Police fears over fast-track recruits

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By Stephanie Condron
(Filed: 08/05/2006)

Police officers have warned that a fast-track scheme allowing graduates to join the service as trainee inspectors might mean they will not be seen as credible leaders.

The Home Office wants to lure graduates and middle managers into policing by allowing them to bypass the usual route where even the brightest and most ambitious recruits spend years working their way through the ranks.

The Police Federation, which represents more than 130,000 officers up to chief inspector level in England and Wales, has serious doubts.

Jan Berry, its chairman, said: "Under the Government's plans, graduates would go in as trainee inspectors rather than as constables. This is elitist. Policing shouldn't be about status, it should be about experience.

"At two o'clock in the morning, when the clubs are kicking people out and it's all going pear-shaped, you want someone with experience of policing, not academia."

Rick Naylor, of the Police Superintendents' Association, said the lower ranks might not view fast-tracked recruits as credible leaders.

He added: "If someone is in a position of leadership it is important they are seen as credible by those who follow them. It's only with credibility that you can lead effectively."

However, former soldiers or community support officers would be among those who might enter at a higher level effectively, he said.

He added: "Direct entry is not just for graduates. We have some skill shortages in the service, for example financial investigators and computer specialists who are hard for us to recruit."

A Home Office spokesman said it would take any points made by the Police Federation very seriously.

Telegraph