**5.1 Leadership of the partnership**

One of the key issues about the nature of partnership related to the leadership could be a challenge. There could be debates whether this academic and professional partnership should be led by HEIs or the police forces. In most cases, these are HEIs which lead the partnerships so that they can comply with the national Apprenticeship Standard for the PCDA programme [110]. Some forces may choose co-delivery approach and some may decide for their programme to be the police force led where they will develop course materials in line with the NPC and will be approved by the partner HEIs. In those cases, the main workload will be on the partner forces to implement the programme. Questions may be raised about the quality assurance and student learning experience of this type of programme. Within the HEIs, there are discussions whether the PCDA, DHEP, and Pre-Join degree programmes should be led by a pure academic or a practitioner-turnedacademic as they are involved in curriculum design, development of course materials, coordinating modules and assessments, and running the overall programme. However, they need to decide on the availability of people with relevant knowledge, skills, and experience. The differing partnerships may also raise issues in regards to the uniformity of delivery across the country.

#### **5.2 University faculty recruitment**

There has been a reduction in the number of police officers, trainers, and training facilities [111, 112]. To address the shortage of police officers, when the Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced in 2019 to recruit 20000 new officers for the police forces across the country, neither the police forces, nor the HEIs were prepared although some universities in the UK have a long-standing working relationship with the police service as they helped the forces in developing their

training programmes ([54], pp. 62-63). Though the College of Policing welcome the policing pledge to address the shortage of police officers by recruiting 20,000 new officers, but warned of 'logistical challenges' at the time to achieve the goal, following the closure of police stations across the country as well as concerns over the lack of training instructors [113]. In particular it is argued here that there is a scarcity of academics in policing and practitioners-turned-academics into policing as there is a shortage of suitable teaching staff. Against the advertisement for recruiting faculty members, the response rate is very low. HEIs need a good number of staff to run the PCDA programme and DHEP.

As part of the role, the academic staff, that is programme leader, module leaders, and work-based tutors and assessors need to travel to the police forces' premises. Therefore, it is a mandatory requirement for them to go through level 2 Non-Police Personnel Vetting (NPPV) or Disclosure and Barring Services (DBS) process by the relevant forces. Some academics may not be necessarily willing to go through the process, which will ultimately limit their access and contribution to the police headquarters, police stations as well as specialised software such as Aptem as access is strictly maintained by the forces. Students will have access to the College of Policing's Managed Learning Environment (MLE) for further reading such as Authorised Professional Practice (APP) in addition to HEI's VLE, for example BlackBoard, Canvas, or Moodle for online learning materials.

Some HEIs are in favour of recruiting former police officers and in some cases officers from the same force they are in a contract with as they know the force well. While other HEIs are in favour of recruiting pure academics and practitioner-turnedacademics to lead the programme and modules by ensuring academic standards. They argue that police trainers are enough to teach the practical aspects of policing and, therefore, ex-cops are not necessarily important to link theory into practice. In the context of police education in the USA, Sherman [114, 115] recommends based on a 2-year national study that full-time faculty members with PhD should be employed, not to make prior criminal justice experience as one of the essential criteria for recruiting faculties to run the academic programmes. However, there is a set of factors, as we are discussing in this chapter, for understanding the processes linking demands for further development in police education and practices [54].

As an example, Babcock International recruited lecturers and tutors, a mixture of former police officers and traditional academics, to run the PEQF programmes in conjunction with the consortium universities in London. Some universities are still in the process of recruiting programme leaders and module leaders and are facing difficulties due to lack of suitable candidates. Moreover, other universities also recruit teaching and research staff with similar backgrounds to run their existing programmes in criminology, policing, and criminal justice as this is a rapidly expanding subject area. Jones ([116], p. 232) noted that 'in 2015, the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) identifies 48 higher education institutions (HEIs) in England and Wales offering undergraduate policing degree programmes'. HEIs also need to recruit work based tutor and assessor to help the module leaders and police trainers in particular to do tripartite reviews of the PCDA and DHEP students and to provide them pastoral support.

#### **5.3 Tripartite engagement and collaboration**

Pursuing an effective tripartite review involving three parties, namely the student officer, university, and the police force (employer) is a major challenge for the successful continuation of the PCDA. Although there is no such mandatory requirement for the DHEP, it will use the best practice of the PCDA to pursue tripartite review. Academic staff and work-based tutor-assessors face practical

**19**

*Police Education in the United Kingdom: Challenges and Future Directions*

is very important for this tripartite engagement and collaboration.

difficulty to travel to various locations of police units in the force area, where the student officers are attached, to run face-to-face tripartite review. Throughout the tripartite engagement and collaboration, the complex process of quality assurance to satisfy both HEI regulations and College of Policing requirements is a real challenge in addition to meeting the requirements of the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education that approved the PCDA programme for delivery in March 2018 and Office for Students [117]. The effective relationship between university staff (i.e. lecturers, module coordinators, or programme leaders) and police trainers

