Latest news

NPCC hiring new role of Chief Scientific Advisor

The role will report directly to the Chair of the NPCC and will provide independent scientific advice to the policing service and will advise on emerging research and innovation to advise police chiefs on strategic opportunities and risks. The CSA will help policing “underpin decisions with evidence, science and technology”.… The National Police Chiefs’ Council is hiring a Chief Scientific Advisor (CSA) as "resident expert on the use of science and technology in the policing sector"....

Lincolnshire re-starts search for chief after admin error

Police and Crime Commissioner Marc Jones has halted plans to confirm Derbyshire’s Assistant Chief Constable Paul Gibson as his new Chief Constable. The force is starting again to find the replacement for Bill Skelly after an administrative error put confidentiality at risk. Police Oracle understands that the problem does not… Lincolnshire is re-starting its Chief Constable recruitment process after an error nearly led to disclosure of sensitive information....

First recruits from fast-track detective scheme join Sussex

The 19 new officers are amongst the first nationally to undertake the intensive two-year Detective Constable Degree-Holder Entry Programme (DHEP) which offers specialist training in investigations.  The programme brings together practice and theory with "real world experience" in the workplace and learning based on the national curriculum which is assessed… The first trainees on Sussex Police’s new fast-track detective development programme joined the force this week....

Interview: ‘Some of the best cops I worked with didn’t have a degree’

Supt Sukesh Verma has some interesting ideas about recruitment in the uplift. University educated with a degree in politics he highlights the mix of people required to make a police force work really effectively. His father was a superintendent and when Sukesh left university he joined Notts on an accelerated… The police degree system will not move the dial on BAME recruitment according to Nottinghamshire Superintendent Sukesh Verma. He tells Gary Mason why...

Federation warns of funding gap over Specials membership

The Police Federation says it is unable to absorb the cost of representing thousands of Specials who carry out unpaid work for forces across the country. Dave Bamber, the Fed’s lead for recruitment, training and development, told Police Oracle: “Money is the only issue. We can’t offer everything for free. It’s… Plans to enable Special Constables to join the Police Federation have hit a stumbling block over who pays for their membership....

Mentoring: a career pathfinder

Throughout his long policing career Ricky Fields has sat on promotion boards on both sides of the table as an applicant and a board member. “I don’t think any process is infallible,” he says. “But you turn up on the day and hopefully give your best performance and you need… A former Staffordshire superintendent will be one of the mentors on a new scheme aimed at helping officers from under-represented groups achieve their potential in the service. He tells Gary Mason how mentoring influenced his own career ...