Calls for Protected Learning Time for officers

6 May 2022

West Midlands Police Federation chair Rich Cooke is backing calls to make Protected Learning Time (PLT) accessible to every police officer.

Rich said he was 100 percent behind the Police Federation of England and Wales’ (PFEW) bid to ensure forces always give their officers the training they require either within rank or in preparation for promotion.

And he said he shared national chair Steve Hartshorn’s view that the need for licence to practise would be negated if PLT was formally adopted by the National Police Chiefs’ Council and College of Policing.

Rich said: “We fully support and would welcome any initiatives designed to bring improvements to officer training.

“It is rightly seen as an essential part of a police officer’s professional development and should always be treated as a top priority.

“For that reason it is incredibly important that our members are given the appropriate time and space to properly fulfill their training commitments and complete their assessments.

“It would be totally unreasonable to expect them to use their own free time or rest days as training days and in a perfect world Forces should try to build a proactive learning culture in which the training of their officers is encouraged.”

The Federation said it wanted to see PLT encouraged across all ranks as an investment in motivating and developing competent and professional officers.

This would also highlight areas that required more training while addressing any deficiencies identified in the officer’s performance reviews, it said.

Training and development programmes would also help officers discover areas in which they could use additional educational opportunities and support.

The Federation said PLT would in turn promote uniformity of work processes, increase productivity and performance, therefore providing a better workplace environment.

National learning and development lead Dave Bamber, who has been directly involved in developing this guidance, said: “To genuinely invest in our people, we must ensure training and development is provided by every force.

“PLT for student officer training should be guaranteed for frontline officers, to ensure they’re equipped to handle scenarios professionally and appropriately when delivering our vital service to the public.

“Learning time is essential for young in-service officers and it is grossly unfair to expect them to perform their duties with the pressure of learning outside of their working hours affecting their quality of life.

“It would also be remiss not to mention that PLT is part of the funding model for student officers.”