Since Macpherson's report published in 1999, there is still significant challenge for the police service to diversify its profile. The expectation of the NPCC is that by 2025 policing will be a profession with a more diverse workforce which mirrors the UK's population. While there has been a large increase in the numbers of female officers over time, there are still ongoing issues in regards to the recruitment of BAME staff and in particular black police officers. For example, in London, the Met head of recruitment, Clare Davies [118] commented, "If we continue even with the great progress we've made it would take over 100 years to be representative" of London. Currently, 58.4% of black people live in London, a population of between 1.1 and 1.2 million. Black people make up 15.6% of London's population whereas they number only 3.3% of metropolitan police officers. The PEQF routes should be an excellent opportunity for this community as for black Londoners, on average in 2016, 8% of first-year undergraduates across the UK were black. In the same year, London has the highest proportion of black students, making up 17% of students overall [119]. However, initial impressions from recruitment outside of London are

not positive as the initial cohorts do not reflect this aspiration for diversity. Although, the Macpherson's report recommended the recruitment of more black officers and this has been followed by further diversity initiatives, it is still the case that either members of the BAME community are not able to satisfy the criteria and successfully go through the selection process or more likely, are not willing to serve in the force. Nevertheless, forces are still encouraging application from under-represented black and ethnic minority candidates to apply to become a police constable [79]. Apart from diversity in recruitment, interestingly some forces

received a tremendous response for fast track detective roles [120].

**5.6 Academic contact hours and blended learning approach**

According to the Guardian's list of top universities, no university in the top 20 applied to deliver the PEQF programmes. In London, all the top-ranking universities did not show any interest to be involved in running PEQF courses although London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), Kings' College London, and the University College London (UCL) lead policing and criminology research globally. Only HEIs such as the University of East London, the University of Law, the University of Cumbria (London Campus), and Coventry University (CU London)

While designing learning materials for police studies to teach student officers, the 'diverse range of operational challenges' identified by Reiner and Newburn need to be considered [121]. In designing, developing, and delivering the academic

**5.5 Higher education sector-wide engagement**

offer pre-join degrees in policing.

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.92705*

**5.4 Diversity and recruitment**

*Police Education in the United Kingdom: Challenges and Future Directions DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.92705*

difficulty to travel to various locations of police units in the force area, where the student officers are attached, to run face-to-face tripartite review. Throughout the tripartite engagement and collaboration, the complex process of quality assurance to satisfy both HEI regulations and College of Policing requirements is a real challenge in addition to meeting the requirements of the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education that approved the PCDA programme for delivery in March 2018 and Office for Students [117]. The effective relationship between university staff (i.e. lecturers, module coordinators, or programme leaders) and police trainers is very important for this tripartite engagement and collaboration.

### **5.4 Diversity and recruitment**

*Education, Human Rights and Peace in Sustainable Development*

BlackBoard, Canvas, or Moodle for online learning materials.

students and to provide them pastoral support.

**5.3 Tripartite engagement and collaboration**

PCDA programme and DHEP.

training programmes ([54], pp. 62-63). Though the College of Policing welcome the policing pledge to address the shortage of police officers by recruiting 20,000 new officers, but warned of 'logistical challenges' at the time to achieve the goal, following the closure of police stations across the country as well as concerns over the lack of training instructors [113]. In particular it is argued here that there is a scarcity of academics in policing and practitioners-turned-academics into policing as there is a shortage of suitable teaching staff. Against the advertisement for recruiting faculty members, the response rate is very low. HEIs need a good number of staff to run the

As part of the role, the academic staff, that is programme leader, module leaders, and work-based tutors and assessors need to travel to the police forces' premises. Therefore, it is a mandatory requirement for them to go through level 2 Non-Police Personnel Vetting (NPPV) or Disclosure and Barring Services (DBS) process by the relevant forces. Some academics may not be necessarily willing to go through the process, which will ultimately limit their access and contribution to the police headquarters, police stations as well as specialised software such as Aptem as access is strictly maintained by the forces. Students will have access to the College of Policing's Managed Learning Environment (MLE) for further reading such as Authorised Professional Practice (APP) in addition to HEI's VLE, for example

Some HEIs are in favour of recruiting former police officers and in some cases officers from the same force they are in a contract with as they know the force well. While other HEIs are in favour of recruiting pure academics and practitioner-turnedacademics to lead the programme and modules by ensuring academic standards. They argue that police trainers are enough to teach the practical aspects of policing and, therefore, ex-cops are not necessarily important to link theory into practice. In the context of police education in the USA, Sherman [114, 115] recommends based on a 2-year national study that full-time faculty members with PhD should be employed, not to make prior criminal justice experience as one of the essential criteria for recruiting faculties to run the academic programmes. However, there is a set of factors, as we are discussing in this chapter, for understanding the processes linking demands for further development in police education and practices [54]. As an example, Babcock International recruited lecturers and tutors, a mixture of former police officers and traditional academics, to run the PEQF programmes in conjunction with the consortium universities in London. Some universities are still in the process of recruiting programme leaders and module leaders and are facing difficulties due to lack of suitable candidates. Moreover, other universities also recruit teaching and research staff with similar backgrounds to run their existing programmes in criminology, policing, and criminal justice as this is a rapidly expanding subject area. Jones ([116], p. 232) noted that 'in 2015, the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) identifies 48 higher education institutions (HEIs) in England and Wales offering undergraduate policing degree programmes'. HEIs also need to recruit work based tutor and assessor to help the module leaders and police trainers in particular to do tripartite reviews of the PCDA and DHEP

