Police Uplift Programme & Graduate/Apprenticeship Entry – Do They Mix?

Last updated on August 22nd, 2023 at 12:08 pm

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Police Uplift Programme & Graduate/Apprenticeship Entry – Do They Mix?  Much has been heard from the Home Office and the Conservative Party in General about the Police Uplift Programme.  Those of you who have read me regularly will know by now what I think of it, if you haven’t heard you can find my musings here.

Much has been heard from the College of Policing about how good, and how necessary for Policing, the Graduate/Apprenticeship Entry Scheme (formally known as Policing Educational Qualification Framework or PEQF) is. If you haven’t heard my views on that you can find them here.

But do they mix together?

Quite unsurprisingly the Police Uplift Programme is administered by the Home Office and quarterly updates are posted, on the Home Office website, about the progress of the programme overall and various other stats like gender and ethnicity of the recruits.

The College of Policing set the ground rules for recruitment generally and the PEQF in particular.

Nothing too complicated there then? Wrong.

Because I’m that kind of person I sent a very politely worded email to the Home Office asking this;

Good morning,

Under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act;

Could you please tell me how many of the almost 9,000 Police Officers recruited so far, under the Police Uplift Programme, have a Degree in any subject?

Thank you

Alan Wright

The reply I got back was this;

The Home Office does not collect data on the education of new recruits, and therefore does not hold the information which you have requested.
Entry Routes are the responsibility of the College of Policing, therefore the College of Policing may hold the information you are seeking. Details on how to raise an FOI to the College of Policing can be found here: FOI – College of Policing

Not to be deterred I did exactly the Home Office sugested and put the exact same question to the College of Policing, The reply I got back was this;

Thank you for emailing the College. I have discussed your request with the relevant team, who have confirmed that the College does not hold this information. They have recommended you make separate requests to individual forces. I apologise that we could not be of any more help. Kind regards, Kate.

 

So there we have it, the two biggest, most important bodies in Police recruitment today and neither has the foggiest idea how many of the 8,771 Police Uplift Programme recruits have a degree in any subject. Maybe I should write to 43 Police Forces separately to obtain information on a Central Government scheme. yes, that would work.

 

One of the main reasons for the College of Policing’s PEQF is for the Police to be, and be seen to be, more professional. One of other of those two bodies SHOULD have had the information. Maybe they thought nobody cared. Maybe nobody thought of collecting the data, but they collect data on justabout everything else.

 

It’s an absolute disgrace and makes at least one of those organisations a laughing stock. If having or obtaining a degree is so damned important they should be in possession of that information. Why put the onus on 43 individual forces to collect data for a Central Government project.

 

A few weeks ago I said “Could do better”. Today I have revised my judgement “Could hardly do any worse

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