§ Mr. Corbettasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the length of training for police officers to familiarise themselves about the provisions of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act; what is the estimated cost of such training; and what extra funds have been made available for these training purposes.
§ Mr. Giles ShawThe Government set 1 January 1986 as the target date for the implementation of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act to allow sufficient time for forces to familiarise their officers with its provisions. Six months was identified by the service as the minimum period that would be needed to put all officers through the necessary training programmes, though in many forces preparatory work will have been going on for substantially longer. The length of time which each officer will spend under instruction varies from force to force but is in the region of three to five days.
Training material for use in provincial forces has been produced by the Home Office central planning unit at a cost to central funds estimated as likely to be in the order of £100,000. It is the practice to accommodate training for new legislation into the general cycle of training rather than to make separate financial provision.