Pursuing an effective tripartite review involving three parties, namely the student officer, university, and the police force (employer) is a major challenge for the successful continuation of the PCDA. Although there is no such mandatory requirement for the DHEP, it will use the best practice of the PCDA to pursue tripartite review. Academic staff and work-based tutor-assessors face practical

**18**

Since Macpherson's report published in 1999, there is still significant challenge for the police service to diversify its profile. The expectation of the NPCC is that by 2025 policing will be a profession with a more diverse workforce which mirrors the UK's population. While there has been a large increase in the numbers of female officers over time, there are still ongoing issues in regards to the recruitment of BAME staff and in particular black police officers. For example, in London, the Met head of recruitment, Clare Davies [118] commented, "If we continue even with the great progress we've made it would take over 100 years to be representative" of London. Currently, 58.4% of black people live in London, a population of between 1.1 and 1.2 million. Black people make up 15.6% of London's population whereas they number only 3.3% of metropolitan police officers. The PEQF routes should be an excellent opportunity for this community as for black Londoners, on average in 2016, 8% of first-year undergraduates across the UK were black. In the same year, London has the highest proportion of black students, making up 17% of students overall [119]. However, initial impressions from recruitment outside of London are not positive as the initial cohorts do not reflect this aspiration for diversity.

Although, the Macpherson's report recommended the recruitment of more black officers and this has been followed by further diversity initiatives, it is still the case that either members of the BAME community are not able to satisfy the criteria and successfully go through the selection process or more likely, are not willing to serve in the force. Nevertheless, forces are still encouraging application from under-represented black and ethnic minority candidates to apply to become a police constable [79]. Apart from diversity in recruitment, interestingly some forces received a tremendous response for fast track detective roles [120].

#### **5.5 Higher education sector-wide engagement**

According to the Guardian's list of top universities, no university in the top 20 applied to deliver the PEQF programmes. In London, all the top-ranking universities did not show any interest to be involved in running PEQF courses although London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), Kings' College London, and the University College London (UCL) lead policing and criminology research globally. Only HEIs such as the University of East London, the University of Law, the University of Cumbria (London Campus), and Coventry University (CU London) offer pre-join degrees in policing.

#### **5.6 Academic contact hours and blended learning approach**

While designing learning materials for police studies to teach student officers, the 'diverse range of operational challenges' identified by Reiner and Newburn need to be considered [121]. In designing, developing, and delivering the academic programmes, the 'peculiar features of late-modern society' [10] need to be underscored for ensuring equity and social justice as 'one-size-fits-all' blueprints are not applicable in the changing world of policing. Emerging communication technologies and media indeed brought changes and complexity in police work [122].

In practice, academics and students may find it insufficient to spend only 20% of working hours towards the academic degree while students in regular university programmes are required to study and learn throughout the week. Although it is appreciated that the PCDA and DHEP are perfect examples of blended learning, the syllabus given by the College of Policing is vast and students need to work more and more to learn the course materials, given the fact that most of the materials are online and that involves self-study, although they can contact their module coordinators or trainers at any time for further understanding or clarifications. Moreover, the PCDA programme and DHEP, as technology enhanced blended learning programmes, face significant challenges as there are no PEQF-specific textbooks available although Bryant and Bryant [123] suggest that Blackstone's Handbook for Policing Students 2020 'Covers the learning requirements of all major entry routes into the police service, including pre-join degree courses and degree apprenticeships'.

In particular, the students may struggle to understand legislation and interact more in workshops. It should be considered that the PCDA and DHEP students are not learning to pass their assessments or to obtain university degrees, they will need this knowledge throughout their policing career as the constables are independent decision-makers who attend crime scene, instantly gather information and intelligence, and analyse and make decisions on their next steps to tackle the situation. In doing that, they need to continuously consider the National Decision Model (NDM) as well as National Intelligence Model (NIM) with an emphasis of ethics at the core of the decision-making process as the officers are accountable for their actions and may be liable for any wrongdoings or mistakes for which they may face departmental proceedings or even lose their jobs. Therefore, they need to properly understand the legislation, policy, and guidance such as Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) and its codes that outline clear guidelines for various police work.

#### **5.7 Multidisciplinary professional understanding**

Officers need to understand the paradigm shift of applying their own judgement, common law fairness, and Wednesbury reasonableness to specific legislations such as the Human Rights Act 1998, which makes it mandatory to be considered in any police actions with a minor exception in cases related to counterterrorism actions. Savage [124] argues that the 1998 human rights legislation that incorporated the European Convention on Human Rights has significance for all institutions in the UK but particularly for the police. Officers are required to understand the English Legal System and procedures in the criminal justice system such as how the Magistrates Court and Crown Court operate and what role the defence and prosecution play to ensure justice. Students of Law degrees study the laws and legal procedures throughout their programmes. However, the student police officers will have limited time to cover relevant laws, policies, and guidance from few classroom-based lessons.

#### **6. Future of police education**

#### **6.1 Progress made so far**

One of the major achievements of the PEQF is to shift the main focus of the initial policing training from rigorous physical training to developing knowledge,

**21**

the Year 2 [127].

