Policing for the future Contents

8Police workforce and culture

Introduction

189.Police training and recruitment were not part of our initial call for evidence, but they emerged as recurrent themes throughout our inquiry, along with cultural issues that may serve as barriers to innovation and reform. To explore the latter subject in further detail, we held a private roundtable event under ‘Chatham House’ rules, to encourage candour. Participants included officers from a range of ranks and lengths of service, as well as representatives from the Police Federation, the PSAEW, the Police ICT Company and Police Now. We describe some of the key themes in this chapter. We also took evidence on this issue specifically from Mike Cunningham, CEO of the College of Policing, and Sir Thomas Winsor, HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary.

190.As at March 2018, the police workforce (FTE) comprised 122,404 officers, 10,139 PCSOs, 62,820 staff and 11,690 special constables.276 Workforce reform is being pushed for by the Treasury as a prerequisite for additional police funding: Chief Constable Thornton said that “the suggestion has been made by officials that, if we don’t move forward on both workforce reform and pay reform, [ … ] it does not look like it is a police service that is very committed to modernisation and making the most of what it has”.277 This chapter considers the role and powers of the College of Policing; recruitment and retention problems, including for chief constables; and police cultural issues, including those identified by witnesses and participants attending our roundtable event.

The College of Policing

Background

191.The College of Policing was created by the Coalition Government in 2012, as part of then Home Secretary Theresa May’s sweeping changes to the policing landscape. It took on a number of responsibilities previously held by the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA), and its core purpose is to “provide those working in policing with the skills and knowledge necessary to prevent crime, protect the public, and secure public trust”.278

192.In July 2016, our predecessor Committee published a report entitled “College of Policing: three years on”. It criticised the “alarming lack of consistency” in professional standards and recruitment between different forces, and called for “a standard recruitment process with standard entry requirements for someone wishing to become a police officer in England and Wales”. The Committee said that it was “incumbent on the 43 Chief Constables across England and Wales to fully support the work of the College”, but that “we do not believe sufficient support has been forthcoming to date”. It also recommended that the College should be able to set standards for civilian staff.279 The Government’s response said that “police recruitment should continue to be driven by forces to reflect local needs as determined by Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners”, and that it was for forces themselves to decide whether to work together on recruitment.280

New recruitment and training routes

193.In February 2016, the College launched a programme of work to design a new Policing Education Qualification Framework (PEQF), with the aim of creating consistent, national education levels that reflect the profession’s current and future challenges. By January 2020, there will be three routes into policing, including the three-year Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship (PCDA)—a professional, degree-level apprenticeship, enabling new recruits to “earn while they learn”. The College has said that the apprenticeship will cover “areas that are critical to effective policing in the 21st century, such as evidence-based policing, supporting vulnerable people, dealing with cyber crime and crime prevention”.281 Existing graduates will be able to join a two-year practice-based programme, resulting in a graduate diploma, and a third entry route will enable completion of a three-year knowledge-based degree in professional policing, prior to joining the police service.282 For serving officers and staff, the College is developing routes to gain accreditation for previous learning and experience, in the form of credits that can be put towards academic qualifications offered by higher education institutions. From the end of 2019, all new recruits will either be graduates or will join as police apprentices.283

194.The reforms have caused disquiet in some parts of the service. Marc Jones, the PCC for Lincolnshire, said that there are “a huge amount of unknowns that may deliver chaos through this push for change to solve a non-issue”.284 Assistant Chief Officer Andrew White, also from Lincolnshire, reportedly told the Police Oracle that the plans could be akin to a 5% cut to officer numbers, due to the amount of time that new recruits will spend in training. The Police Federation’s new Chair, John Apter, said in July that “having certificates on the wall doesn’t make you a good police officer. I fear that the relentless drive to ensure all police officers have degrees means policing will not appeal to all areas of society”.285

