Recommendations & Conclusions
4 items
13
Conclusion
Fifteenth Report - The Police Uplift Pr…
Acknowledged
The government’s decision to recruit an unprecedented number of new police officers over a relatively short period of time impacted on the implementation of a fundamental reform of how police officers are trained and developed. From 2016 onwards, police forces began to adopt the new Police Education and Qualifications Framework …
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The government’s decision to recruit an unprecedented number of new police officers over a relatively short period of time impacted on the implementation of a fundamental reform of how police officers are trained and developed. From 2016 onwards, police forces began to adopt the new Police Education and Qualifications Framework (PEQF), as mandated by the College of Policing. This new approach requires prospective police officers to either hold a qualification equivalent to a university degree or to earn an equivalent qualification through study during their first three years of service.20
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Government response AI summary
The government agreed to the recommendation that the College of Policing should review the impact of the Police Education and Qualifications Framework and publish the results by Spring 2024.
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HM Treasury
16
Conclusion
Fifteenth Report - The Police Uplift Pr…
Acknowledged
The NAO reported that experienced police tutor constables (who supervise new officers for periods of their training) had shared concerns about the extra effort this role required in addition to their normal duties, and this was echoed by staff from police training teams. The National Audit Office’s survey of chief …
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The NAO reported that experienced police tutor constables (who supervise new officers for periods of their training) had shared concerns about the extra effort this role required in addition to their normal duties, and this was echoed by staff from police training teams. The National Audit Office’s survey of chief constables also highlighted tutor constable ‘burn-out’ as an issue. We asked the Department about the risk that more experienced officers were being overly burdened by the need to act as tutors for the high volume of new recruits and to fill the gaps created when they were studying in college. We asked whether it understood the perspective of the more experienced officers and if the extra pressures on tutor officers was having an adverse impact on retention. The Programme Director told us that there was no evidence that this had a significant impact on officer retention, and that the police had the lowest level of voluntary resignations in the public sector, averaging some 7,000 officers per year. The Department also told us that it was looking at the experience of tutors, and was investing in developing front-line supervision and training to make sure tutors and supervisors are best able to assist new officers.24 21 Q 29; C&AG’s Report, para 3.9 22 Qq 25, 30 23 Qq 25–27 24 Qq 28, 41; C&AG’s Report para 3.5 12 The Police Uplift Programme 2 Learning lessons Learning from the programme
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Government response AI summary
The government acknowledges concerns about supporting experienced police tutor constables and is working with the NPCC and College of Policing to improve support, including developing materials and guidance, ensuring recognition and reward, reviewing training, and monitoring wellbeing.
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HM Treasury
21
Conclusion
Fifteenth Report - The Police Uplift Pr…
Acknowledged
We asked the Department how it was confident that these changes in approach, particularly the online assessment process, were ensuring police forces were recruiting the right people and avoiding the recurrence of historic issues. The Department told us that the majority of forces hold virtual interviews as part of the …
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We asked the Department how it was confident that these changes in approach, particularly the online assessment process, were ensuring police forces were recruiting the right people and avoiding the recurrence of historic issues. The Department told us that the majority of forces hold virtual interviews as part of the online assessment process, and that this process was superior to the previous approach. It told us it was confident that the new process had maintained standards in recruitment, while ensuring that these standards were consistently applied.32
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Government response AI summary
The government states forces are responsible for ensuring new recruits meet required standards, and the College of Policing continually monitors and evaluates the online assessment process. They continue to work with forces to improve the process and have commissioned research to evaluate the impact of …
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HM Treasury
27
Conclusion
Fifteenth Report - The Police Uplift Pr…
Acknowledged
We asked the Department whether it was concerned about retaining new officers. The Department acknowledged that if increasing numbers of officers left the service, this would in turn increase the number of new officers the Programme would need to recruit. The Department told us that it was losing around 9% …
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We asked the Department whether it was concerned about retaining new officers. The Department acknowledged that if increasing numbers of officers left the service, this would in turn increase the number of new officers the Programme would need to recruit. The Department told us that it was losing around 9% of new officers, which was in line with its planning assumption that around 1 in 10 new officers would leave in the first two years of their service. This compared to an overall police officer voluntary resignation rate of 2% per year.40 36 Home Office, Police officer uplift, England and Wales, quarterly update to 31 March 2022 37 Qq 19, 34 38 Q 33; Home Affairs Committee Oral evidence: Work of the Metropolitan Police Service, HC 1240, 20 April 2022, Q 2, 16, 23 39 Qq 35, 37; Home Affairs Committee Oral evidence: Work of the Metropolitan Police Service, HC 1240, 20 April 2022 Q24 40 Qq 39–40 The Police Uplift Programme 15 Capacity and capability of policing
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Government response AI summary
The government recognizes retaining new officers is essential and is working with forces to understand reasons for leaving and develop strategies to improve retention rates, including improving support, reviewing training, and ensuring challenging and rewarding roles.
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HM Treasury