*Police Education in the United Kingdom: Challenges and Future Directions*

skills, attitude, and behaviours in addition to the empathy, compassion, and common sense that the British police officers already have. Through the academic programmes, personal and professional development of an individual officer will continuously focus on ethics at the centre of their learning and preparation for their professional career. As a result, police practice will be able to put in first place mandatory consideration of human rights and respect for equality to maintain the pride for democracy and the rule of law in the diverse British society. It is appreciated that police officers, as the law enforcers, need to be physically and mentally fit to perform their challenging duties efficiently. They necessarily need to learn drills, first aid, and law; however, the PEQF will put less emphasis on quasi-military style drill and parade. Rather they will go through essential Officer Safety Training

The police forces should afford a residential accommodation for the trainee officers in a purpose-built campus with technology-facilitated master classrooms, small classrooms for seminars and group discussions, and assessment centre with required facilities for student officers who need additional support. This is also essential to have the facilities for physical training, arms training, safety training as well as gym, sports centre, and hydra simulation suit to facilitate immersive learning. Should the students reside in the police education premises, they could have time and space for protected learning and they could access library facilities in addition to existing access to the HEI's library and

To fulfil the demands of the twenty-first century, successful implementation of the PEQF will assist the society in achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs) related to peace and prosperity through reasonable policing by graduate officers who will be able to make informed decisions by applying their cognitive, affective, and psychomotor skills. As the UK historically led the development of professional policing, if the academic professional qualification programmes based on the PEQF are successfully implemented (as the first PCDA cohort is expected to be qualified in 2021 and the first Pre-Join Degree students will be graduated in 2022), this model of ultimate police education will be followed in other parts of the world especially where countries are seeking effective police reform to overcome the crises of

legitimacy and efficacy. However, this model of new policing will bring a significant change in police occupational culture, which has been blamed for many decades for lack of police legitimacy. Savage [123] describes policing as a performing art and its

Despite the Government of Australia has not recognised policing as a graduate level occupation, the NSW Police Force (NSWPF) has developed a unique programme in partnership with Charles Sturt University (CSU) where the prospective candidates first need to complete the University Certificate in Workforce Essentials (UCWE), a foundation level programme [125]. Then they go through the recruitment process to be offered a police recruit position and enrolment for the CSU-run Associate Degree in Policing Practice (ADPP) at the NSW Police Academy. CSU's School of Policing Studies is located at the NSW Police Academy to jointly run this course where student officers need to reside at the Academy throughout the week [126]. This 2-year programme also includes a field observation placement in Year 1 that will follow attestation and then the students will pursue the Year 2 studies as probationary constables. However, their employment as police constables will be subject to successful completion of

The Bangladesh Police Academy, Sardah, which was established in 1912 in British-ruled Bengal, still runs the fully residential basic police training [128] with significant emphasis on physical training such as early morning exercise,

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.92705*

(OST) before they become operational.

paradigm shift as a process of reform.

online resources.

#### *Police Education in the United Kingdom: Challenges and Future Directions DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.92705*

*Education, Human Rights and Peace in Sustainable Development*

programmes, the 'peculiar features of late-modern society' [10] need to be underscored for ensuring equity and social justice as 'one-size-fits-all' blueprints are not applicable in the changing world of policing. Emerging communication technologies and media indeed brought changes and complexity in police work [122].

In practice, academics and students may find it insufficient to spend only 20% of working hours towards the academic degree while students in regular university programmes are required to study and learn throughout the week. Although it is appreciated that the PCDA and DHEP are perfect examples of blended learning, the syllabus given by the College of Policing is vast and students need to work more and more to learn the course materials, given the fact that most of the materials are online and that involves self-study, although they can contact their module coordinators or trainers at any time for further understanding or clarifications. Moreover, the PCDA programme and DHEP, as technology enhanced blended learning programmes, face significant challenges as there are no PEQF-specific textbooks available although Bryant and Bryant [123] suggest that Blackstone's Handbook for Policing Students 2020 'Covers the learning requirements of all major entry routes into the police service, including pre-join degree courses and degree apprenticeships'. In particular, the students may struggle to understand legislation and interact more in workshops. It should be considered that the PCDA and DHEP students are not learning to pass their assessments or to obtain university degrees, they will need this knowledge throughout their policing career as the constables are independent decision-makers who attend crime scene, instantly gather information and intelligence, and analyse and make decisions on their next steps to tackle the situation. In doing that, they need to continuously consider the National Decision Model (NDM) as well as National Intelligence Model (NIM) with an emphasis of ethics at the core of the decision-making process as the officers are accountable for their actions and may be liable for any wrongdoings or mistakes for which they may face departmental proceedings or even lose their jobs. Therefore, they need to properly understand the legislation, policy, and guidance such as Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984

(PACE) and its codes that outline clear guidelines for various police work.

