How Lancs use a comms platform to drive recruitment

As a large organisation based in North West England, Lancashire Constabulary employs over 5000 members of staff and officers, including a growing number of Special Constabulary Officers, Police Cadets and Community Volunteers. Something we are incredibly proud of as an organisation is our commitment to recruiting a diverse workforce. In recognition… Hayley Wallis, Recruitment Marketing Lead at Lancashire Police, explains how the implementation of a flexible communications platform at the organisation has helped to drive recruitment....

Pippa Mills confirmed as new chief by Police and Crime Panel

West Mercia’s Police and Crime Panel has confirmed Essex DCC as the new chief constable and she will take up the role in September. DCC Mills was recently named as the preferred candidate for the job by PCC John Campion after a selection process that involved four candidates. PCC Campion… Essex DCC will take up West Mercia role in September ...

Degrees: challenging the ‘Old Guard’

There has been a lot of commentary recently in relation to the Police Educational Qualification Framework and the associated entry routes to policing. Much of this commentary has been unhelpful, and in many cases demotivating and off putting to those officers and students undertaking their qualifications both within police services,… The public rightly expects police officers to be educated professionally and trained to the highest standards argues Martin Tangen...

ACC who led major organised crime Op retires after 30 years service

Cleveland Police’s Assistant Chief Constable Lisa Orchard retires today (11 July) after 30 years of service which has seen her move from ‘woman detective constable’ to Head of Crime at Northumbria Police and the senior officer responsible for Operation Lavender. Looking back over some of the highlights of her career,… Cleveland ACC Lisa Orchard retires after long and "distinguished" career ...

Finance teams begin training ready for new efficiency demands

Finance teams have begun a new programme backed by the National Police Chefs’ Council to enable them to meet increasing demands for efficiencies. The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA), the official body that oversees force finance, confirmed the launch of the latest stage of Achieving Finance Excellence… Finance teams in 39 forces have signed up to a new training programme to develop the next generation of finance leaders....

Life after the job: ‘I know I’m one of the lucky few’

I actually had a great career and some amazing roles and consider myself to be incredibly lucky. That said, I did have some really low points, saw and dealt with incidents that haunt me even now, and on a number of occasions, I questioned what I was doing, and why,… Like many officers after 30 years’ service, Andy Labrum was struggling to figure out how to translate his skills and experience to a new role. In the first of a new regular column he explains how he got there and what inspired him to help other officers in a similar position ...

Tributes to Britain’s first black female officer who has died aged 83

Ms Allen, who joined the Met Police in 1968 aged 29, making her the first black female police officer in the force and the UK, died at her family home in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, on Monday (5 July). Ms Allen was working as a nurse at Croydon’s Queens Hospital when… Sislin Fay Allen was described by the Met Commissioner as “a pioneer of her time and an inspiration for many” while former Met superintendent Leroy Logan called her a “remarkable” woman....

College's degree programme at odds with efforts to diversify, says Supt

The College of Policing is closing the Initial Policing Learning and Development Program (IPLDP), claiming it no longer prepares officers for today’s policing. The Police Education Qualification Framework (PEQF) intends to professionalise the service by making it a requirement for a recruit to either have a degree or obtain one… End of IPLDP predicted by one force to reduce successful BAME applicants by 90 per cent. ...

Interview: the loss of IPLDP during a changing workforce

Nottinghamshire's Superintendent Sukesh Verma has spoken out against the college's degree programme, saying policing has a long way to go on diversity – something he feels the exclusivity of a degree requirement will only set back.  Supt Verma was the lead for Operation Uplift and in November last year he… The make-up of recruits via the degree programme is again under the spotlight as Superintendent Sukesh Verma tells Police Oracle how his force and others will be impacted by the loss of IPLDP. ...

Uplift gives PSNI diversity boost

The Police Service of Northern Ireland could make a major improvement in its religious and gender balance, its Chief Constable has revealed. In an update to the Policing Board, CC Simon Byrne revealed the recruitment campaign has not only attracted thousands of applications but also received them from across the… The recruitment drive in Northern Ireland looks set to significantly improve diversity....