Chair's Blog: Will a degree entry officer be more professional?

6 August 2019

There’s been plenty of debate about the Policing Education Qualifications Framework and lots of talk about whether police officers need a degree to do their jobs.

As some of you may know the force is starting to recruit under the PEQF Framework in January 2020. It means there will be a number of routes into the police, those with degrees already and those who will gain a degree over their first three years.

One worry I have is the about the time away from their frontline work officers who need to complete their degree will take. What impact will this have on their colleagues back on shift?

Are we also potentially missing out on candidates if they feel they are not academic enough? They could have experience which would be an asset to the Surrey force. Serving officers also need to be supported in relevant Continued Professional Development too.

PEQF is about professionalising the police. In my view, police officers are professional. They are scrutinised to a higher level and need to abide by the standards of professional behaviour both on and off duty and the Codes of Ethics. Will a degree entry officer or PEQF officer be more professionalised?