News / UWE Bristol
Future police officers begin degree-based apprenticeship at UWE Bristol
Avon & Somerset Constabulary have become the first force in the South West to move its initial officer training to a degree-based apprenticeship.
UWE Bristol’s Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship is a three-year course that was launched earlier this year.
On a recent morning, apprentice officers took part in an exercise at three locations on UWE’s Glenside campus, learning how best to search people, buildings and vehicles.
is needed now More than ever
Watching the exercise was Avon and Somerset’s chief constable Andy Marsh, police & crime commissioner Sue Mountstevens and UWE vice-chancellor Steve West.
The first police constable degree apprentices alongside some of those who made the course possible
This apprenticeship is a move away from traditional, in-house training carried out by the constabulary, which had not been significantly renewed or changed for more than a decade.
In working with the university, Marsh hopes to increase the training’s focus on the police’s wider role in society in the 21st century, while maintaining the traditional training brought by practical experience.
Marsh told Bristol24/7: “We will allow some time for a greater in-depth look at our role in society, our role in partnership with other agencies, some theories around what causes people to desist offending, what helps with crime prevention. So, we will be turning out really well-rounded graduates.”
Students on the Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship degree do not pay tuition fees, instead starting on £20,000 annual salary and receiving full police powers after just 12 weeks, making them working professionals as well as students.
“It is important for people listening to realise that they won’t be waiting three years to see these people,” Marsh added.
“There is a group here that I met ten weeks ago, on their first day in Avon & Somerset Constabulary, and in two weeks time they are going to be out in Avon and Somerset. Most of their training is on the job.”
The apprentice officers will spend the majority of their training on the streets, following the initial 12 weeks at Glenside.
This change in the training of police constables to include higher education was first approved in 2015 at the Chiefs Constable Conference.
West said that this move follows the patterns in many other professions, such as nursing and paramedics.
As well as providing better training for the future police constables, the scheme is also believed to be cheaper as the force can claim money from the apprenticeship levy potentially enabling more officers to be put onto the streets.
Read more: Police called during free burger giveaway on College Green
Our top newsletters emailed directly to you
