“Direct entry – is it really the way forward?”

SOUTH Yorkshire Police has begun its search for the force’s first direct entry inspectors – which could be a costly process that does not deliver the value for money promised.

That’s the warning from South Yorkshire Police Federation after it was announced the force is one of around 20 in England and Wales that has advertised for Inspectors to join the service from industries outside policing.

The Federation said that parallels may be drawn from the experiences and learning as a result of the direct entry Superintendents recruitment. However, the two ranks are not comparable.

The successful inspector applicants will undergo two years of intensive police training before starting their roles as operational leaders.

The application window for the 2017 Direct Entry Inspector programme is now open until Friday, 10 March, meaning Inspectors could be in post by the end of the year.

But Zuleika Payne, Chair of South Yorkshire Police Federation, warned that the process could be costly, and not deliver the value for money promised.

Zuleika said: “As a direct entrant, you don’t have the grounding that you would as a recruit who has served a probationary period – two years as a student officer building that rapport, networking, and getting a thorough understanding of the bread and butter of policing. Ordinarily, further years would be served at the rank of Sergeant and Inspector. By this time individuals have a proven track record to support their promotion.”

And she warned that applicants may not only lack these experiences but also building relations within the community while becoming established as a Police officer.

It is important to attract talent into the organisation but again, the process must be fair to the candidate. Is there not enough talent with South Yorkshire Police? Inspectors are regarded as ‘middle management’ so this is a very different scenario to the direct entry Superintendents who form part a higher management structure.

“It is very new – it has never been done before and there is a school of thought out there that the reason it has never been done before is because it won’t work. The concern is that you run the risk that it devalues what we do, because policing is incredibly unique. We are not employees, we are holders of office and with our terms and conditions of working it’s unlike any other line of employment.”

Zuleika added that – if they become members – the Federation would support any direct entry inspectors that joined the force