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.<\/p>\n
The Government\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
It also emerged that many new-in-role officers were applying to become tutor constables due to a shortage in interested experienced officers.<\/p>\n
South Yorkshire Police Federation Chair Steve Kent said it was a big problem.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cIn some respects this is the result of a positive thing, that we\u2019re getting so many people through the door, which can\u2019t come soon enough \u2013 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut on the flip side, they\u2019re coming through in such high numbers that there\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cFind 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\u2019s absolutely right that tutors get the training and tools they need.\u201d<\/p>\n
PFEW Professional Development Lead Dave Bamber commented: \u201cWe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
He continued: \u201cThe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
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