Improvements to police officer training

New proposals for improving initial police officer training have been recently announced.

The Initial Police Learning and Development Programme (IPLDP), which replaced Foundation Training for all Police Forces in England and Wales in April 2006, was identified in the Flanagan Report as being too bureaucratic, and so, following a review, several improvements are now being introduced.

The proposals include: -

• Replacement of NVQ level 3 and 4 with a Single Minimum Qualification

• Reducing the number of externally accredited National Occupational Standards from 22 to 10

• Removing the burden of assessment from the operational environment to the training and tutoring environment

• Removing the duplication of assessment and the requirement for assessors to be A1
assessor qualified

ACC Wendy Walker of Lancashire Constabulary, Chair of the IPLDP Central Authority said, "It was essential that any new qualification and assessment processes for IPLDP were simplified, pragmatic and relevant to the police service.

"The new proposals remove the majority of the externally accredited assessment, and it is this assessment that created the unnecessary bureaucracy. By removing over assessment, we are able to focus on key standards of initial training and reduce the associated paperwork and bureaucracy. Forces will also be able to move the focus of the remaining assessment
to the tutoring phase, removing the burden on front line officers".

Work is currently being undertaken by the NPIA and IPLDP Central Authority, to ensure the new qualification and supporting processes will be ready by the end of 2009, and Forces will be able to migrate to the new structure early in 2010.

The IPLDP Improvement Strategy also looks at addressing the involvement of Universities and Colleges within initial police recruitment.