Putting learning into practice: self-reflections from cops

Journal article


Norman, J. and Williams, E. 2017. Putting learning into practice: self-reflections from cops. European Police Science and Research Bulletin - Special Conference Edition.
AuthorsNorman, J. and Williams, E.
Abstract

Canterbury Christ Church University (CCCU) have been involved in police education with serving police officers for over twenty years. The College of Policing (COP) are currently considering a range of options to develop learning within the police organisation and this involves a drive for more officers to be degree educated. The responses to a recent public consultation on this proposal involved some differing views on its introduction.

Some of the criticism coming from officers themselves about the proposal argues that there is a limited evidence base for degree level entry and this small study provides some insight into this world.

This paper will discuss the findings from interviews conducted with police graduates from CCCU following their completion of either a BSc or MSc degree programme in Policing. It will discuss police officers’ perceptions of their ability to utilise the learning they have gleaned in the classroom and how it is received from their supervisors and peers.

The aim of the drive to increase education in policing focuses on the need for students to develop critical thinking skills, to further apply knowledge and their problem solving abilities.

The research found that police officer graduates felt these skills were enhanced as a result of undertaking a degree, and felt empowered to apply their knowledge. However, findings indicated inconsistencies as to whether this knowledge was applied in practice. This often depended on whether an officer’s immediate and senior management were receptive to embrace learning, more often than not there was a lack of willingness from management to ‘hear’ the learning from the police graduates interviewed in this study. Therefore, this research found that in order to embed knowledge systematically, a wider infrastructure is required to facilitate this at every rank of the police organisation.

KeywordsPolice; Professionalism; Education; Knowledge; Culture.
Year2017
JournalEuropean Police Science and Research Bulletin - Special Conference Edition
PublisherCEPOL
ISSN1831-1857
Official URLhttps://bulletin.cepol.europa.eu/index.php/bulletin/article/view/294
Publication dates
Online22 Nov 2017
Publication process dates
Deposited11 Jan 2018
Accepted author manuscript
Output statusPublished
References

Bradford, B. (2014). ‘Policing and social identity: procedural
justice, inclusion and cooperation between
police and public’, in Policing and Society, Vol. 24,
No%1, 2243.
• Bryant, R, Cockcroft, T, Tong, S, Wood, D, (2013). ‘Police
training and education: past, present and future’
in J. Brown (Eds.), The Future of Policing, Abingdon:
Routledge.
• Chan, J, (1997). Changing Police Culture: Policing in
a multicultural society Australia: Print Synergy.
• Christopher, S. (2015). ‘The Police Service Can Be a
Critical Re$ective Practice... If It Wants’, in Policing. A
Journal of Policy and Practice, 9 (4): 326-339.
• Cockcroft, T. (2013). Police Culture: Themes and Concepts.
London: Routledge.
203
Putting learning into practice: self-re!ections from cops
• Cockcroft, T, and Beattie, I. (2009). ‘Shifting Culture:
managerialism and the rise of ‘performance’‘ Policing:
An International Journal of Police Strategies and
Management (32) 3: 526-540.
• Davis, M. (2002). Profession, code, and ethics: towards
a morally useful theory of today’s professions. Aldershot:
Ashgate.
• Fleming, J. (2015). Key Note 4. POLCON 6: 6th Annual
Conference of The Higher Education Forum for Learning
and Development in Policing. Sta"ordshire University,
September 2-3, 2015.
• Guilfoyle, S. (2013). Intelligent Policing: How systems
thinking eclipse conventional management practice
Axeminster: Triarchy Press.
• Grint, K. and Thornton, S. (2015). ‘Leadership management
and command in the police’. In J. Fleming,
(Eds.). Police Leadership Rising to the Top. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
• Grint, K., (2010). ‘Wicked problems and clumsy solutions:
the role of leadership’. In: S. Brookes and K.
Grint, (Eds.). The new public leadership challenge. Basingstoke:
Palgrave Macmillan, 169-186.
• Haas, N.E., Van Craen, M., Skogan, W.G., and Fleitas,
D.M. (2015). ‘Explaining o!cer compliance: The
importance of procedural justice and trust inside
a police organization’, in Criminology and Criminal
Justice, Vol.15, No.4, pp.%442-463.
• Hallenberg, K.M. (2012). Scholarly Detectives: Police
Professionalisation via Academic Education. PhD thesis,
University of Manchester.
• Loftus, B. (2010). Police Occupational Culture: Classic
themes, altered times Policing and Society Vol 20
(1):1-20.
• Myhill, A. and Bradford, B. (2011). Can police enhance
public con#dence by improving quality of service?
Results from two surveys in England and Wales, in
Policing and Society: An International Journal of Research
and Policy. DOI: 10.1080/10439463.2011.641551
• Neyroud, P. (2011). Review of Police Leadership and
Training Volume One London: Home O!ce.
• Punch, M. (2015). What Really Matters in Policing?.
European Police Science Bulletin
• Reiner R. (2010). The Politics of the Police. 4th Edition.
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Roberts, K., Herrington, V., Jones, W., White, J. and
Day, D., (2016). Police Leadership in 2045: The Value
of Education in Developing Leadership. Policing, 10,
1, pp.%26-33.
• Rowe, M. (2015). ‘Police! Camera! Lay observation!’
presented at Policing and Democracy in the 21st
Century, The International Criminological Research
Unit, Liverpool University, 17th September 2015.
• Sklansky, D. (2014). ‘The Promise and Perils of Police
Professionalism’ in Brown, J (Eds.). The Future of Policing
London: Routledge.
• Sklansky, D. A. (2008). Democracy and the Police.
Stanford: Stanford University Press
• Silvestri, M. (2003). Women in Charge: Policing, gender
and leadership. Devon: Willan Publishing.
• Tilley, N. and Laycock, G. (2014). ‘The Police as Professional
problem solvers’, in Brown, J (Eds.). The Future
of Policing London: Routledge.
• Wood, D. and Williams, E. (2016). ‘The Politics of Establishing
Re$exivity as a Core Component of Good
Policing’ in Armstrong, S. Blaustein, J. and Henry. A.
(Eds.). Re!exivity and Criminal Justice: Intersections of
Policy, Practice and Research London: Palgrave.