Officers need to understand the paradigm shift of applying their own judgement, common law fairness, and Wednesbury reasonableness to specific legislations such as the Human Rights Act 1998, which makes it mandatory to be considered in any police actions with a minor exception in cases related to counterterrorism actions. Savage [124] argues that the 1998 human rights legislation that incorporated the European Convention on Human Rights has significance for all institutions in the UK but particularly for the police. Officers are required to understand the English Legal System and procedures in the criminal justice system such as how the Magistrates Court and Crown Court operate and what role the defence and prosecution play to ensure justice. Students of Law degrees study the laws and legal procedures throughout their programmes. However, the student police officers will have limited time to cover relevant laws, policies, and guidance from few classroom-based lessons.

One of the major achievements of the PEQF is to shift the main focus of the initial policing training from rigorous physical training to developing knowledge,

**5.7 Multidisciplinary professional understanding**

**6. Future of police education**

**6.1 Progress made so far**

**20**

skills, attitude, and behaviours in addition to the empathy, compassion, and common sense that the British police officers already have. Through the academic programmes, personal and professional development of an individual officer will continuously focus on ethics at the centre of their learning and preparation for their professional career. As a result, police practice will be able to put in first place mandatory consideration of human rights and respect for equality to maintain the pride for democracy and the rule of law in the diverse British society. It is appreciated that police officers, as the law enforcers, need to be physically and mentally fit to perform their challenging duties efficiently. They necessarily need to learn drills, first aid, and law; however, the PEQF will put less emphasis on quasi-military style drill and parade. Rather they will go through essential Officer Safety Training (OST) before they become operational.

The police forces should afford a residential accommodation for the trainee officers in a purpose-built campus with technology-facilitated master classrooms, small classrooms for seminars and group discussions, and assessment centre with required facilities for student officers who need additional support. This is also essential to have the facilities for physical training, arms training, safety training as well as gym, sports centre, and hydra simulation suit to facilitate immersive learning. Should the students reside in the police education premises, they could have time and space for protected learning and they could access library facilities in addition to existing access to the HEI's library and online resources.

To fulfil the demands of the twenty-first century, successful implementation of the PEQF will assist the society in achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs) related to peace and prosperity through reasonable policing by graduate officers who will be able to make informed decisions by applying their cognitive, affective, and psychomotor skills. As the UK historically led the development of professional policing, if the academic professional qualification programmes based on the PEQF are successfully implemented (as the first PCDA cohort is expected to be qualified in 2021 and the first Pre-Join Degree students will be graduated in 2022), this model of ultimate police education will be followed in other parts of the world especially where countries are seeking effective police reform to overcome the crises of legitimacy and efficacy. However, this model of new policing will bring a significant change in police occupational culture, which has been blamed for many decades for lack of police legitimacy. Savage [123] describes policing as a performing art and its paradigm shift as a process of reform.

Despite the Government of Australia has not recognised policing as a graduate level occupation, the NSW Police Force (NSWPF) has developed a unique programme in partnership with Charles Sturt University (CSU) where the prospective candidates first need to complete the University Certificate in Workforce Essentials (UCWE), a foundation level programme [125]. Then they go through the recruitment process to be offered a police recruit position and enrolment for the CSU-run Associate Degree in Policing Practice (ADPP) at the NSW Police Academy. CSU's School of Policing Studies is located at the NSW Police Academy to jointly run this course where student officers need to reside at the Academy throughout the week [126]. This 2-year programme also includes a field observation placement in Year 1 that will follow attestation and then the students will pursue the Year 2 studies as probationary constables. However, their employment as police constables will be subject to successful completion of the Year 2 [127].

The Bangladesh Police Academy, Sardah, which was established in 1912 in British-ruled Bengal, still runs the fully residential basic police training [128] with significant emphasis on physical training such as early morning exercise, morning parade, afternoon parade, horse training (for the probationer Assistant Superintendents who join through the national civil service) and less focus on academic learning, arms training, safety training, and driving lessons. However, since 2008 probationer Assistant Superintendents of Police receive a Masters of Police Science degree from the University of Rajshahi upon successful completion of this police-led training. The UNDP-DFID sponsored Police Reform Programme in Bangladesh failed to bring a paradigm shift in police training and culture due to constant opposition of civil bureaucracy and lack of a strong political will as the policy-makers want to keep their strong control over the force [129]. Similarly, many police organisations in the developed and developing world have their own police academies, police training centres such as Louisiana State Police Training Academy, USA that has a residential academy in Baton Rouge with a massive training area including Joint Emergency Services Training Center [130].

The physical learning environment is also crucial for an enjoyable learning experience. In practice, it is argued here that the lack of adequately equipped on-site residential facilities for the uniformed PCDA and DHEP students may have a negative impact in their learning as well as their team spirit as the members of a disciplined force. In this aspect, more could be learnt from the other professional qualifications offered by the universities and should be adapted for these programmes.

#### **6.2 Leadership development**

Developing Police Leadership is one of the crucial priorities for the twenty-first century's policing across the globe including the UK [131]. The apprentice-turnedgraduates under the PCDA programme, officers with a graduate diploma under the DHEP, and policing graduates-turned-officers are qualified enough to be promoted in leadership roles in 43 forces in England and Wales in the days to come. Although there are five entry routes into policing, namely constable, police staff, Fast Track to Inspector, Direct Entry at Superintendent, and Direct Entry at Chief Constable (for eligible overseas chief officers), most of the senior officers begin as a constable and follow the traditional route to be promoted to lead the forces. Undoubtedly the Fast Track for both new candidates and experienced officers as well as Police Now, which runs the National Graduate Leadership Programme and the National Detective Programme, will play a pivotal role in creating future leaders. However, the question for debate is 'will the NPC really allow this level of development, or do these programmes set the foundations on which to build leadership more strongly than current training provision?' which is beyond the scope of this chapter.

