Records set on strategic command course

The Strategic Command Course (SCC) concluded last week with the biggest ever number of participants and a 100 per cent pass rate.

Sixty seven senior police officers and staff returned to their forces having completed the 2008/9 course designed to prepare them for chief officer roles.

The SCC is an annual course on which attendance is mandatory to gain promotion to an assistant chief constable role. A record number of participants attended this year’s course, including five police staff members and one police officer each from the French Gendarmerie Nationale, Garda Siochana, Royal Gibraltar Police, Civil Nuclear Constabulary and the RAF Police.

There are expected to be a large number of vacancies at assistant chief constable rank during this year – currently 22 in England and Wales and nine in Scotland before March. However, the competition for places will be greater with the substantial increase in number of potential applicants resulting from the course, going some way to allay the concerns of police authorities that the pool of applicants for chief officer posts is “too small”.

Angela O’Connor, chief people officer at the National Policing Improvement Agency, said it was right that the occasion marked a significant moment for those taking part, their families but also for the police service.

“The Policing Green Paper put a lot of emphasis on leadership and we are absolutely delighted to see a lot of the work in this area over the last 15 months being integrated into the SCC, particularly around the three domains of leadership,” she said.

Peter Fahy, director of the SCC, said: “This is a special generation of police officer and staff leaders, who have come through a particularly challenging time and with great respect to colleagues from my generation, arguably a more difficult time than we had.”

He said the course had stretched participants, including input from 44 chief constables, police authorities, the Home Secretary and Policing Minister, exercises and debates – plus completing presentations to senior policing figures that have resulted in essays on major issues facing policing today. These have been externally marked by the University of Surrey and will be published in a special edition of Police Professional.

“We have had lots of debate about what the future of policing will be,” said Mr Fahy. “I can only say the future is on this course, the next generation of senior officers offers tremendous hope for the future. There is a huge amount of talent; top quality individuals that have valuable experience to build on, personable abilities and tremendous vision for the future.”

Policing Minister Vernon Coaker presented graduation certificates after addressing the course.

“You can say with pride that you demonstrate that in communities, in the areas you represent, you are determined to make a difference,” he said.

“It is critical that leadership in policing is continually developing to take on new and emerging demands.

“We in government recognise the importance of police leadership in delivering to the public, particularly as we move to less reliance on top-down targets and put more emphasis on good local management.

“You, as leaders in policing will ensure there is a capability to respond to the complex challenges and ensure safer communities and reduce the fear of crime.”