Criminal justice lead appointed police board member of Sentencing Council

The national policing lead for criminal justice Nick Ephgrave has been appointed as the policing board member for the Sentencing Council. The Council which issues guidelines on sentencing which the courts must follow, says Assistant Commissioner Ephgrave would provide a police perspective on public concerns about particular types of offending.… AC Nick Ephgrave to provide police perspective on particular types of offending ...

Mike Cunningham to stand down from College of Policing

Mr Cunningham said he intends to retire from policing at the end of the year after leading the College since 2018. He has had a pivotal role in working with the Home Office, National Police Chiefs’ Council, Police Federation and Police and Crime Commissioners to respond to the COVID-19 crisis.… The College of Policing has begun its search for a new chief executive after Mike Cunningham announced he is standing down....

Lincolnshire Chief Constable Bill Skelly to retire in December

Chief Constable Bill Skelly has announced he will step down from his role on December 18 after four years leading the force. CC Skelly has been a champion of better officer wellbeing being embedded into policing and more recently has staged a legal fight with the College of Policing on… Officer wellbeing champion and fierce opponent of police degree system to leave service after 31 years. ...

Federation votes for £2 per month subscription increase

The Police Federation will increase its subscription rate for rank and file members for the first time since 2011 by £2 a month because it says it can no longer absorb costs by dipping into financial reserves. Real-terms inflation has gone up by 28%, according to the Federation, and the… The first rise in Federation subs for nearly a decade will start from the autumn.A virtual meeting of delegates backed the £2 a month increase from September....

West Midlands Specials to get ‘one off’ payment for pandemic work

West Midlands Specials are to be paid £150 for every 16 hours of duty they have put in over their usual monthly commitment during the pandemic. According to PCC David Jamieson this will be the first time Special Constables have received such a payment anywhere in the country. The scheme… PCC David Jamieson pledges ‘extraordinary payment’ for extra hours worked during lockdown ...

Police degrees: a 'rear mirror' review of costs and abstraction rates

In 2018, the College committed to producing a ‘rear-view mirror’ report on the new PEQF initial entry routes, following at least one year of force delivery. The result of that commitment is Learning to date: development and implementation, 2016 to 2019, looking at data and participant feedback from the forces who… The College of Policing has produced a report on the early implementation of the Police Education Qualification Framework (PEQF) which indicates officer abstraction rates are as predicted by critics....

College of Policing announces new training package for Specials

Specials will now undergo more of the same training given to first-year PC recruits. This means they will not have to repeat the training again, making it more easy, the college says, for them to join as a PC if they wish to do so. The college said: “It follows… The College of Policing has announced new training for Special Constables which will now be more closely aligned to Police Constable training to "support the recruitment drive". ...

Seven-force partnership policing degree deal with Anglia Ruskin

Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire constabularies confirmed Anglia Ruskin University will deliver the Police Education Qualification Framework (PEQF) from June next year for a seven-force partnership. The Seven Force Strategic Collaboration Programme have procured and will coordinate the contract between Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Suffolk and Norfolk, Essex and Kent. The university ranked… Seven forces have joined up with a top-50 university to deliver the new policing degree. Anglia Ruskin University will deliver the PEQF across the South East....

West Midlands PCC commits to recruiting 1,000 BAME officers

The OPCC said this was not a change of policy but would “accelerate plans” to make the force look more like the communities it serves. Over the next three years West Midlands are set to grow by at least 1,200 officers, meaning 2,750 will need to be recruited to fill… West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson has committed to ensuring the force recruits 1,000 new BAME officers over the next three years....

Ten years at the top

In 2018 Simon Cole was offered a five-year extension of his contract at Leicestershire by Police and Crime Commissioner Lord Willy Bach. At that time he was already the UK’s longest serving police chief. This week marks his tenth year at the top of the force and he still has… Gary Mason talks to Simon Cole, the UK’s longest serving chief constable ...