All new police officers in England and Wales will have to be educated to degree level from 2020

All new police officers in England and Wales will have to be educated to degree level from 2020, the College of Policing has announced.

It said the training would help address changes in crime-fighting.

Prospective officers can either complete a three-year "degree apprenticeship", a postgraduate conversion course or a degree.

The National Police Chiefs' Council said the changes would "help modernise the service".

'Patrolling online'
The college's Chief Constable Alex Marshall said the feeling was the nature of police work has changed significantly and officers were just as likely to be "patrolling online" as on the street.

"Cyber-enabled crime has increased," he said, "So has the need for officers and staff to investigate and gather intelligence online and via information technology."

He also said protecting vulnerable people has become a "high priority", with officers now spending more of their time working to prevent domestic abuse, monitor high-risk sex offenders and protect at-risk children.

Even investigating a pub fight - which used to mean interviewing the victim, perpetrator and the bar staff - now also extends to researching videos, pictures and comments published online.

But retired police officer Norman Brennan, who served 31 years in London and now campaigns for police protection, said degrees came "at the bottom of the priority list" for police.

He said: "The only degree a police officer needs is a degree of common sense - they'll learn on the job.

"The public don't care about police having degrees. They want someone competent, caring and capable."


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38319283


I agree with Norman.

What a load of crap...

"Degree apprenticeship"  ???

I'm guessing that will be the same as a diploma over here, and in many other places ?

Proper 3 and 4-year degrees should only be considered for people who want to advance into administration, and into specialty areas like forensics, criminology, profiling, etc.

Certificate level training should be adequate for probationary constables, with on the job and "inhouse" practical training much more important and relevant in the early years..

Another load of PC bollocks, a POLICE MAN LEARNS ON THE STREET !

The three years spent getting a useless degree could be spent getting people skills, which would be far more useful than a piece of paper.

More silly madness. No degree in the world will prepare you for the horror of sudden deaths, which usually involve some old person who's been liquefying away in steamy isolation for a few months, or the last gasps of a suicide, or telling someone their loved one has died, or calming down rowdy drunks.

LOL told you that you need a degree for any job now days

AND
People want police that know the laws, know the procedures, Know how to deal with distraught children, knows how to deal with the mentally ill non violently, have cultural and racial sensitivity training/skills, and a whole Bunch of other crap...

Like teachers the Job is NOT what it was 30 years ago the expectations are MUCH higher of people in the roll.