A graduate recruitment scheme that will be funded by money withdrawn from the salaries of officials from the Police Federation of England and Wales will be launched next year, it has been announced. It is envisaged that Police First will initially take on 100 people with strong degrees, train them intensively and give them an initial two-year period in the job. Those who want to continue in law enforcement will then be given the opportunity to do so – while others who decide to continue their careers in other sectors will be given help to find alternative employment. Inspector Dave Spencer – one of the founders of Police First – said the initiative had been picked up in the Commissioners 100 scheme, which nurtures new ideas. He added: We wanted to target graduates and bring the best into the Police Service. We are currently still developing things at the moment – we will be seeking candidates in September and October to start with the police in the summer of 2015. As previously reported, the scheme was highlighted when Home Secretary Theresa May revealed that public money - which paid the salary of the Police Federation chairman, general secretary and treasurer - would now be given to the initiative. She said the Federation had major cash reserves and its use of public funds was unacceptable. Insp Spencer told PoliceOracle: Our view is that to be given capital funding from the Home Office is great and will assist us as we set up the new initiative. The fact that a government department is interested is a very positive thing for us. Insp Spencer envisaged the scheme will be run in the same way as the Teach First initiative for the teaching profession and Frontline, for the social care sector, in targeting the most gifted. He said that it would initially be promoted the top Russell Group universities, and expected that those with a degree of 2:1 level or above would be considered. The officer added that the training programme for the successful candidates – underpinned by the College of Policing – would be demanding and intensive. He was also optimistic that the initiative could be useful in promoting diversity. Insp Spencer added: Progressing via direct entry is a possible route for people coming into Police First – those that decide to leave could, for example, return as direct entry supers. There is also some scope for linking the Police First and the fast track programme. However, he highlighted that the traditional attributes required of police officers, such as empathy and humility, would not be cast aside and candidates would need to demonstrate them. Read the story over at the Police Oracle website:
Posted on: Tue, 03 Jun 2014 07:17:00 +0000
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