§ Mr. Clinton Davisasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement describing the current training requirements prescribed by the Metropolitan Police in the field of community relations; and whether he has any plans to review these.
§ Mr. MayhewCommunity relations training in the Metropolitan Police is an integral part of courses at all levels, ranging from those for new recruits, to those for senior officers. In the case of recruits some 10 per cent. of the initial 15-week training course is devoted to social studies, including community relations. In addition, subsequent street duty courses under the guidance of specially selected, experienced officers are being introduced to help probationers with practical police work. They last four weeks and are geared to policing problems in the area, and include training in establishing good relationships with the public, including ethnic minorities.
The aim of all such training is to create an understanding of the concept of policing by consent, and its implications for the role of the individual police officer. Responsibility for the training of Metropolitan Police officers rest primarily with the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, who keeps the content of courses under review to ensure that they reflect changing needs Following a comprehensive review of all training, the 307W content of community relations training for recruits is being reviewed now, in co-operation with the Commission for Racial Equality and other agencies.