staff with the then Liverpool and Bootle Constabulary and served in the Royal Air Force Police.
Department of Law, Policing and Investigation and the Centre for Forensic Investigation at Teesside University
October 2012