The University of Portsmouth has joined forces with three other universities for a new initiative to help meet the needs of 21st Century policing.
A university consortium comprised of Portsmouth, Middlesex, Canterbury Christ Church and Cumbria universities has won a bid to partner with Sussex and Surrey Police to deliver the Police Constable degree apprenticeship to provide a new route into the policing profession.
It is hoped that the course will start towards the end of 2019. The consortium and Sussex and Surrey Police are currently working together to finalise course content, numbers and details to gain College of Policing approval.
Police forces across the UK are committed to developing their workforce in line with the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners and National Police Chiefs Council’s Policing Vision 2025. The vision states that “By 2025 policing will be a profession with a more representative workforce that will align the right skills, powers and experience to meet challenging requirements."
We are extremely privileged to work with partner universities and police forces to develop a unique and high quality apprenticeship offer to realise the transformational potential of the reforms to policing education.
The plan for policing over the next 10 years is to develop a professional and skilled workforce that meets the changing nature of crime, communities and expectations.
Leaders in the Police Force recognise that officers not only need an evolving set of practical skills to equip them for the constantly changing world but will also need to be able to adopt and embrace lifelong learning throughout their careers. They are committed to making greater use of modern learning methods to embed a learning culture that drives all officers and staff to continue to take greater personal responsibility for their own development.
Commenting on the new apprenticeship course, Dr Paul Norman, Head of the University’s Institute of Criminal Justice Studies, said: “We are extremely privileged to work with partner universities and police forces to develop a unique and high quality apprenticeship offer to realise the transformational potential of the reforms to policing education.”
The Consortium will work in close partnership with Surrey and Sussex to develop the degree apprenticeship and this will include collaborating in its delivery to ensure that on and off-the job learning is fully integrated.