New opportunities for Cumbria police

Cumbria Constabulary is working in partnership with the University of Cumbria to provide learning opportunities for existing staff and people who aspire to join the Police Service.

To support this, the two organisations have worked together to develop the Institute of Policing and Criminal Justice Studies, which will be based at the University's Penrith campus.

From this year the University will offer a two-year full-time foundation degree in Policing, and by 2010 Cumbria Constabulary aims to recruit up to 25 per cent of their annual intake of Police Officers from the programme - providing that students meet the exacting and rigorous national selection procedures.

A foundation degree in Police Studies will also commence this year, focusing directly on the needs of existing Cumbria Police Officers and Support Staff.

Police Officers will receive significant accreditation for their prior police learning and the programme will be offered by flexible and distance learning so that studies can take place alongside the students' normal police duties.

From 2010 this course will be made available to members of the public who have an interest in the issues of Policing or as a course of study to improve their recruitment prospects.

Additionally, 2009 will see the introduction of a three-year Batchelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice that will cover areas such as criminology, psychology, forensic science, human rights and the role of the media.

Discussions are taking place with other stakeholders within the Criminal Justice community to ensure that this meets their needs while offering a wide range of challenges for students who want a broader course of study.

Commenting on the announcement, Deputy Chief Constable of Cumbria Constabulary Christine Twigg said, "Our partnership with the University of Cumbria provides the Constabulary with a number of advantages.

During their two year course, students on the foundation degree will gain practical policing experience by working with us in the valuable role of Special Constable.

At the end of the foundation degree, students will have completed the equivalent of the initial 22-week training programme run for new recruits at our Penrith training centre.

This means that when foundation degree students are recruited we will be able to deploy them in operational roles much sooner.

"This is an exciting development for Cumbria Constabulary and I hope that the work to jointly develop the foundation degree will be the first of many opportunities for us to work in partnership with the University."