According to Bergan and Damian ([132], p. 8), '[e]ducation is about acquiring skills but also about acquiring values and attitudes' which are essential characteristics for leadership in an ethically and economically diverse society' that also needs a 'diverse student body' ([132], p. 9). In the same vein, Bok ([133], p. 19), a former President of Harvard University, emphasises that 'Our institutions are now the leading sources of all three of the most important ingredients for progress and prosperity in modern societies: new discoveries, expert knowledge and highly trained people'. He further argues that 'universities are the essential institutions for preparing leaders throughout society. Every politician, every civil servant, every judge, doctor, priest and virtually every top business executive will attend our universities. Although this often goes unnoticed, more and more of these leaders are also returning to universities in mid-career for further education'.

**23**

*Police Education in the United Kingdom: Challenges and Future Directions*

Therefore, university education will help the forces to have more prudent police

leaders who can bring diversity of thought and perspective into policing. They should pursue continuing professional development courses throughout their career to obtain up-to-date knowledge and prepare them to lead the forces and achieve legitimacy and set examples for the world. The College of Policing's Leadership Review ([134], p. 31) recommended to 'Create a new model of leadership and management training and development which is accessible to all within policing'. It has also echoed the Peelian principles of 1829, which are still relevant for public

*'From the origins of British policing in the 19th century, an emphasis on preventing crime was established as the most important duty of the police, along with the notion that securing public approval and cooperation are fundamental to achieving* 

Leadership is the one of the keys for an organisation to be efficient, effective, and successful in managing people and achieving goals. Bowling et al. ([135], p. 28) argue that 'The police are supposedly a "totalizing institution" with a "chain of command"'. Therefore, this is very important for the police forces to develop wellprepared future leadership so that they can lead their respective forces. According

*'The ideal police leader is driven by the core values of policing, seeks out challenge and is quick to adapt. … This is a leader who empowers, trusts and supports every individual to succeed among their peers, within their teams and across their organisations; who copes with the challenges of emerging crime and public safety issues; who values difference and diversity; and who readily accepts personal* 

Generally, police education has been based on a top-down, instructor-led form of teaching by focusing on a student officer's technical competencies [5]. These approaches are contrasted with the mainstream higher education pedagogies, that is learner-led participatory teaching and learning where critical thinking and innovative ideas are the keys to success [2]. However, very little has been known from research regarding the pedagogical impact of different educational and training pathways into policing [136]. In this light, we are hoping to see wider discussion on the relationship between the NPC and higher education elsewhere between academ-

In the professional contexts, the police officers' learning must be followed by reflective thought and internal processing that links the experience with previous learning as learning takes place within a cycle of action, reflection, and application [140]. A study on graduates from a professional graduate programme of Social Work found that class work had not adequately prepared them for real-world practice [91]. Failure to incorporate knowledge in a relevant and meaningful way creates a barrier for effective learning. Practical examples help the learners to understand and apply theories from the textbook to real situations, which enhanced their learning experiences. Similar views were expressed in The Relation of Theory to Practice in Education [141] that content knowledge should not be remote from practical issues. In the initial stage of academic police education programmes, learning may be found difficult by fresh students due to the lack of experiences.

*accountability while retaining the trust of communities'.*

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.92705*

approval of police work as it states:

*police objectives' ([134], p. 15).*

to the College of Policing ([134], p. 6),

**6.3 Pedagogical aspects**

ics and practitioners [136–139].

#### *Police Education in the United Kingdom: Challenges and Future Directions DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.92705*

Therefore, university education will help the forces to have more prudent police leaders who can bring diversity of thought and perspective into policing. They should pursue continuing professional development courses throughout their career to obtain up-to-date knowledge and prepare them to lead the forces and achieve legitimacy and set examples for the world. The College of Policing's Leadership Review ([134], p. 31) recommended to 'Create a new model of leadership and management training and development which is accessible to all within policing'. It has also echoed the Peelian principles of 1829, which are still relevant for public approval of police work as it states:

*'From the origins of British policing in the 19th century, an emphasis on preventing crime was established as the most important duty of the police, along with the notion that securing public approval and cooperation are fundamental to achieving police objectives' ([134], p. 15).*

Leadership is the one of the keys for an organisation to be efficient, effective, and successful in managing people and achieving goals. Bowling et al. ([135], p. 28) argue that 'The police are supposedly a "totalizing institution" with a "chain of command"'. Therefore, this is very important for the police forces to develop wellprepared future leadership so that they can lead their respective forces. According to the College of Policing ([134], p. 6),

*'The ideal police leader is driven by the core values of policing, seeks out challenge and is quick to adapt. … This is a leader who empowers, trusts and supports every individual to succeed among their peers, within their teams and across their organisations; who copes with the challenges of emerging crime and public safety issues; who values difference and diversity; and who readily accepts personal accountability while retaining the trust of communities'.*

