The Home Office is scrapping its mandatory requirement for police officer recruits to study for a degree-level qualification if they don’t already hold one.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman confirmed that she will no longer be phasing out the non-degree entry route into the job, in a speech to chief officers and Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) last week.
She said: “To build public confidence, we must draw from the widest possible pool of talent across all sections of society. Whilst I have heard some good things about the new entry routes, such as better retention of officers who feel better equipped to do the job, I have also heard from many of you that there is a need for more flexibility to ensure broad access to a policing career.
“So, I have asked the [College of Policing] to build on their work by considering options for a new non-degree entry route, to deliver officers of the highest calibre, which will complement the existing framework. In the meantime, the current transitional non degree entry route will be kept open.”
Ms Braverman added: “Our police force must be open to those who do not have a degree or want one.”
Her comments came after 16 PCCs signed a letter warning that a three-year programme of study was putting off older recruits and the non-academically minded from applying to become police officers, thereby making it more difficult for the Government to achieve its goal of a 20,000-officer uplift.
The letter added that up to 10 per cent of new officers are ‘stuck in classrooms’ rather being out on the frontline policing the streets.
Staffordshire Police Federation chair Lee Robinson said the decision was a victory for common sense.
“The PCCs were spot on with their comments. We have always said that you do not need a degree to be a good police officer and to make it mandatory for recruits to study for up-to three years was always likely to put off many of the people we want, such as those older, experienced people thinking of switching careers into policing,” he explained.
“The Federation campaigned for the uplift to police numbers, and we want it to succeed, but if recruits are stuck in classrooms, we are no better off in the here and now. We need to get recruits trained up as quickly as possible and out on the beat where they are needed and will make the difference.
“But it’s also important that existing officers have access to additional training and education and they should be given access to obtain a degree once they are in the job and settled, instead of it being a requirement to join.”