Additional information

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Permalink -

https://repository.canterbury.ac.uk/item/887v3/putting-learning-into-practice-self-reflections-from-cops

Download files


Accepted author manuscript
  • 608
    total views
  • 422
    total downloads
  • 19
    views this month
  • 8
    downloads this month

Export as

Related outputs

‘Holding onto trauma?’ The prevalence and predictors of PTSD, anxiety, and depression in police officers working with victims of child abuse, rape, and sexual exploitation
Foley, J., Jones, F., Hassett, A. and Williams, E. 2023. ‘Holding onto trauma?’ The prevalence and predictors of PTSD, anxiety, and depression in police officers working with victims of child abuse, rape, and sexual exploitation. The Police Journal: Theory, Practice and Principles. https://doi.org/10.1177/0032258X231183638
‘Getting on with the job’: A systematised literature review of secondary trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in policing within the United Kingdom (UK)
Foley, J., Hassett, Alex and Williams, Emma 2021. ‘Getting on with the job’: A systematised literature review of secondary trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in policing within the United Kingdom (UK). The Police Journal: Theory, Practice and Principles. 95 (1), pp. 224-252. https://doi.org/10.1177/0032258x21990412
Professionalising the police: the unfulfilled promise of police training by Nigel G. Fielding, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2018, £42.33 (paperback), ISBN:978-0-19-881747-5
Norman, J. 2020. Professionalising the police: the unfulfilled promise of police training by Nigel G. Fielding, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2018, £42.33 (paperback), ISBN:978-0-19-881747-5. Policing and Society. 30 (5), pp. 599-600. https://doi.org/10.1080/10439463.2020.1792902
Policing vulnerability: attrition, rape and domestic violence
Williams, E., Norman, J. and Barrow-Grint, K. 2020. Policing vulnerability: attrition, rape and domestic violence. in: Pepper, I.K. and McGrath, R. (ed.) Introduction to Professional Policing: Examining the Evidence Base London Routledge.
Direct Entry: Fairness, resilience and the impact on regular cops
Williams, E., Norman, J. and Boag-Munroe, F. 2020. Direct Entry: Fairness, resilience and the impact on regular cops. International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice. 64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijlcj.2020.100442
Changes to police leadership: the legitimisation and the challenges of direct entry
Williams, E. and Scott, S. 2019. Changes to police leadership: the legitimisation and the challenges of direct entry. in: Ramshaw, P., Silvestri, M. and Simpson, M. (ed.) Police Leadership: Changing Landscapes Palgrave Macmillan.
Policing and mental health: do we really get it?
Williams, E., Norman, J. and Brown, M. 2019. Policing and mental health: do we really get it? in: Policing and Mental Health Routledge.
The police education qualification framework: a professional agenda or building professionals?
Williams, E., Norman, J. and Rowe, M. 2019. The police education qualification framework: a professional agenda or building professionals? Police Practice and Research. https://doi.org/10.1080/15614263.2019.1598070
Understanding risks: practitioner’s perceptions of the lottery of mental health care available for detainees in custody
Williams, E., Norman, J. and Sondhi, A. 2017. Understanding risks: practitioner’s perceptions of the lottery of mental health care available for detainees in custody. Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice. https://doi.org/10.1093/police/pax067
Patient perspectives of being detained under section 136 of the Mental Health Act: findings from a qualitative study in London
Sondhi, A., luger, L., Toleikyte, L. and Williams, E. 2018. Patient perspectives of being detained under section 136 of the Mental Health Act: findings from a qualitative study in London. Medicine, Science and the Law. 58 (3), pp. 159-167. https://doi.org/10.1177/0025802418774966