#### **6.3 Pedagogical aspects**

*Education, Human Rights and Peace in Sustainable Development*

morning parade, afternoon parade, horse training (for the probationer Assistant Superintendents who join through the national civil service) and less focus on academic learning, arms training, safety training, and driving lessons. However, since 2008 probationer Assistant Superintendents of Police receive a Masters of Police Science degree from the University of Rajshahi upon successful completion of this police-led training. The UNDP-DFID sponsored Police Reform Programme in Bangladesh failed to bring a paradigm shift in police training and culture due to constant opposition of civil bureaucracy and lack of a strong political will as the policy-makers want to keep their strong control over the force [129]. Similarly, many police organisations in the developed and developing world have their own police academies, police training centres such as Louisiana State Police Training Academy, USA that has a residential academy in Baton Rouge with a massive training area including Joint Emergency Services Training

The physical learning environment is also crucial for an enjoyable learning experience. In practice, it is argued here that the lack of adequately equipped on-site residential facilities for the uniformed PCDA and DHEP students may have a negative impact in their learning as well as their team spirit as the members of a disciplined force. In this aspect, more could be learnt from the other professional qualifications offered by the universities and should be adapted for these

Developing Police Leadership is one of the crucial priorities for the twenty-first century's policing across the globe including the UK [131]. The apprentice-turnedgraduates under the PCDA programme, officers with a graduate diploma under the DHEP, and policing graduates-turned-officers are qualified enough to be promoted in leadership roles in 43 forces in England and Wales in the days to come. Although there are five entry routes into policing, namely constable, police staff, Fast Track to Inspector, Direct Entry at Superintendent, and Direct Entry at Chief Constable (for eligible overseas chief officers), most of the senior officers begin as a constable and follow the traditional route to be promoted to lead the forces. Undoubtedly the Fast Track for both new candidates and experienced officers as well as Police Now, which runs the National Graduate Leadership Programme and the National Detective Programme, will play a pivotal role in creating future leaders. However, the question for debate is 'will the NPC really allow this level of development, or do these programmes set the foundations on which to build leadership more strongly than

According to Bergan and Damian ([132], p. 8), '[e]ducation is about acquiring skills but also about acquiring values and attitudes' which are essential characteristics for leadership in an ethically and economically diverse society' that also needs a 'diverse student body' ([132], p. 9). In the same vein, Bok ([133], p. 19), a former President of Harvard University, emphasises that 'Our institutions are now the leading sources of all three of the most important ingredients for progress and prosperity in modern societies: new discoveries, expert knowledge and highly trained people'. He further argues that 'universities are the essential institutions for preparing leaders throughout society. Every politician, every civil servant, every judge, doctor, priest and virtually every top business executive will attend our universities. Although this often goes unnoticed, more and more of these leaders are also returning to universities in mid-career for further

current training provision?' which is beyond the scope of this chapter.

**22**

education'.

Center [130].

programmes.

**6.2 Leadership development**

Generally, police education has been based on a top-down, instructor-led form of teaching by focusing on a student officer's technical competencies [5]. These approaches are contrasted with the mainstream higher education pedagogies, that is learner-led participatory teaching and learning where critical thinking and innovative ideas are the keys to success [2]. However, very little has been known from research regarding the pedagogical impact of different educational and training pathways into policing [136]. In this light, we are hoping to see wider discussion on the relationship between the NPC and higher education elsewhere between academics and practitioners [136–139].

In the professional contexts, the police officers' learning must be followed by reflective thought and internal processing that links the experience with previous learning as learning takes place within a cycle of action, reflection, and application [140]. A study on graduates from a professional graduate programme of Social Work found that class work had not adequately prepared them for real-world practice [91]. Failure to incorporate knowledge in a relevant and meaningful way creates a barrier for effective learning. Practical examples help the learners to understand and apply theories from the textbook to real situations, which enhanced their learning experiences. Similar views were expressed in The Relation of Theory to Practice in Education [141] that content knowledge should not be remote from practical issues. In the initial stage of academic police education programmes, learning may be found difficult by fresh students due to the lack of experiences.

However, examples from their earlier life could be created and delivered through a virtual learning environment to assist the trainees in understanding the contexts and link with the theories. They should be given the opportunity to deal with reallife scenarios as student police officers who are too afraid to test their abilities will probably be worried police officers, which is not expected at all.

#### **6.4 Interpersonal communication and critical thinking**

As a professional course, interpersonal communication skills including critical thinking are very important in police education [142]. The nine Peelian principles of policing are the main mantra of policing, which suggests police officers are citizens in uniform and they cannot succeed without the support and approval from the community [143]. Throughout the curriculum of the professional education programmes, there should be an effective structure for teaching essential interpersonal skills so that student officers get a solid foundation, which enables them to remove some of the barriers between the police force and the public. Initial training through academic programmes builds an essential foundation for new officers because they need to master communication skills before they execute tactical and legal tasks in practice.

Effective policing occurs when police officers and members of the public become partners to create safe and crime-free communities. This partnership requires well-prepared police officers who display not only strong technical capabilities but also interpersonal skills. Therefore, police forces as the law enforcement agencies must train their officers on how to interact effectively with the public and work with them. In the professional setting, technical and interpersonal skills help the offers to perform their police work well.