195.Mike Cunningham told us that there had been some “miscommunication around the issue of degrees and entry into policing”, asserting that it is “about recognising the complexity and high level within which constables currently work”.286 He was also questioned about the challenges posed to forces by the new training requirements for apprentices. He said that the College is “working with forces on how this will be implemented”, and “to see if that is realistic and achievable”, but he also lamented what he described as “a cultural issue for policing”:

The training and development of staff is more often seen as a cost than an investment. I think one of the roles of the College of Policing will be to assist the service to look at what development of staff really means, the importance of training staff. When I talk to colleagues in other sectors—for example, the military, where training has an importance that it does not have in policing—I think there are lessons for the service to learn.287

196.Commissioner Dick said that the plans “allow sensible routes for all” and that, “rather like nursing, it helps us to make sure that people have the right formal technical expertise and understanding”.288 Chief Constable Thornton acknowledged “concerns” about the reforms, including from the Police Federation, but said that “given the complexity and the difficulties involved in policing”, if officers do not have a degree then “to do that high level apprenticeship is the right thing”.289

Mandatory training

197.The College has statutory powers to issue guidance to policing bodies and chief officers about training for civilian staff, and it can ask the Home Secretary to lay codes of practice in Parliament and set regulations relating to police training.290 It also develops Authorised Professional Practice (written guidance) for the police on a wide range of topics, including armed policing, covert policing, intelligence management, mental health and stop and search. Police officers and staff are expected to “have regard to APP in discharging their responsibilities”.291

198.In written evidence, Dame Vera Baird QC told us that there is “undoubtedly a role for the College of Policing in professionalising the approach to policing”, stating that “sharing of best practice and innovation remains limited”, and “The need for the police service to develop a greater evidence base is critical to future reform.”292 The Police Foundation said that “Freeing up sufficient time for current and new officers to undergo [ … ] additional training will of course be challenging”, but argued that “it is of paramount importance that at every level of policing, individuals are equipped with the appropriate skills to deal with modern demand”.293

199.In Chapters 3 and 4 of this report, we raised concerns about the levels of training and officer knowledge in relation to online fraud and child sexual abuse, respectively. In Chapter 5, we concluded that forces should be mandated to provide a minimum of two days’ mental health training to all officers and PCSOs. The College currently only exercises its powers to mandate training in a small number of areas, however, including accreditation requirements for public order commanders and firearms officers. Mike Cunningham told us that national powers “ought to be used as a principle of last resort”. He did, however, express concern to us about the way in which the national policing environment currently functions, and argued that “we need to have a clearer, better understood, better agreed principle for how national recommendations, national requirements, are implemented locally”.294

200.Policing is a challenging and complex vocation, and officers face increasingly difficult demands, requiring a high level of skill, knowledge and understanding. These demands may vary between rural and urban forces, but every force requires access to key specialisms, and every officer, PCSO or staff member—be they forensic analysts, child abuse investigators or safer schools officers—deserves to be given the tools with which to perform to the best of their abilities. This includes being equipped with evidence of ‘what works’, clear referral routes for certain incidents or scenarios, and relevant data from around the country. Based on what we have seen during the course of this inquiry, that is a long way from the current state of affairs. Training is a long-term investment in the most important resource that police forces have—their workforce. Without time to train and continuously learn, it will be even harder to meet the short-term challenges facing policing, and staff will be put under even greater pressure.

201.Throughout this report, we have identified a number of areas in which specialist knowledge appears to be lacking, and in which underqualified and inexperienced officers are being forced to take on responsibilities for which they are inadequately prepared. We urge the Government and the College to review urgently the amount of training that is mandated, the scope for introducing compulsory licenses to practice for a wider range of specialisms, and the resource and cultural issues standing in the way of the provision of a higher level of specialist, continuous professional development for police officers and staff.

202.This inquiry has not included a detailed examination of the College of Policing’s plans for degree-level accreditation and apprenticeships for officers. We agree that police officers need to be able to move the service away from the sort of crisis interventions that result from negative inspections and complaints, and towards the maintenance of consistent quality standards, based on accredited professional qualifications, a well-established evidence base, and high levels of practitioner knowledge. But forces must also be able to maintain diversity within their workforce, and ensure an increasingly-wide range of routes into policing, including continuing to encourage entry from those who have not pursued a degree.

