The College of Policing is a professional body for the
police
The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...
in
England and Wales
England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...
. It was established in 2012 to take over a number of training and development roles that were the responsibility of the
National Policing Improvement Agency
The National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) was a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom, established to support police by providing expertise in such areas as information technology, information sharing, and recruitment.
It was ...
(NPIA). The
National Police Library
The National Police Library in the United Kingdom is classed as a special library and research library. It is part of the College of Policing, funded by the Home Office. It is only accessible to current serving police and police staff in the U ...
was also transferred from the NPIA at that time. The college is an
arm's length body
A quango or QUANGO (less often QuANGO or QANGO) is an organisation to which a government has devolved power, but which is still partly controlled and/or financed by government bodies. The term was originally a shortening of "quasi-NGO", where NG ...
of the
Home Office.
The college is based in
Ryton-on-Dunsmore
Ryton-on-Dunsmore is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Rugby, Warwickshire, situated 5.5 miles (8.8 km) southeast of Coventry and 7.5 miles (12.1 km) west of Rugby, England. The 2001 Census recorded a population of 1,672 in the paris ...
,
Warwickshire
Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...
.
History
The creation of a new policing professional body was announced by the Home Secretary in December 2011. Representatives from the
Police Federation, the Superintendents' Association,
ACPO
The Association of Chief Police Officers of England, Wales and Northern Ireland (ACPO) was a not-for-profit private limited company that for many years led the development of policing practices in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Established ...
and UNISON worked with the Home Office to create the college, ensuring that it represents the police service's desires and aspirations.
As soon as Parliamentary time allows, the College of Policing will be established as a statutory body, independent of government. While the necessary legislation is prepared, the college has been established as a company limited by guarantee.
The college officially launched on 4 February 2013 with former
chief constable of
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
,
Alex Marshall as
chief executive officer
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
and
Deputy Chief Constable of
Avon and Somerset Police
Avon and Somerset Police is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement in the county of Somerset and in four districts that used to be in the defunct county of Avon: Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset and So ...
Rob Beckley
Robert Benjamin "Rob" Beckley (born August 20, 1975) is the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the Christian rock band Pillar (band), Pillar, which was voted Best Hard Rock Band in ''CCM Magazines 2006 Reader's Choice Awards. Beckley started ...
as chief operating officer. Beckley moved from Avon and Somerset to the Metropolitan Police and Home Office in 2016, whilst Marshall retired from policing in September 2017.
In 2018, Marshall was replaced by
Mike Cunningham, former chief constable of
Staffordshire Police
Staffordshire Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent in the West Midlands of England. It is made up of eleven Local Policing Teams, whose boundaries are matched to the nine local authorit ...
and a
HM Inspector of Constabulary
His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS) is a public body of the Scottish Government and reports to the Scottish Parliament. It has statutory responsibility for the inspection of the effectiveness and efficiency of the ...
.
In 2021, Cunningham was replaced by
Andy Marsh, the former chief constable of Hampshire and Avon and Somerset.
Authorised Professional Practice
The college produces guidance for officers known as Authorised Professional Practice (APP). This covers topics such as firearms, stop and search, covert policing and investigations.
APP is subject to continual review and update. In the first quarter of 2022, for example, there were 46 updates made to 20 individual APP categories.
Non-crime hate incidents
In 2014, the college advised police forces to record all 'non-crime hate incidents' - incidents that are perceived to be motivated by hostility but are not criminal offences.
In December 2021, the Court of Appeal ruled that this guidance was unlawful and constituted a "chilling effect ... on the legitimate exercise of freedom of expression".
Education requirements
The College of Policing has announced that from 2020, all new police officers in England and Wales will have to be educated to degree level.
This policy will be administered through the Policing Education Qualifications Framework (PEQF),
which creates three entry routes into the police:
* The Pre-Join Policing Degree: This entry route involves completion of a three-year knowledge-based degree in professional policing prior to joining the police service. Becoming a special constable may be included as part of this programme. Candidates who are subsequently recruited will undertake practice-based training to develop specific skills and will be assessed against national assessment criteria in order to demonstrate operational competence.
* The Degree Holder Entry Programme (DHEP): Aimed at degree-holders whose first degree is in a subject area other than policing. This two-year practice-based programme enables candidates to perform the role of police constable. Successful completion, results in the achievement of a graduate diploma in professional policing practice
* The Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship: This is a professional degree-level apprenticeship, enabling new recruits to join the police service as an apprentice police constable and earn while they learn. During the three-year programme the apprentice will complete a degree in professional policing practice and will be assessed against national assessment criteria as an integral part of their degree apprenticeship.
The apprenticeship will enable non-graduates to enter the police profession, enabling them to earn a degree in Professional Policing Practice whilst 'on-the-job' as part of a three-year initial training and education programme, meaning that not having a degree will not bar non-graduates from initially entering the service.
National Police Library
The
National Police Library
The National Police Library in the United Kingdom is classed as a special library and research library. It is part of the College of Policing, funded by the Home Office. It is only accessible to current serving police and police staff in the U ...
is operated at the college to support everyone working in UK policing; providing access to digital and print resources. It holds publications such as the ''
Police Review
''Police Review'' (also known as ''Jane's Police Review'') was a weekly magazine for police officers in the United Kingdom, latterly published by Jane's Information Group
Jane's Information Group, now styled Janes, is a global open-source in ...
'' magazine and ''
Police Gazette''. The latter has supported operational policing and its archives have enabled investigators to understand policing in the recent past; providing evidence for
public inquiries
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...
such as the
Hillsborough disaster
The Hillsborough disaster was a fatal human crush during a football match at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, on 15 April 1989. It occurred during an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest in the ...
.
References
External links
*
{{Coord, 52.3549, -1.4414, region:GB, display=title
Home Office (United Kingdom)
Private companies limited by guarantee of the United Kingdom
2013 establishments in the United Kingdom
Law enforcement in England and Wales
Police academies