Federation welcomes fresh direction after Home Office climbdown over degrees

15 November 2022

West Midlands Police Federation chair Rich Cooke has welcomed a change in direction at the Home Office which will mean all officer recruits will no longer be required to complete a degree level qualification.

Rich said: “I am pleased that the Home Secretary has listened to our concerns and is no longer going to close down the non-traditional route into the police service, which had been threatened.

“But Ms Braverman now needs to work urgently with the College of Policing to make this a reality. It also raises the spectre of what to do with potentially hundreds of operationally competent student cops who face dismissal because they have not passed the academic requirements of their training. They are stressed and anxious. That could be ended with reassurances given now.

“This is the right thing to do because the requirement that every new recruit should spend three years studying for the equivalent of a degree deterred older, experienced recruits, people who are considering a change of career. It also put off the non-academically minded who might otherwise make fine officers.

“Many of the skills you need to be an effective police officer are not taught through a degree course. Common sense, good communication skills, the ability to talk to people from all walks of life tend to be just part of who you are rather than something you are taught.”

The Federation has always maintained that it should not be necessary to hold a degree to be a good police officer.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman has now told Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) and senior officers: “Our police force must be open to those who do not have a degree or want one. To build public confidence, we must draw from the widest possible pool of talent across all sections of society.

“So, I have asked the college to build on their work by considering options for a new non-degree entry route, to deliver officers of the highest calibre, which will complement the existing framework. In the meantime, the current transitional non degree entry route will be kept open.”

Sixteen PCCs had signed a letter to the Home Secretary warning that up to 10 per cent of new officers are stuck in classrooms rather on the frontlines. They also warned that a three-year programme of study was likely to deter older recruits or the non-academically minded from applying, endangering the uplift.

Rich added: “If the Government’s Police Uplift Programme is to be judged as a success, then the public needs to see criminals being arrested and an increased police presence on the frontline. This cannot happen while one in ten new recruits are stuck away from this completing academic study.”

“I hope this change in direction from the Home Office will mean we can welcome the widest possible pool of talent, which has to be good for the policing and the public.”