Abstract
The police professionalisation movement has resulted in the development of new pathways of training and education for new recruits. Guided by the College of Policing Police Education Qualifying Framework, the new models involve close collaboration with higher education institutes on programmes of intense study and practical skills learning. This chapter explores the historical development of policing and why it is only in recent years that the motivation to align its professional recognition with other occupations already accredited through undergraduate and postgraduate study, such as in Law or Medicine. It explores the definition of ‘professional’, the re-evaluation of policing as a ‘professional’ occupation and some of the cultural obstacles to its success. The chapter finally considers the value of higher education as part of the new police training, looking at the benefits of conceptualising crime, criminality and criminal justice practice to the decision-making of the front-line officer.
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Notes
- 1.
Credit to Julian Constable for suggesting this distinction in social media correspondence with the author (Greig-Midlane).
- 2.
‘What Works’ collates and shares research evidence on crime reduction and supports its use in policing practice. It is part of a network of What Works Centres created to provide robust and comprehensive evidence that will guide decision-making on public spending (CoP, 2021a). For example, ‘What Works’ in domestic burglary will be a series of suggestions to Police Forces about how they might apply an evidence-based approach to that crime type.
- 3.
The feelings towards the less action-packed, non-crime focused tasks that are a normal part of policing and a potentially important part of community policing activities.
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Greig-Midlane, J., Harris, M. (2023). A Climate of Change. In: Eason, A. (eds) A Police Officer’s Guide to Academic Research . Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-19286-9_2
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