NCJ Number
134634
Journal
CJ International Volume: 7 Issue: 6 Dated: (November-December 1991) Pages: 11-17
Date Published
1991
Length
7 pages
Annotation
Two characteristics of the British police service determine the form in which officer training is provided. The first factor is the tripartite nature of police organizations in which autonomous forces are directed by chief officers of police who are in turn selected and accountable to local police authorities and the Home Secretary at the Federal level. The second factor is that, for the past 50 years, the police service has provided its leadership from within its own ranks.
Abstract
In Britain, police training is part of a cumulative process which begins at the constable level and is geared to a national career development strategy. Career development, which is both horizontal and vertical, benefits individual officers, the police force, and the entire community; its purpose is to ensure the best possible police service for the public. But to enable officers to reach the top ranks within the 30-year career span, the potential for senior officers must be identified at the earliest possible stage. Police training in Britain is targeted to specific needs; new recruits are provided with basic, practical training alongside work experience under supervision. The national Police Staff College, at Bramshill, offers command courses at the junior, intermediate, and senior levels as well as a chief police officer course. The Special Course was designed to develop young officers who have been specially selected for accelerated promotion. The contributions of the College to the quality of police are maximized through a carousel program of courses in which the program is periodically modified and each force is given an allocation of units to be spent in the way it deems most effective. Greater emphasis is being placed on the training of European police officers; British police are sent to colleges in other countries with a view toward integrating policing throughout Europe.