203.By March, the Home Office and College of Policing should publish a comprehensive impact assessment of the police apprenticeship (based on the plan to implement it from 2019/2020), including the likely impact on neighbourhood policing (time spent by new recruits in dedicated wards), response times to calls for service, the resources available for training existing staff and officers, and the diversity of new recruits.

Recruitment and retention problems

204.Police forces across England and Wales are suffering from significant shortages in detectives, with approximately 5,000 vacant roles.295 Sir Thomas Winsor told us that this is “a matter of very serious concern”, and highlighted the lack of additional allowances for detectives, who take on more acute risks:

Detectives are now expected to carry very considerable caseloads and there is a fear among many, it seems to me, that if they get something wrong, if they have missed anything, it could lead to catastrophic consequences. [ … ] There is no extra pay for detectives; there used to be.296

In his 2011 review of police pay and conditions, Sir Thomas told us he recommended “a number of additional allowances for officers who were either working in the most arduous physical conditions or in the most taxing professional jobs, including detectives”. He recalled that it was “ferociously opposed by the Police Federation at the time—I think its leadership now is quite different”, and was not introduced because it was “condemned as being elitist”.297

205.Direct entry schemes are now in place across the country for Inspector and Superintendent ranks.298 In addition, the Police Now scheme has placed 640 graduate officers in 25 forces,299 with recruits undertaking a two year training and development scheme, including residential courses and regular opportunities to share innovation and best practice.300 A detective version of the scheme was announced in June, and will be developed with the aim of recruiting an additional 1,000 detectives. The Police Federation’s Secretary, Karen Stephens, reportedly described the programme as “an insult to the experienced hard-working detectives”.301 Sir Thomas Winsor highlighted that it will still leave 4,000 detective positions unfilled.302

206.We are gravely concerned about the severe detective shortages being experienced by police forces in England and Wales, which is undoubtedly impacting on police welfare, access to justice for victims, and the safety and security of the general public. We welcome efforts to recruit detectives directly, provided they are given the requisite training and support, but this will only fill a quarter of existing vacancies. The Government should revisit Sir Thomas Winsor’s previous recommendation for additional allowances for detectives, and consult the profession on their introduction. It must also work with the Police Federation, PSAEW and NPCC to identify ways of enhancing the support offered to detectives in managing their caseload and taking appropriate risks, providing the necessary funding to ensure that a detective career becomes a more attractive prospect for existing officers.

207.Although the detective shortage is one of the most acute problems facing the police workforce, and requires urgent action, a piecemeal approach to pay and workforce reform will ultimately be unsustainable. The evidence we have received suggests that new approaches to recruitment and reward are likely to be required across the police workforce, if the service is to respond effectively to growing and emerging demands.

Chief Constable recruitment

208.Sir Thomas Winsor highlighted that there has been greater “churn” at chief constable level in recent years, and that fewer applicants are coming forward for open positions. He suggested that the introduction of PCCs might be having an impact.303 Following their evidence to us in June, the three policing leaders (Chief Constable Sara Thornton, Commissioner Dick and Lynne Owens) wrote to us regarding their concerns on this issue. They told us that over half of chief officers appointed in 2015 were the only candidate for the job, with a national average of just 2.21 applicants per vacancy. Interviews with retired chief constables, serving PCCs, HMICFRS and Home Office officials, along with a survey of serving assistant chiefs and deputy chiefs, identified a number of issues:

The pressure and scrutiny from the IOPC [Independent Office for Police Conduct], HMICFRS and PCCs were cited by retired officers and were highlighted as greater disincentives for those considering applying for the top jobs within policing. While relationships between PCCs and chief officers vary enormously across the country there is a general concern that the policing protocol does not set out the responsibilities as clearly as it might which can cause difficulty. [ … ] Officers who have not reached pensionable service are concerned about their vulnerability to dismissal using s.38 (Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011) and many are concerned about the isolation of the office.304

