IPLDP providing better officers and community engagement

IPLDP places high quality and consistent initial police training in the heart of communities writes Martin Richards, Wiltshire Chief Constable and ACPO lead on IPLDP.

The Initial Police Learning and Development Programme was established in January 2004 following the thematic report on probationer training, Training Matters, by Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary (HMIC).

The overarching aim of the programme is to provide appropriately qualified and competent police officers able to face the challenges presented by modern communities. Student officers are expected to achieve 22 National Occupational Standards (NOS) incorporating those relating to the Professionalising Investigation Programme (PIP), working towards a single national qualification for patrol officers.

The National Occupational Standards set a national curriculum based on the learning and development requirements for probationers. The curriculum is being adopted across all UK forces and ensures consistency, whilst allowing for individual learning styles and previous qualifications and experience. A robust quality assurance framework has been developed by Centrex, who provide the executive function of the IPLDP Central Authority. This will ensure that all forces meet the nationally set standards.

In May 2006 the doors to Centrex-run police training centres will close and new recruits will begin receiving foundation training at community-based Professional Development Units. Training provided in-force, owned by forces. Student officers will continue to receive classroom-centred learning on essential law knowledge and procedures but will train and rehearse practical skills within communities using volunteer role-players.

There is a danger that force restructures will continue to dominate the debate around police reform when the Service should be equally committed to Citizen-focused, Neighbourhood Policing and Workforce Modernisation. IPLDP provides a critical foundation for these pillars of change.

As the programme is rolled out across the UK, feedback from Basic Command Units (BCU) commanders is encouraging. Placing new recruits in communities and allowing them simultaneously to integrate with the Service and the neighbourhoods they serve, assists in providing increased visibility, genuine community engagement and transparency in police training.

C/Superintendent Steve Dug-more, divisional commander at Sutton Coldfield is very positive about a number of benefits IPLDP brings to his area. Whilst he stresses the contribution of student officers is only ‘part of the package’ in terms of community engagement, he is delighted at the quality of officers reaching the end of the initial training period. Pre-enrolment seminars involving families, attestations conducted alongside long service and good conduct ceremonies and the reintroduction of community attachments has brought recruits much closer to the community from day one of their police careers.

“We ensure that officers meet senior colleagues and managers at these very early stages of their careers, which assists in engaging them in an operational environment immediately and provides visibility for our sector inspectors and management teams”

C/Supt. Dugmore is happy to admit that he met with some initial resistance from his own sector inspectors. Now the benefits of the programme, the quality of the recruits and its ability to assist in community engagement are becoming clearer he reports a very positive change of attitude. He has even had one inspector offering scarce resources to support the ‘Protective Learning Environment’ set up to develop new recruits.

“Feedback from the community speaks volumes and my post bag keeps me in touch with the effectiveness of measures in Sutton Coldfield to improve community engagement. IPLDP and continuous professional development of all of our staff is a key part of that package.”

David Williams, Director of Personnel at West Midlands Police said: “The overall reaction from Basic Command Unit (BCU) Commanders has been extremely posi