Failings In Training Of New Officers

FORCES need to urgently look at the training police tutors are receiving to cope with the increased demand of student officers, South Yorkshire Police Federation has said.

The Government’s uplift programme to recruit an extra 20,000 officers is underway, but new research from the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) has found failings in the system to train these new intakes.

In four out of the 28 forces who responded to the PFEW survey, no formal training is offered to tutor constables prior to training recruits, while a quarter of respondents indicated tutor training in their force lasted just one day.

It also emerged that many new-in-role officers were applying to become tutor constables due to a shortage in interested experienced officers.

South Yorkshire Police Federation Chair Steve Kent said it was a big problem.

He said: “In some respects this is the result of a positive thing, that we’re getting so many people through the door, which can’t come soon enough – we need those boots on the ground, trained and experienced enough to do the job. That will relieve the pressure on our officers in all departments.

“But on the flip side, they’re coming through in such high numbers that there’s nowhere near enough specially trained officers to tutor them, so it is a real concern. Forces across the country need to get enough training put out. That needs to be looked at quite urgently.

“Find officers who want to be involved in training, and who are motivated to do so, because we want the students to get the best training that they can get. It’s absolutely right that tutors get the training and tools they need.”

PFEW Professional Development Lead Dave Bamber commented: “We are deeply concerned about the lack of support and training for tutor constables and the negative impact this can have on both student officers, tutors, and ultimately members of the public.”

He continued: “The Federation has a seat in these discussions and will be pressing for the system to be urgently overhauled to better support all officers. We strongly suggest tutor constables should be substantive in rank and role as well as suitably trained and accredited. They should also be volunteers for the role and given time to develop and to perform the task appropriately.”