"Not all officers need degrees" Gloucestershire PCC writes letter to Home Secretary
Chris Nelson, along with 15 other PCC's are asking for the requirement of all new officers having degrees to be dropped
Gloucestershire's Police and Crime Commissioner is calling on the Home Secretary to scrap the need for all new officers to have a degree.
Chris Nelson is one of 16 PCC's around the country, who have written to Suella Braverman, asking her to be flexible about the academic requirement.
The letter, asks for requirements to be changed, so police forces can still use a "traditional" training route as well.
The group of PCC's claim that rookie officers are spending so much time studying under the new all-graduate system that up to 10 per cent of their officers are spending more time in the classroom than on the frontline.
Mr. Nelson said, “As Police and Crime Commissioners, we support efforts to improve the training offered to police officers, staff and volunteers being led by the College of Policing."
“And in a changing world, with many more complex cases and evolving technology, we need learning and development programmes that keep pace."
“However, there is a danger that in prioritising an academic qualification, we are missing out on potentially good people with equally valid life experience. People from the military, officers who have worked as special constables or PCSOs and ethnic minorities and older people without a degree seeking a career change."
Matthew Scott, Police and Crime Commissioner for Kent, who organised the letter, said: “We are turning away perfectly good people because we have decided you need a degree to be a police officer. There are many fine police officers who have never had a degree.”