University launches pioneering policing degree in Burnley
Thursday, 20 May, 2010
In collaboration with police forces across the region, the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) is to launch a Foundation Degree in Policing at its Burnley Campus.
The course, which is believed to be the first of its kind in the UK, will see up to 60 students enrol for a September 2010 start. The programme is intended for students who wish to pursue a career with the Police, either as a uniformed officer or as a member of police staff.
Applicants will be given the opportunity to apply for membership as a Special Constable of Greater Manchester Police, British Transport Police or the Lancashire Constabulary.
Led by UCLan's School of Forensic and Investigative Science, the course was first introduced at the Preston campus in 2007 in partnership with Lancashire Constabulary and, on the back of the continued success of the University's BSc (Hons) Police and Criminal Investigation degree course.
Course Leader Bob Helm, said: "The University is delighted to be offering this highly popular and successful course at its Burnley campus.
"The programme is taught by current and former police officers and enables students to gain an academic qualification that mixes theory with the key, practical skills needed for entry into the police force. These skills are developed in the work place and enable students to gain genuine operational experience and development."
The course has been awarded Skillsmark status by the UK Skills Council and was recently recognised with the 'North West Training Award for Partnership & Collaboration' due to the successful partnership with Lancashire Constabulary at the National Training Awards run by UK Skills. The development at Burnley allows this partnership to extend to Greater Manchester Police and British Transport Police.
Bob Helm continued: "We are hoping that students enrolled on our Burnley programme will be as successful as their Preston-based counterparts.
"Students from the first cohort have not only provided 15,000 hours as special constables during their studies, but 10 are now regular officers patrolling the streets of Lancashire. Others await vacancies as Police Community Support Officers, fulfilling the University's mission to embed employability into learning."
Further course information
The Foundation Degree in Policing is designed to deliver the National Curriculum for Police recruits and is based around the current Initial Police Learning and Development Programme that all new Police recruits have to complete.
To achieve a Foundation Degree in Policing, students must pass twelve modules over the two years of the course. Some of the modules are available in a work-based mode and are designed to be completed whilst serving with the Special Constabulary based in Lancashire, Greater Manchester or the British Transport Police in the North West, with alternative modules available for those who are not eligible to join the Special Constabulary.
During the first year of the foundation degree students will study five compulsory modules covering quality policing, personal development, ethics and diversity in policing, evidence and procedure and police powers and the Police and Criminal Evidence Act. Students who are appointed to the Special Constabulary will also cover preparation for public service, where they will study health and safety, conflict resolution and defensive tactics. Those students who are not eligible to join the Special Constabulary will undertake an alternative module that covers aspects of community service.
The second year comprises another five compulsory modules covering issues such as public protection, signal crimes and disorders, investigative skills and criminal justice and road policing. Students who are appointed to the Special Constabulary will also take a double module in operational policing whilst those not eligible will take a module that addresses police performance issues.
For further information on about the course please visit:
http://www.uclan.ac.uk/information/courses/fdsc_policing.php
