Degree plan risks alienating potential police officers

THE Chairman of Essex Police Federation has said forcing budding Bobbies to have a degree before they join the job is “completely wrong” and risks ruling out half the country from becoming officers.

Mark Smith told EssexFedFocus: “We’re taking certain areas of the community out of the equation from becoming police officers.” He added: “I thought we were supposed to be the community policing the community.”

The College of Policing has launched a consultation on “academic recognition” for officers, including a new qualifications framework for the service to underpin professional development.

In the future, new recruits could potentially be asked to complete a higher level apprenticeship or degree-level qualification or conversion while training, while other officers will be able to gain academic recognition for their existing skills, training and practical experience.

Mr Smith (pictured) said: “I have previously been on the radio with College CEO Alex Marshall who said to me at one point: ‘Fifty per cent of the country now have degrees’. So what we’re saying is half of the country can’t be police officers.

“Where does middle England – the people who don’t get the benefits and the people who aren’t rich enough to afford things – where do they find the money to be able to do this training and to do these degrees?

“I think we’re taking out a part of the community, and a very important part of the community, because you’ll find that the people they they’re now turning their back on are the people that tend to have good family values, good values about life, and these are the people that they wish to shut out.”

What about an ‘on the job’ accreditation for officers?

Mr Smith added: “I think that’s okay if it’s not going to cost police officers, if it’s done as part of the job. It gives continuity of standards across the country. But then again, is there going to be a continuity of standards or is it, ‘We advise you to do this unless the Chief Constable wants to do it a different way’? Because at the moment everything that comes out of the College is just advisory, the Chief Constables make final decisions, so unless there’s a continuity I feel it’s absolutely pointless.”

Mr Smith encouraged members to respond to the consultation. “I think everybody should respond because the College of Policing, if they don’t get responses, they’ll say that people agree with them, and I don’t think they do,” he added.