08.03.2006
Sussex Police officers reporting for duty from 3 April will be leaving their helmets at home in favour of a notebook and pen as training for all new recruits moves to the University of Brighton.
Up to 60 police recruits at a time will be taking a foundation certificate in police studies in what is the most dramatic and exciting change in the way that police officers have received their initial training in Sussex for more than half a century. Officers will be trained at the university's Falmer and Eastbourne campuses and at the University of Chichester's Bognor campus.
The HMIC (Her Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary) report 'Training
Matters', published in January 2002, concluded that the current
probationer training system needed to be developed, in order to meet
the challenges of policing in the 21st century. In response the
new student officer course was devised and will be provided by the university.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Julian Crampton (left) is seen here with Deputy Chief Constable Geoff Williams.
As students of the university, all officers will work towards achieving a recognised qualification in policing, as forces across the country aim to professionalise the police service to ensure it is responsive to their local communities.
Through the new student officer course recruits will undertake both campus and tutor led community based training, organised around five phases, before taking up independent patrol at the end of nearly a year of initial training. The amount of time students spend gaining real experience with a police tutor also increases - representing a greater investment in probationers' development required to achieve the National Occupational Standards.
Sussex Police and the university will make sure that the new student officers undertake a wide range of community placements as part of their training. The organisations being targeted are all community based and can offer learning in relation to those parts of society with which new officers may not have come into contact, such as school exclusion units, minority groups, faith based organisations, soup kitchens, gay community support groups or housing groups working on troubled estates.
"The decision of the Home Office to give responsibility for probationer training to individual forces has allowed us to design training focused on the needs of the communities we serve," said Deputy Chief Constable Geoff Williams.
"There are real benefits in conducting initial police training locally, both to our officers who will receive modern, flexible training and to the educational establishments in terms of new business and fostering important interaction with the police."
"Community placements and experiencing life as a university student will expand student officers' horizons and help to build mutual trust and confidence. Collaboration with the university will also enable officers to achieve a variety of qualifications including a foundation certificate and foundation degree in police studies. The training is increasingly flexible and will also allow offices to specialise earlier."
"This is a very exciting initiative and we are pleased to be partners in delivering such a vital service that affects all our lives,"said Vice-Chancellor Professor Julian Crampton. "It demonstrates how the University of Brighton works closely with employers to raise the quality, level and relevance of the training they provide. The university will now help the police train its new recruits to the highest standards."
The police will provide the traditional elements of recruit training, the law and aspects of contemporary policing. The university will bring expertise in applied criminology, psychology and sociology to ensure that future officers have a broad insight into issues facing society at large.
Prior to the introduction of the student officer course all probationer constables received their foundation training at a regional centre. One of the drawbacks of that system was that regional centres served several forces with class trainers drawn from those forces. By their very nature those establishments tended to isolate probationers from the communities they served.
If you would like to interview any of the new students at any of the campuses on or after April 3, or their teachers or tutors contact:
University of Brighton: Rebecca Haroutunian on 01273 643022
Sussex Police:
Jill Pedersen on 01273 404174
University of Chichester: Graham Sherlock
on 01243 816464
Contact: Marketing and Communications, University of Brighton, 01273 643022
