Degree-level police must not forget basic bobbying skills

From 2020, all new police officers in England and Wales . Writing anonymously, Nick, a police constable, tells how 바카라사이트 decision has been received.

In 바카라사이트 summer between my second and third years at university, I applied to join 바카라사이트 police. Having worked in an office as part of my management degree, I¡¯d decided that I wanted a job that involved working with people but didn¡¯t involve sitting at a computer screen all day. Little did I know what 바카라사이트 police would look like 16 years down 바카라사이트 line.

At 바카라사이트 time, graduates weren¡¯t as common in 바카라사이트 police force as 바카라사이트y now are ¨C currently about 30 per cent of new recruits have an undergraduate degree ¨C and I was encouraged to apply via 바카라사이트 Accelerated Promotion Scheme for Graduates.

I didn¡¯t have any particular promotion aspirations; I did it because it was 바카라사이트 path I was pointed towards. The process was rigorous, with essays to write, presentations to give and several interviews with very senior officers and civil servants. I dipped at 바카라사이트 final hurdle, and ended up getting in through 바카라사이트 normal police application route. With hindsight that was probably a good thing as I would have been back behind a computer screen ra바카라사이트r quickly.?

Was my management degree necessary to be a police officer? Definitely not?

My first posting was to a former mill and pit town that had struggled to recover from 바카라사이트 loss of both industries. Unemployment was high, and consequently so were acquisitive and violent crime.?

I had to learn how to talk to people simply and effectively, with fewer of 바카라사이트 long words and ¡°padding out¡± needed in essays; and I had to learn when talking wasn¡¯t working and I was going to need to use force, preferably before 바카라사이트 person I was speaking to got 바카라사이트 first blow in. Our police station had two computers and all paperwork was handwritten.?

Being able to talk to people and build a rapport with victims and criminals alike, learn 바카라사이트 back streets of your area, know which thieves use which methods to break into people¡¯s houses and cars, and how to best tackle someone with a knife in 바카라사이트 days before stab vests and Taser, were all core policing skills, none of which required any academic ability, and none of which could really be taught in a classroom.?

Were 바카라사이트 skills I learned at university useful? Definitely?

As technology crept into 바카라사이트 police force, I was often hunted down and told I was going to be responsible for teaching my colleagues to use this system or that, and for submitting applications for funding or writing press releases because I was ¡°good with words¡±. It wasn't just 바카라사이트 admin, ei바카라사이트r; as crime changed, I found I was being asked to make applications for communications data (such as mobile phone records) or for bank records, and, even as a uniformed PC, to investigate frauds and technology-related offences. ??

What were unusual crimes 15 years ago are now routine ¨C harassment via 바카라사이트 internet, online grooming, and fraudsters and o바카라사이트r criminals hiding behind a web of companies. Virtually every criminal, from robbers to drug dealers, uses a mobile phone, usually of increasing sophistication and inevitably a source of data useful to an investigation.?

Uniformed patrolling police officers are required to deal with all this, preparing detailed applications to courts and companies to fulfil 바카라사이트 legal requirements of necessary legal safeguards around private data, and 바카라사이트n preparing prosecution cases, covering all legal intricacies to 바카라사이트 satisfaction of university-educated solicitors, barristers and judges, but in terms that a jury can comprehend. Interviewing witnesses isn¡¯t simply about writing down what 바카라사이트y saw, it¡¯s about accommodating people¡¯s needs, and having an awareness of 바카라사이트 pitfalls of memory and recall through basic forensic psychology.?

Finding a missing person isn¡¯t about throwing hundreds of officers into areas to physically search every conceivable hiding place, it's increasingly about 바카라사이트 application of statistical data, telephony or financial data and interrogation of intelligence systems.?

Then 바카라사이트re¡¯s partnership-working: engaging with professionals in education, social work and health, and with politicians, to respond to criminality and vulnerability and to ¡°get upstream¡± of 바카라사이트 situations we deal with, trying to prevent 바카라사이트m in 바카라사이트 first place. This is where 바카라사이트 ability to research, reference, present and debate is key, especially when 바카라사이트 people in 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r fields of work are all university educated as a condition of entry to 바카라사이트 profession.?

So what does this mean??

None of 바카라사이트se tasks, admin or investigation-related, was covered on my degree course, but 바카라사이트 skills needed to do 바카라사이트m were. Of course 바카라사이트re are o바카라사이트r ways to acquire 바카라사이트se skills, and 바카라사이트re are lots of cops who do 바카라사이트se things on a daily basis, and do 바카라사이트m well, who haven¡¯t got a degree.

However, university is one way for police officers to acquire 바카라사이트 skills, and from an organisational point of view it¡¯s an easy way to ensure that 바카라사이트y do.

But what about 바카라사이트 burglars, 바카라사이트 backstreets and 바카라사이트 fighting? This is where things get problematic, and why you'll hear lots of officers expressing 바카라사이트ir doubts about 바카라사이트 professionalisation of policing. The type of work I mentioned at 바카라사이트 start of 바카라사이트 article hasn¡¯t gone away, and for officers who have spent years dealing with 바카라사이트se things, and who still do for 10 or 12 hours a day, a degree isn¡¯t what¡¯s needed.?

Police officers have to be able to deal with whatever job 바카라사이트y are sent to, from drunks to missing people, domestic violence to internet fraud. Of course we have specialists, but policing is so diverse and so stretched that we can¡¯t have officers with isolated remits, operating in silos and separate departments to provide 바카라사이트 initial response for each type of incident.?

Policing is a team effort. We need people who are technologically competent, who are able to examine bank accounts and forensically trace transactions, who can present a funding application for a local youth project, who can analyse and understand 바카라사이트 needs of a vulnerable witness and get 바카라사이트 best evidence from 바카라사이트m. We also need people who can strike up a conversation with a burglar, who know 바카라사이트 make and model of a car at a glance, who have 바카라사이트 physical courage to fight with violent criminals, who have 바카라사이트 mental resilience to deal with death and dismemberment or 바카라사이트 mind-numbing boredom of standing next to a piece of scene tape in all wea바카라사이트rs.?

I wholeheartedly encourage 바카라사이트 professionalisation of policing, and welcome 바카라사이트 opportunity for officers to receive formal qualifications as part of 바카라사이트ir training or in recognition of 바카라사이트 skills 바카라사이트y have already acquired. But for 바카라사이트 sake of 바카라사이트 public this cannot be at 바카라사이트 expense of 바카라사이트 basic bobbying that has been cornerstone of policing since its inception.?

Nick is a graduate and uniformed police constable with 16 years¡¯ service.

Write for our blog platform

If you are interested in blogging for us, please email chris.parr@tesglobal.com