POLICING must reflect the diverse communities it serves, says South Yorkshire Police Federation after a national newspaper claimed the service is \u2018dumbing down\u2019 its entry requirements.<\/p>\n
The Mail on Sunday claimed forces across the country are set to ditch fast track graduate schemes and on-the-job police degrees to focus on attracting traditional \u2018blue-collar\u2019 recruits.<\/p>\n
The newspaper said the service is struggling to find enough potential new officers to fulfil the Government’s pledge to put 20,000 officers back on the beat.<\/p>\n
The College of Policing has rebuffed the article.<\/p>\n
And South Yorkshire Police Federation Chairman Steve Kent said policing has to mirror its communities.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cWe police our society, and it should be reflective of that.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t have a degree. I chose not to take a degree before going to the police even though I could have done.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would argue that skills that people learn in frontline employment as opposed to university can be just as valuable in preparing you for life as a police officer.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, I\u2019m firmly against there being a mandatory degree requirement to join the police because that\u2019s not what we\u2019re about. Yes, we should encourage officers with a degree, of course, but we need to have a mixture.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pay and conditions may well put off university graduates from applying to be officers anyway, Steve said, especially given how much debt they have when they finish their degrees.<\/p>\n
He explained: \u201cI think the service is going to have to revisit this anyway because with the pay as it is, it\u2019s not necessarily an attractive job for people coming out of university with \u00a320-\u00a330,000 worth of debt.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to have to look at it one way or another to get those people through the door. I\u2019m involved in some of the candidate interviews they\u2019re sending, and some of the best people I\u2019ve spoken to haven\u2019t got degrees.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s about life experience \u2013 a fast food restaurant worker will have dealt with overnight disorder, customer complaints. Skills like that are probably as good as any for people coming into the policing world.\u201d<\/p>\n