209.The survey of assistant chiefs and deputy chiefs found that the most significant considerations were the perceived reputation and challenges associated with the local PCC, the distance from home, and whether an internal applicant was applying for the role. Personal and financial considerations were also cited by many potential candidates, and their perception was that there was “little financial incentive for promotion”, with the complexity of pension and taxation rules causing “confusion”. Proposals being considered by the leadership of the service include support for the College of Policing’s new leadership hub, to assist with the appointment of chief officers; recommending that former police officers should not be allowed to stand as PCCs; and “an increased role for Police and Crime Panels in dismissals using s.38”.305

210.We welcome the focus by the leaders of the police service on problems with chief officer recruitment, including the very low number of applicants for each role. We urge the Government to undertake a review of the relationship between chief officers and PCCs, to identify issues on either side. It should also eliminate bureaucratic obstacles to promotion, addressing any problems with pension and taxation rules, to ensure that capable candidates are not disincentivised from taking on the enormous responsibility of running a police force.

Police culture

211.Much of the evidence we received spoke to deep-seated cultural issues within the police service. Strikingly, policing witnesses were almost united in lamenting a risk-averse ‘culture of blame’. Stephen Mold argued that “risk management, as opposed to risk aversion, should be the mantra of national and local political masters and law enforcement practitioners”, and that the police should “Adopt the ‘learn from failure’ model practised by the airline industry as opposed to the ‘blame & claim’ culture seen within the NHS”.306 The Police Federation said that officers need to be held accountable in a “supportive and appropriate” manner, “moving away from a culture of blame to a learning culture”.307 The PSAEW also referred to the “culture of blame that pervades within policing”, and called for a “culture that learns from its mistakes, both at an individual and an organisational level”.308 The NPCC said that the service “must move from a ‘blame’ culture to one which values questioning, learning and improvement’”.309

212.The police complaints system was regularly referred to as a key source of risk aversion in policing. For example, the Police Federation said that the IOPC needs to move “towards a culture of learning from mistakes”, and that the “historic culture of blame” often “makes it difficult for the police service to have open and inclusive conversations about how it can improve processes”, making it “difficult to implement positive change”.310 The Met Police also argued that “officers making genuine mistakes need to be supported to learn—not fear misconduct”, the latter of which “encourages a closed culture”. Its written submission asserted that “wrong-doing needs to be addressed, but the balance is currently imperfect”.311

213.The Independent Office for Police Conduct launched formally in January, replacing the much-criticised Independent Police Complaints Commission. The Government promised “speedier decision-making” under new leadership, with a new board “to ensure greater accountability to the public”.312 The PSAEW’s submission to this inquiry said that, in the 38 misconduct investigations against its members in 2015, no further action was taken in over 70% of the cases finalised at the time of writing; only one case had led to a dismissal.313 In August, the NPPC’s lead for complaints and misconduct, Chief Constable Craig Guildford, reportedly told the Police Oracle that reforms are underway to shift the culture of the misconduct system from “blame to learning”. Changes being “worked on” include a raised threshold for what constitutes misconduct and gross misconduct; issuing terms of reference to an officer subject to a notice; requiring investigative bodies to produce reports explaining why a misconduct hearing is taking more than 12 months to complete; and introducing more clarity regarding the IOPC’s ‘case to answer’ test for misconduct hearings.314 We will monitor the reforms introduced by the IOPC and other bodies, and consider in due course whether more detailed scrutiny of the police complaints system is required.

