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Professional Development

The way that police officers are recruited and trained has changed
significantly in recent years, with more changes on the way.

Many forces have now started to recruit directly to the senior ranks and, while the
Federation has had reservations about this move, only time will tell how this works out.
Here in the West Midlands, we are currently recruiting direct entry inspectors.

We also have concerns about proposals for all new recruits to be educated to
degree level. I am not alone in thinking that at a time when we are trying to be more
representative of the communities we serve that this could have a detrimental impact
on recruitment. Incidentally, there are many qualities you find in a good police officer
that are not the skills taught in a classroom or lecture theatre. Again, we will have to see
how this develops.

Despite all the changes being introduced, many through
the College of Policing, the new professional body for
policing, we, as a Federation remain focused on doing
all we can to represent our members’ views locally,
regionally and nationally so that they can have their
say on how people are recruited, how officers’
progress is assessed, what defines them as
competent and how they are trained, developed
and promoted.

It is vital that we, as the experts in policing, are
consulted on all of these important matters.

I meet regularly with the national Police Federation leads
in professional development and representatives from
other forces, both within our region and across the forces
of England and Wales, so that we can share our experiences,
discuss best practice and seek to influence the decision-makers.

For its part, the College of Policing publishes consultation
papers regularly and seeks feedback from officers of all ranks.
If you have an interest in your own professional development
and that of the police service generally, I would urge you to
visit the college’s website http://www.college.police.uk and
take part in discussions around any proposals put forward.

Giles Dean
Federation Lead in Professional Development
West Midlands Police Federation

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