Lincolnshire's chief constable seeks judicial review over plans to require new police officers to have a degree

Lincolnshire Chief Constable Bill Skelly.

In an ‘exceptional’ legal move, the Chief Constable of Lincolnshire Bill Skelly, supported by Police and Crime Commissioner Marc Jones, has begun the first stage in taking the national College of Policing to Judicial Review over its plans to introduce a requirement for officers to achieve a degree level qualification to enter the police service.

The College of Policing is the national body which was established by the Home Office in 2012 and Mr Skelly is taking issue with its plans to implement a new officer recruitment process which requires all recruits to have an academic degree or be prepared to commit to study for one in work time.

But he says it will mean 40 fewer officers at any one time for front line policing - roughly ten per cent of his deployable strength – because the study time has been significantly increased compared to the current recruitment programme, increased turnover and failure to complete the course.

In addition, there will be extra cash costs to pay for contracts with local academic providers and a requirement for more training staff within the force. There is no estimate for the impact across England and Wales but if it is 40 officers for Lincolnshire, Mr Skelly says it could easily be over 4,000 for the country.

Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioner Marc Jones.

“I have been raising these concerns with the College of Policing and the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) for more than two years since the impact became clear,” he said.

“The College has pushed forward ignoring the growing evidence that demonstrates the impracticality of their proposals for Lincolnshire. Their most recent communication states the intention to change Police Regulations to enforce the Police Education Qualifications Framework (PEQF) recruitment process from next year,” says Mr Skelly.

He is being fully supported by Lincolnshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner Marc Jones who is funding the court action.

“All I am asking for is a stay of implementation (to the summer of 2023) to give time for a legitimate evaluation of the new system being imposed across the country and for the results to be assessed and any adjustments made,” says Mr Skelly.

“In the meantime we are developing an enhanced initial training package that meets the requirements of the modern police officer without creating an unaffordable impact on the police service in Lincolnshire.”

In addition to the financial costs, Mr Skelly says that no assessment has been made on such issues as the additional strain on the Police Pension Scheme or on the impact on equalities. Mr Skelly has also questioned the future of the Special Constabulary under PEQF.

He said: “The College is requiring that every new police officer be a degree holder and have undertaken years of initial training. At present, Special Constables have the same police powers as our regular officers but do so after a limited period of training and a lower required level of educational qualifications. I see this as unsustainable after the introduction of PEQF”.