LIFE experience is more important for police officers than having a degree, the Chairman of South Yorkshire Police Federation has said.<\/p>\n
Plans proposed by the College of Policing in November said that all new police officers in England and Wales could require a university-level qualification in future. There is no service-wide minimum qualification for new police officers, but the college says the job is now of “degree-level complexity\u201d.<\/p>\n
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It is consulting on the plans, which if approved could run as a pilot in 2017 and be fully adopted by 2019.<\/p>\n
But Neil Bowles, Chairman of South Yorkshire Police Federation, said: \u201cThe role of policing is a people business, you need to know how to deal with people, speak to people, and you only get that from life experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cLook at nursing, what does having a degree in nursing actually benefit the NHS and caring of patients? I don\u2019t think it does.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Bowles, who has a degree in economics, said: \u201cI\u2019ve got a degree and I\u2019ve managed to get through two promotions, but it didn\u2019t help me actually do the role of policing.\u201d<\/p>\n
So why is the degree plan being discussed?<\/p>\n
Mr Bowles added: \u201cIt\u2019s due to the fact that there is a problem with police training and skills accreditation. I think they need to come up with some sort of system that skills accreditation is interchangeable between the force and, if they want, outside the force, rather than actually calling it a degree.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has been debated for a long time, and I agree that training should be recognised for what it is and the skills you gain, but whether you should have a degree level in it or not, I don\u2019t think it\u2019s necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n
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