This month, the Metropolitan Police Service has launched the Degree Holder Entry Programme, which allows graduates to pursue a career in policing regardless of what degree they already hold.
The routes into policing within London have changed a number of times over the past decade as we continuously strive to attract the best, most diverse range of candidates we can.
The Met truly believe that our workforce should be representative of the communities we serve, and recruiting from within those communities allows us to employ officers who have a good understanding of the customs and traditions and thoughts and feelings of, and a real sense of what’s important to, their community.
Currently, The Met offer the Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship (PCDA) for non-graduates, and a Degree Holder Entry Programme (DHEP) for both detectives and uniformed constables for those with degrees; regardless of the subject.
PCDA students spend three years combining work-based training alongside experienced police officers with academic study at a London university resulting in the award of a BSc (Hons) in professional policing.
The DHEP entry route will see student officers undertake a mixture of operational and academic written assessments which, over the course of two years, will see them achieve a graduate diploma in professional policing practice at the end.
Research shows that degree level education is beneficial for both policing and the individual. It develops critical thinking and research skills to enhance problem solving within communities and allows students to obtain a recognised qualification as part of their training for an otherwise vocational career.
The North West Basic Command Unit; comprising the London boroughs of Barnet, Brent and Harrow, have been delighted to welcome 55 student police officers since the beginning of this year through a combination of the both the apprenticeship and degree holder programmes.
Half of these student officers are female but less than a quarter of these are of ethnic minority heritage.
To achieve a truly representative workforce here on NW BCU, I urge you to encourage family or friends interested in a career in policing to visit met.police/careers to explore their options.
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