New training programmes for London’s police recruits underway
The first cohort of 196 new officer recruits have been welcomed onto the Metropolitan Police Service’s (MPS) new Police Education Qualification Framework (PEQF) training programmes.
The new programmes have been developed in partnership with Babcock and four London-based universities – Anglia Ruskin University, Brunel University London, University of East London and University of West London.
Babcock, which was selected as one of the MPS’s learning partners in 2019, said the new recruitment training programmes are based on the National Police Curriculum, providing new recruits with “the knowledge and skills police officers demonstrate every day”. The programmes, which launched at the end of last month, are independently accredited, more formally recognising policing as a profession, and providing the opportunity to ‘earn while you learn’.
The Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship (PCDA) will award recruits a BSc (hons) degree in Professional Policing Practice upon successfully completing all elements of the programme. The Degree-Holders Entry Programme (DHEP), which also includes a detective route, is for those already holding a degree, and will see them gain a Graduate Diploma in Policing on completion.
John Davies, Babcock’s chief executive officer (Land), said: “The successful mobilisation of this new training programme is a result of the excellent collaboration between the Met, our university partners and Babcock. We are proud of the role we play in preparing the next generation of police officers.”