Federation on degrees: Police officers do not need a degree to do a good job

20 July 2021

Police officers do not need a degree to do a good job, the Chairman of Humberside Police Federation has said. 

Lee Sims said: “I know a lot of really good officers of all ranks who don’t have a degree. And I know people with a university degree who are just as good.

“Yes it is good to have a mix, but life experience is just as important as academic achievement. Somebody could come from the army with no degree and be just as good as someone with one.” 

The College of Policing wants all recruits to gain a degree before joining the force – or to gain one on the job.

Conservative Police and Crime Commissioner Marc Jones – the new PCC head – has urged Home Secretary Priti Patel to scrap plans for graduate-only police recruits and says ex-soldiers will be better than university leavers with 'expressive dance' degrees.

His comments come after Nick Adderley, Chief Constable of Northamptonshire Constabulary, criticised the all-graduate recruit plans.

CC Adderley said police recruits joining after university are not prepared to work nights or weekends and are 'sadly lacking' in life experience.

Lee listed life skills, the ability to work well in a team, learning to take orders and the ability to take on shift work as key attributes needed by police officers - none of which need to be gained at university.

He added: “Good police officers know how to speak to people and how to deal with people. One of the main things is being able to communicate - that’s really important.”

He said: “It worries me that we are going to get lots of people on this scheme and that we may be putting too much pressure on them to pass. They are being expected to work in their own time, they are going to be taken away from core policing skills to go off on courses.

“I wouldn’t like to think of them doing four twelve-hour shifts in a row, only to spend their days off working in their spare time when they should be resting and recuperating.  

“There will be lots of people who won’t be able to cope with those pressures, worries and stress on top of an already stressful job.” 

The plans to recruit more officers with degrees would also affect diversity, he added: “We should have police officers that represent our community. And if everyone has to have a degree - is that representative? There is certainly a place for real academic knowledge within the police service, but it should certainly not be a prerequisite for every single police officer.” 

Bernie O’Reilly, interim CEO of the College of Policing, said: 'Policing has changed significantly in recent years and the new training has been created to reflect the challenges officers face and recognise the complex nature of the job.

'The public deserves highly trained, highly skilled officers that can protect them from all crime types, from domestic violence and digital fraud, through to organised crime and modern slavery, as well as protecting vulnerable people.”

The College of Policing added that the new training scheme had already been adopted by 33 forces.