Police: Recruitment

(asked on 6th January 2020) - View Source

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the police recruitment process is based upon skills directly relevant to those required by the role.


Answered by
Kit Malthouse Portrait
Kit Malthouse
This question was answered on 14th January 2020

The Government is committed to delivering the people’s priorities including the recruitment of an additional 20,000 police officers over the next three years.

Police officer entry requirements are set by the College of Policing. The Home Office is working with the National Police Chiefs Council, the College of Policing and forces to ensure there are no undue barriers for anyone who is qualified to do so from joining the police. New entry routes introduced by the College of Policing have been designed to equip officers with the skills they need for modern policing. The new training curriculum includes cyber-enabled crime, vulnerability and risk, well-being and resilience, criminology and crime prevention. Many forces are already using these new entry routes.

While the police workforce is more representative in terms of gender and ethnicity than it has ever been, there is still much more to be done. We have been clear that the uplift in officers is an important opportunity to improve diversity. However, recruitment is not the only way in which Forces can improve equality and diversity. Retention and progression also play a crucial role, particularly in enabling officers and staff to move into more senior and more specialised ranks and roles.

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