Our roundtable event

214.In May, we held an informal roundtable event with officers from various ranks and tenures, to explore possible cultural barriers to innovation and reform. The event was held under “Chatham House” rules, so no transcript was taken, but participants were advised that we would summarise key themes and ideas in our subsequent report. We are grateful to all those who took part in this fascinating discussion about police culture. The following key themes and messages emerged:

Participants criticised the lack of long-term strategy and long-term funding in policing. They referred to a culture that is obsessed with hierarchy and governance, with innovation smothered by the ‘permafrost’ of middle management, and officers left with few opportunities to bring forward new ideas or take any risks. They also talked about high levels of accountability, with police holding the risk as soon as a call comes in, even if local authorities and other agencies have been involved in the case concerned.
Participants expressed concern that bright, tenacious young people were leaving policing, in part due to enormous hierarchies above them and delays to decision-making. One compared policing to ‘The Borg’ from Star Trek: everyone assimilates, and no longer has their own thought process. Others referred to bureaucratic and administrative barriers to innovation and career progression, and officers being forced to undertake tasks that staff would have previously taken on.
Participants spoke of the need to cultivate innovation, especially from lower-ranking officers and staff. One junior officer said that, in two years as a PC, nobody had asked for their views on anything, and suggestions tended not to receive a response, in part due to high turnovers and a long chain of command. Another complained of a lack of investment in retaining the right people. Others pointed to the PCC election cycle as an obstacle to innovation: elections can come in the middle of the process of getting a new reform programme approved, requiring officers to make the case again to a new PCC.
Concerns were also raised about risk-averse attitudes towards sharing information with partner agencies (such as the NHS). Participants called for better leadership from ‘the top’ regarding what information and data can and can’t be shared, and for every officer to have direct access to a local social worker. A participant referred to one colleague who had to use two laptops to access different systems; another had to sign a confidentiality agreement in order to share information with another force.

215.Many of these messages echoed—often in stronger terms—evidence we received throughout our inquiry, particularly about risk aversion and a lack of leadership to drive reform. For example, the NPCC’s written submission included the following quote from Derbyshire Constabulary: “We are afraid that to deviate from tried and tested practices will lead to failure” when, in fact, “to continue without progression will lead to failure as the rest of the world is moving on”.315 When asked why not enough progress had been made on technology to enable forces to communicate with one another, Mike Cunningham admitted that “developments have been nowhere near as coherent or as swift as they have needed to be”, and called for “some urgent clarity around how the national policing architecture can best work”.316 The PSAEW said that “Reform, innovation and creativity can be challenging in a highly regulated environment such as policing”, and called for “more joined up working and the effective sharing of data, information and resources” with other agencies.317

216.It was striking that our roundtable participants—some of them relatively new to policing—were confident in identifying deeply-entrenched cultural barriers to reform in policing. These included the impact of rank structures and hierarchies, including long chains of command; the effect of the PCC election cycles on reform, and the ability of forces to plan long-term; and the root causes of a systemic resistance to innovation and change.

217.The College of Policing should undertake a review of barriers to innovation and reform, and ensure that the new Policing Education Qualifications Framework promotes a more open and innovative culture. While acknowledging the need to maintain discipline, this should encourage constructive challenge from officers at junior ranks, and discourage the promotion of ‘continuity at all costs’ over innovation and change. Police culture needs to shift away from blame-and-claim and towards learning from failure, and policing leaders need to take a much more consultative approach to their oversight of more junior colleagues.

276 Home Office, Police Workforce, England and Wales, 31 March 2018 (Statistical Bulletin 11/18), 19 July 2018

277 Q497

278 College of Policing website (college.police.uk), About us, accessed 6 September 2018

279 House of Commons Home Affairs Committee, College of Policing: three years on, Fourth Report of Session 2016–17 (HC 23), 9 July 206

280 House of Commons Home Affairs Committee, College of Policing: three years on: Government and College of Policing responses to the Committee’s Fourth Report of Session 2016–17 (HC 678), 16 September 2016

281 College of Policing website, Entry routes for police constables, and Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship, both accessed 6 September 2018

282 College of Policing website, Entry routes for police constables, accessed 6 September 2018

283 Police Oracle, Forces approach College about change to recruitment plans, 23 July 2018

284 Police Oracle, Forces approach College about change to recruitment plans, 23 July 2018

285 Police Oracle, Police Federation candidates answer your questions, 23 July 2018

290 S123–S130, Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014

291 College of Policing website, About us: What is APP? Accessed 6 September 2018

292 Dame Vera Baird QC, Police and Crime Commissioner for Northumbria (PFF0068)