POLICE reform will make the service \u201ca more attractive profession\u201d and \u201cmore representative of the people it serves\u201d the police minister has said.<\/p>\n
In a speech around modernisation and the College of Policing, Damian Green said all the \u201ctransformational elements\u201d of the Government\u2019s police reform programme \u201cwill help produce a revolution in the way policing is delivered.\u201d\u00a0He said he wanted the College of Policing \u201cto build a profession that is truly attractive to all.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Mr Green, an MP for Ashford in Kent, said: \u201cIn my constituency duties I am often called upon to speak to students in Years 12 and 13. In these discussions, we sometimes talk about their hopes for the future. In among the usual desires to be a barrister, a doctor, or, even sometimes, a politician, it would be nice to hear more of them speak of their hopes to become a detective, or a chief constable?\u201d<\/p>\n
He said \u201centry to the police is clearly not keeping pace with changes to the country\u2019s education patterns\u201d although he did not say that all new police recruits should require a degree.<\/p>\n
Mr Green, speaking on Wednesday 16 October at the College of Policing\u2019s inaugural conference, said: \u201cI would never argue for a degree-level entry to be introduced to policing, but I want the college to turn it into a career that is more attractive to the right sort of graduates.<\/p>\n
\u201cPolicing should be regarded as one of the great professions, alongside those of the law and medicine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Green said the \u201cmost important constituent parts of the police force are, of course, the 200,000 police officers, PCSOs, specials and police staff that make up its ranks.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cFor our structural reforms to reach the heights of which we think they are capable, we need those officers to come along for the ride, to be a part of the continuous flow of improvement, and, at the risk of extending the metaphor, to help in its navigation.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the event in Ryton, the minister said that \u201chaving a police force that more accurately represents the people it serves can only strengthen the link between officer and civilian and that can only strengthen policing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Speaking about police ethics and integrity, he added: \u201cThe vast majority of police officers do operate honestly; we should also not forget that the police do a dangerous job and put their lives on the line for the public.\u201d<\/p>\n