PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
“Life-long learning skills need embedding during initial training to equip officers to be able to think on their feet and exercise professional judgement, often in complex and pressurised situations.”
just that - for everyone, all the time. The way we could achieve this is by focusing on what matters – skills enabled outcomes (known as performance) - and mapping these skills of officer capabilities through a national mapping assessment exercise to recognise and reward everyone. That’s not just about what courses you’ve been on, but what you can actually do at work that is productive. By taking this route, things could be done
relatively cheaply, quickly and without piles of red tape. There would be multiple benefits, internally and externally. People would feel valued at work and the post transfer and promotion system could be brought up to date away from the current artificial lottery of talking a good job, often resulting in ‘thine own image’ appointments. Externally, it would give the public more reassurance to know that there are equivalent skills in their local police station as within their local medical surgery or veterinary practice. Policing has for too long been talked down
and it’s time now for it to be valued for the profession it actually is. The first stage of that is to formally recognise just how good police professionals already are.
A stand-off between an officer and a rioter at Southport, July 30th this year. Photo – Shutterstock
PFEW
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAD, PAUL MATTHEWS, SPOKE TO POLICE PROFESSIONAL
ABOUT WHAT NEEDS TO CHANGE. EXCERPTS OF THE INTERVIEW:
Police Professional: As the lead for Professional Development what is your vision for the future of policing skills? Paul Matthews: Policing is undergoing a significant transformation and the requirement for highly competent, motivated officers is vital if we are to deliver an improved service to the public. These aren’t my words but those of Chief Constable Alex Marshall in
2016 the then CEO of the College of Policing at the launch of the PEQF. The demands and complexities placed on officers is growing exponentially year on year and policing is not keeping pace. Financial restraint, chaotic recruitment processes and a widening gap in experience underpinned by substandard training and dire standards in leadership, has led to significant underperformance and poor cultures that are exposing officers to unacceptable levels of vulnerability and criticism. We are seeing an exodus from the profession which in turn only adds to the pressure on those that remain. There needs to be a significant change in the way we recruit, train and recognize talent if we are to hold any hope in making improvements.
There is no shortage of training being made available but how do we ensure learning? How is that learning embedded, reflected upon, tested or measured if it is unaccredited? Quite evidently performance is not improving so something must be going wrong. I would like to see clear yet flexible career paths for officers in the service, with accredited learning opportunities made available from the moment you join to the moment you leave. You don’t need a degree to be a Police Officer, you deserve one! Officers should feel valued and have aspirational opportunities made available to them. If officers have a direction of travel with accredited milestones along the way then they are more likely to stay. This needs investment and not lip service. As
31 | POLICE | OCTOBER | 2024
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