Violence against women: public health or law enforcement problem or both?
Williams, E., Norman, J. and Nixon, K. 2018. Violence against women: public health or law enforcement problem or both? International Journal of Police Science and Management. 20 (3), pp. 196-206. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461355718793666
Knowledge wars: professionalisation, organisational justice and competing knowledge paradigms in British Policing
Williams, E. 2018. Knowledge wars: professionalisation, organisational justice and competing knowledge paradigms in British Policing. in: Huey, L. and Mitchell, R. (ed.) Evidence-Based Policing: An Introduction Policy Press.
Health needs and co-morbidity among detainees in contact with healthcare professionals within police custody across the London Metropolitan Police Service area
Sondhi, A. and Williams, E. 2017. Health needs and co-morbidity among detainees in contact with healthcare professionals within police custody across the London Metropolitan Police Service area. Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine. 57, pp. 96-100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jflm.2017.07.012
A new canteen culture: the potential to use social media as evidence in policing
Williams, E. and Hesketh, I. 2017. A new canteen culture: the potential to use social media as evidence in policing. Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice. 11 (3), pp. 346-355. https://doi.org/10.1093/police/pax025
Mediating serious crime: an analysis of victim and prisoner mediation
Tong, S., Waters, B., Bryant, R., Williams, E. and Norman, J. 2017. Mediating serious crime: an analysis of victim and prisoner mediation.
Researching sexual violence
Williams, E. and Stanko, B. 2016. Researching sexual violence. in: Brunger, M., Tong, S. and Martin, D. (ed.) Policing Research: Taking Lessons from Practice Routledge.
The politics of establishing reflexivity as a core component of good policing
Wood, D. and Williams, E. 2016. The politics of establishing reflexivity as a core component of good policing. in: Armstrong, S., Blaustein, J. and Henry, A. (ed.) Reflexivity and Criminal Justice. Intersections of Policy, Practice and Research London Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 215-236
Mediating serious crime: an analysis of adult prison restorative justice mediation
Bryant, R., Tong, S., Waters, B., Williams, E. and Norman, J. 2014. Mediating serious crime: an analysis of adult prison restorative justice mediation. London Nuffield Foundation.
Critical issues in rape investigation: a UK perspective
Tong, S., Horvath, M. and Williams, E. 2011. Critical issues in rape investigation: a UK perspective. The Journal of Criminal Justice Research. 1 (2), pp. 1-18.
Three BOCU Improving Confidence Report
Williams, E. 2010. Three BOCU Improving Confidence Report. London Metropolitan Police Service.
Preliminary well being report into sickness and absenteeism within women officers and staff
Williams, E. and Jacobs, S. 2010. Preliminary well being report into sickness and absenteeism within women officers and staff.
Reviewing rape and rape allegations in London: what are the vulnerabilities of the victims who report to the police?
Williams, E. and Stanko, B. 2009. Reviewing rape and rape allegations in London: what are the vulnerabilities of the victims who report to the police? in: Horvath, M. and Brown, J. (ed.) Rape: Challenging Contemporary Thinking Cullompton Willan. pp. 207-228
Reflections from a Police Research Unit: an inside job
Dawson, P. and Williams, E. 2009. Reflections from a Police Research Unit: an inside job. Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice. 3 (4), pp. 373-380. https://doi.org/10.1093/police/pap043
Too little too late: assessing vulnerability
Williams, E., Norman, J. and Wünsch, D. 2009. Too little too late: assessing vulnerability. Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice. 3 (4), pp. 355-363. https://doi.org/10.1093/police/pap042