§ Mr. Alex Carlileasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the curriculum of courses for new recruits at police colleges in so far as they concern relations between the police and ethnic minorities.
§ Mr. HurdA revised programme of initial training for probationers, drawn up in the light of reports by the Police Training Council on community and race relations and on probationer training, will be introduced in the Home Office district training centres for provincial recruits in January 1984. Much of the programme has been rewritten. The new programme, which is intended to lay the foundations for further training in-force, contains a substantially enlarged and improved element of training in race relations under the heading "Social Skills of Policing." Besides containing periods devoted specifically to community and race relations, the courses as a whole will aim to ensure that officers are aware of, and well trained in, the community and race relations aspects of all their professional duties.
In the Metropolitan police, training in "human awareness" or "policing skills", including training in race relations, was introduced for all recruits in April 1982. Such training is integrated with and spread throughout the course as a whole. "Human awareness" training is being evaluated by the police foundation; and the race relations element of it is being reviewed within the force.