HC Deb 14 July 1983 vol 45 cc1006-7
17. Mr. Flannery

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Depatment what guidance he gives to chief officers as to the length of training a police constable should receive before he is considered sufficiently trained to go on the beat; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Hurd

Present guidance, approved by the Police Training Council in 1973, has been revised from time to time. The Police Training Council has now held a thorough review and has recommended a period of seven months, including 10 weeks on beat duties attached to an experienced tutor constable. My right hon. and learned Friend is considering this recommendation and hopes shortly to issue revised guidance to chief officers of police.

Mr. Flannery

Is that not a totally insufficient period of training for young men and women who have to go out in uniform and face the most subtle and difficult problems in a society that is experiencing great difficulty? Does not the Minister agree that the qualifications are very low, and that we shall not be able to handle police-public problems until there is much longer training and much higher qualifications are demanded for entry to that training?

Mr. Hurd

I am not sure that the hon. Gentleman listened to my reply. My right hon. and learned Friend has recently received, and is now considering, new proposals that recommended a period of seven months, including 10 weeks on beat duties attached to an experienced tutor constable. That is in the light of experience such as that to which the hon. Gentleman refers.

Mr. Lawrence

Will my right hon. Friend give us some idea of the improvement in the number of polce officers on the beat now, as opposed to the time when we came to office?

Mr. Hurd

Certainly. The report issued by the Inspectorate of Constabulary this week showed that the total is now 121,000—I speak from memory—which is a substantial improvement. It neans that almost all forces are close to their establishment.

Mr. Freud

Will the Minister accept the value of keeping a police officer in one place? Will he re-examine the structure whereby the only way to get promotion is to move from the place that the officer knows to one that he does not know?

Mr. Hurd

That is a matter for chief officers. I think the hon. Gentleman will agree that circumstances vary very much from one force to another and that it would be wrong to lay down a general guideline.

Mr. Forman

Is my right hon. Friend convinced that a seven-months training period is long enough for the purpose, especially in areas of great difficulty such as the Metropolitan area? How does the seven-month period compare, for example, with police forces on the continent of Europe?

Mr. Hurd

My right hon. and learned Friend will consider these matters when he looks at the new recommendations, but they are new recommendations put forward in the light of recent experience and developments, such as Lord Seaman's report.