Police officers face unique challenges and critical discourse as part of their role and they need to constantly reflect on their learning and experience to overcome the situations successfully. It is therefore a key focus of the PCDA and DHEP to make the officers critical reflective thinkers and students reflect and write their reflective journals throughout these work-based learning. There is a pressing need to incorporate the practice into degree programmes for effective learning and developing skills as Hornyak et al. [144] suggest that people learn best from direct experience with guided reflection and analysis. It is also essential for the best student learning experience and to develop necessary knowledge, behaviours, and skills for the student officers to become fully operationally competent police constables.

According to a recent study [145], students who are studying police studies at HEIs quickly assimilated a police identity, which affected their attitudes and behaviour. For fulfilling the potential of the PEQF, police services need to embrace, promote, and enable their police officers to become reflective practitioners through critical thinking and policing must be a reflective practice in the fullest sense [62]. If the recently developed academic police studies programmes are able to provide interpersonal communication skills and critical thinking, only then HEIs will be able to provide radically transformed and well-equipped policing degrees for the better future.

#### **6.5 Policing in emergencies**

In times of crises or emergencies, there are more constraints imposed on the police forces, for instance, the recent COVID-19 pandemic restricted individuals' movements and mass gatherings. As a result, education and training programmes have to be put on hold advised by the College of Policing as the situation demanded the forces to deploy more officers to support the operations throughout the country, to such an extent that the Metropolitan Police Service requested the retired officers to come back on a paid or unpaid role and the officers who are approaching

**25**

professional qualifications.

*Police Education in the United Kingdom: Challenges and Future Directions*

after completing their safety training and public order training.

Incorporating practice into professional learning is essential as Clapton and Cree [91] suggest to integrate theory and practice to bring the experiences of the field into the classroom as well as take the classroom into the field. It is commonly accepted that experience is a great teacher; however, it cannot replace a classroom, for example for learning law and legal procedure, and vice versa. To find a balance between theory and experience, similarly in between classroom and practice, the professional policing practice needs to be embedded in its entirety in the Pre-Join degree, PCDA programme, and DHEP. Policing is a life-long learning process; indeed it is a part of the professionalisation agenda, and to ensure this life-long learning to happen the police should be a learning organisation [147–151].

Recently introduced, these three academic professional programmes are still under experiment as HEIs are running the programmes for the first time in partnerships with the police forces. HEIs and police forces need to learn from their partnerships through different approaches and efforts of 'trial and error' to find better ways to prepare future police workforce and they must work out their ways to develop effective partnerships to learn from each other to be successful in achieving the goals of the 'Policing Vision 2025'. Then this model of partnership for providing police education can be a beacon for other police organisations around the world as the Leadership Review ([134], p. 5) suggests that many around the world envy the British police service and respect it 'for its strength of purpose and public service ethos'. Especially Commonwealth countries such as Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Malaysia, and Nigeria, where those countries still are continuing their colonial legacy may be able to reform the recruitment process and education and training programmes of their forces to make a graduate level occupation through academic

Although the newly introduced police education programmes are at the very early stage of their implementation as none of the three programmes has completed its cycle for its first cohort since introduction, continuous careful consideration is required to understand the challenges and overcome them in due course. This ongoing learning by doing effort is like 'trying to build an airplane while you are flying it' as the Chief US Training Officer for the Iraqi National Police Force said while expressing his experience of police capacity building in Iraq [152]. Indeed the recent developments 'offer new and potentially unprecedented opportunities for HEIs to play a major role in the education of police officers at all levels' ([54], p. 67). The success of the academic professional qualification programmes based on the PEQF

their retirement age to not leave the force [146]. Again, due to the emergency situation and imposed restrictions, student officers have been grappling with different problems, for example, staying at home and even looking after some family members, having less time to engage with their ongoing courses. In some cases, they have been struggling to connect with stable internet connections to access the virtual learning environments, in particular during their assessment day to participate in exams or submitting their work on time. In the changed circumstances, they have to sit for online examinations, in some cases for a fixed 2-hour assessment in a 24-hour window. There were concerns about these exams' compatibility, credibility, and integrity as there was no physical surveillance and learning materials might be available to them during these exams. Although the PCDA student officers were at the very beginning of their academic learning, still there was a pressure on the forces due to the crisis to deploy them operationally

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.92705*

**7. Conclusion**

#### *Police Education in the United Kingdom: Challenges and Future Directions DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.92705*

their retirement age to not leave the force [146]. Again, due to the emergency situation and imposed restrictions, student officers have been grappling with different problems, for example, staying at home and even looking after some family members, having less time to engage with their ongoing courses. In some cases, they have been struggling to connect with stable internet connections to access the virtual learning environments, in particular during their assessment day to participate in exams or submitting their work on time. In the changed circumstances, they have to sit for online examinations, in some cases for a fixed 2-hour assessment in a 24-hour window. There were concerns about these exams' compatibility, credibility, and integrity as there was no physical surveillance and learning materials might be available to them during these exams. Although the PCDA student officers were at the very beginning of their academic learning, still there was a pressure on the forces due to the crisis to deploy them operationally after completing their safety training and public order training.
