Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) calls to make Protected Learning Time (PLT) accessible to every police officer have been backed by the Staffordshire branch.
The Federation wants forces to ensure officers are always given the proper training they require either within rank or in preparation for promotion.
And national chair Steve Hartshorn said the need for licence to practise would be negated if PLT was formally adopted by the National Police Chiefs’ Council and College of Policing.
His views were echoed by Staffordshire Police Federation chair Phil Jones.
He said: “Officer training should always be a top priority. We recognise it is and essential factor in the professional development of our members and as such it is something we push hard for and take very seriously.
“But we feel very strongly that our members are given time during working hours to fulfill their training commitments and complete their assessments.
“They should not be expected to do it in their own time or on their rest days so the Force should make sure sufficient time is allocated as part of the working day.
“Ideally, we should aim to create a culture of learning within the Force by making sure training is included and accepted as part of the regular workflow.
“I think this would be beneficial for officer wellbeing, promote good work-life balance and encourage 0fficers who might otherwise neglect their training.”
The Federation said it wanted to see PLT encouraged across all ranks as an investment in motivating and developing competent and professional officers. This would also highlight areas that required more training while addressing any deficiencies identified in the officers’ performance reviews, it said.
Training and development programmes would also help officers discover areas in which they could use additional educational opportunities and support.
PFEW said PLT would in turn promote uniformity of work processes, increase productivity and performance, therefore providing a better workplace environment.
National learning and development lead Dave Bamber, who has been directly involved in developing this guidance, said: “To genuinely invest in our people, we must ensure training and development is provided by every force.
“PLT for student officer training should be guaranteed for frontline officers, to ensure they’re equipped to handle scenarios professionally and appropriately when delivering our vital service to the public.
“Learning time is essential for young in-service officers and it is grossly unfair to expect them to perform their duties with the pressure of learning outside of their working hours affecting their quality of life.
“It would also be remiss not to mention that PLT is part of the funding model for student officers.”
