Hampshire police gain 91 new recruits as part of new training programme in partnership with University of Portsmouth
The Hampshire Constabulary recruits will get on-the-job training and education in the classroom through two programmes being delivered by the county’s police force and the University of Portsmouth, as part of the Police Education Consortium.
After 10 weeks of masterclasses and supported online learning, the new officers will join teams across the county to carry on their training and complete their Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship (PCDA) and Degree Holder Entry Programme.
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Hide AdHampshire Constabulary assistant chief constable Craig Dibdin said: ‘We are extremely excited to welcome these 91 new recruits to the force, as part of our continued uplift programme. This is the first group to join as part of the new nationally approved Police Educational Qualification Framework.
‘It is a significant change to the way we recruit, train and develop our people, and how we deliver the uplift of officers across our communities, allowing for larger intake groups.
‘These new degree courses developed in collaboration with us will equip our police officers with the skills needed to meet the challenges we face policing in a complex and rapidly changing world.
‘Blending together the experience that we already have within force with so much enthusiasm, greater diversity, and so many new ideas and approaches can only help deliver the safer communities that we are all working together to achieve.’
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Hide AdThe new courses are expected to deliver hundreds of new police officers for Hampshire over the next three years.
Julian Parker-McLeod, from the Institute of Criminal Justice at the University of Portsmouth, said: ‘The new programmes are the biggest development in police training for decades.
‘The world has changed and the police service faces both new and evolving crimes that are often challenging and complex.
‘Social media, cybercrime, and organised crime are just some of the new phenomenon we've seen grow in recent years. The nature of crime has changed and so must the skills required of the workforce.’
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Hide AdThe Police Education Consortium is formed of four universities - Portsmouth, Middlesex, Canterbury Christ Church and Cumbria.
The group has a contract to deliver both programmes for police forces in Surrey, Sussex and Hampshire and the universities will alternate as the providers for each new cohort.